lifebook organization ?

March 29, 2006

i'm in the researching begining stages of creating a lifebook as well as starting a scrapbook for our daughter (she is only 3 weeks old!). and i have some questions and i would love suggestions.

1. i have the book by beth omalley and it is helpful, but of course, i cannot ask the book a question (at least, not with current technology!). where should we put our profile that we sent to her bmom? in the back of the lifebook, where we talk some about when we went to pick her up? i'm not sure i want to stick that in a regular scrapbook since it is kinda personal, but i don't want to shift the focus of the lifebook.

2. i was thinking about making 2 different lifebooks; one geared towards a teen/adult with all the original copies, and from that deriving age appropriate ones (that will change over the years) with color copies/laminated. what do you think? i was thinking as the years go by, when updating it including artwork from dd.

3. our dd's bmom is currently in jail, but is going to be released in a few weeks. she was only in jail for a few months, not a career criminal at all. do i include that information in the infant/toddler lifebook? i dont want to spring that info on her one day, but i don't know if a toddler/preschooler has the filters in her mind/mouth not to announce it to everyone...i don't want ppl judging her bmom who don't know her at all. but i dont want to create any shame either for dd. (that's alot of "buts" sorry!)

4. beth's book gives a website, and on there it gives links to what happened on your bday, who shares your bday...are these things you would include in her lifebook? or a scrapbook? and if yes in a lifebook, where?

i guess those aren't really questions, but i am looking for some guidance, what you all have done/are doing. thanks for your time!!!!!

DianeScraps

March 31, 2006

1- Of course their aren't really hard and fast 'rules' for the organization but here are my opinions (I am also not sure which of Beth's books you are looking at and the one I have next to me is the older child - foster care book)

I would include the profile, it is part of the story of how you were chosen to be the parent, and that is where I would include it, after the portion of why the child was placed.

As for it being person and, in my opinion, the whole book is personal, it is for the child, not for the neighbors, cousins, etc . . .

2- What I have chosen to do is to use a 3 ring binder for the lifebook so that it can be easily updated, If you have info now that just not age appropriate, I would make the pages and keep them aside until it is time to add them.

3- The jail issue is something I am dealing with right now, Personally I would put the info in part of the 'age appropriate' section for the future, probably not until age 10 or so

4 - I love the sites that show what happened the day you were born, etc , Personally I chose to add only a small amount of that info (mostly filler) for the lifebook but to keep more of that type for the scrapbook.

Hope that helps!

Diane