Every life has a beginning. Every story deserves one too.

What to gather from other people

Your own memories of these first weeks are enough on their own. If you want other voices in it, ask for one thing each: the day they heard the news, a hope for who this child becomes, a short voice note, or a photograph from the first weeks.

Ideas to include

• First impressions from parents, grandparents, siblings, and close friends.
• Photographs from the hospital, the first days home, and the first family gatherings.
• Voice notes — a grandparent reading a blessing, an aunt telling the story of the day they met the baby.
• Short letters and messages written to the child, in the sender's own words.
• The small facts of the moment: the weather, the song playing, what was on the news, what the older siblings were doing.

Questions to ask the people you gather from

Most people freeze when asked to write "something meaningful." A short, specific question is easier to answer honestly. When inviting family and friends, consider prompting them with one of these:

• "What was your first thought when you met them?"
• "What do you hope they always know about themselves?"
• "What story do you want them to hear one day?"
• "What do you hope your relationship with them becomes?"
• "What kind of person do you imagine they'll be?"

How a Preserve grows over time

A Preserve isn't finished the day it's created. Families come back at first birthdays, at holidays, when a great-grandparent has something they want the child to know, when a sibling wants to add their own voice as they grow older. The Preserve becomes a living collection — added to at the moments that matter, shared whenever the family chooses.