There are A LOT of tacky baby memory books out there, something I learned while searching for one right before M’s arrival.  Trying to find a baby book without cartoon animals, bows and childlike bubble fonts is no easy task.  Here are four finds with modern designs, subdued colors and clean layouts (clockwise from top):

1.  Velvet Raptor Photo Album: I still haven’t come to terms with spending $170 on a blank photo album but when I do, this is the one I’ll be buying.  This isn’t really a baby book, but it would make an unbelievably gorgeous heirloom photo album so I had to include it.  In colors like tourmaline, sea green and avocado, these rich velvet albums deserve to be displayed front and center… so it’s a good thing the brand also makes ridiculously cool Ghost and Milk slipcases for protecting and displaying your album on a bookcase or on a coffee table as a piece of art.

2.  Yasmeen Ismail Baby Journal: I know I said no cartoon animals but these are totally different.  Illustrator and British Animation Award-winner Yasmeen Ismail combines vibrant watercolors, fun journal entries and small envelopes in which to place mementos such as sonograms, a lock of hair or a token picked up during baby’s first outing to create a wonderfully whimsical baby book.

3.  Welcome, Baby! Keepsake Book: a very Anthropologie/Rifle Paper Company-esque keepsake album that chronicles baby’s life from baby shower to first birthday, with spots to jot down even the tiniest details from favorite songs to first giggles.  This book contains a great amount of space to record memories and milestones and is fantastic for provoking thought and reflection.    

4.  Binth Baby Book: this handcrafted, clothbound book records memories all the way through the third year and comes complete with its own keepsake box.  A modern design and gorgeous woodland illustrations in gender-neutral colors make this the perfect shower gift for that design-minded friend who is anti-gender reveal.