The Safest Way to Get Your Infant's Footprint

It's usually best to take an infant's footprint while she's sleeping.

Infant footprints are keepsake works of art that allow parents to capture their child's tiny size. Many parents make annual footprints of their children to demonstrate their rapid growth. There are several infant footprint kits available on the market, and most are safe to use with young babies. With careful planning, capturing an infant's footprint is completely safe and relatively easy.

Things You'll Need

• Infant footprint kit
• Paper
• Cardboard
• Washcloth

Instructions

1. Ask your pediatrician for a recommendation of a footprint kit. Most infant footprint kits contain non-irritating, non-toxic ink, but some babies have reactions even to these products. If your baby has skin allergies or sensitivities, ask your pediatrician to test your child for allergies to the ink you plan to use prior to taking her footprint.

2. Wait until your baby is sleeping soundly and then gently lift her foot and place it in the ink. Roll her foot back and forth across the ink. Avoid rubbing her foot in the ink, which can smear the ink and yield a blurry footprint.

3. Put the paper on a cardboard backing to keep it stable. Push your baby's foot onto the paper. Avoid moving her foot, which will result in a fuzzy footprint. When you're satisfied with the print, use a warm and damp washcloth to gently rub any remaining ink off of your child's foot.