DO all of you take videos of your children???

[aliceinwonderland]

We don't own a videocamera...Is this something everyone does? I thought pictures (digital and otherwise) were enough, but I don't want to miss on the fun :) :)

Also, what do you do for long-term storage of pictures?? Burn CDs??

Eri--Mother to Erik James, April 29, 2004

[hez]

We don't own a video camera, but our digital camera takes short videos, so that's what we've been doing. I'm conflicted about whether I want to get a video (or DVD) camera in the future... Especially with a vacation coming up (lots of family). I was able to email a 5 or 10 second video to the family and they were in heaven. It's a long upload, though, even with a cable modem.

We've been burning *all* our pictures to CD's, even though I'm printing out my favorites for the scrapbook. We also make multiple copies of the picture CD's-- they make GREAT gifts for family who lives far away!

[Marisa6826]

We have one (bought it right before Sophie was born) but never use it. We really need to get on the ball about using it more.

I was really happy to get Sophie's first giggles on video. Nothing like hearing that wonderful noise!!

And as far as long term storage, we burn CDs on our Mac.

-m

[crl]

We're refusing to own a video camera. No kids yet, but we are in the process of adopting our first from China. I've had people practically acuse me of child abuse for planning not to take a video camera to China with us. We both hate being video taped so it would just ruin the experience for us. But, if you don't mind being on video camera, I know a lot of people think it's great.

On storage, the plan is to burn CDs.

[egoldber]

Well, we have one, but don't use it a lot, every few months or so. But I wouldn't even consider NOT having one. It does capture the "experience" much more than still photos do. We recently watched old movies my ILs took of DH as a toddler and the way that DD's mannerisms echo his as a child is totally uncanny.

Some people are sort of video commandos. We have taken some adorable video of her, but I don't feel compelled to video her every waking moment, you know? It is also nice to be able to make a tape to send off to grandparents who don't get to see her very often.

HTH,

[billysmommy]

Our digital camera takes up to 3 minute videos so we use that. For Billy's b-day we burned video cd's for everyone to take home with them. They were a big hit. We have burning pics to cd's for storage and sending them to family.

[luvbeinmama]

LOL!!! We have one that MIL gave us and it got used until DS was old enough to notice the camera and come up to it, so that every video was a video of him looking into the camera... all face! LOL!!! :P

[JLiebCamm]

We have one but practically have to force ourselves to get it out. It seems so much easier to take pictures. I agree that there are some moments that a video camera can capture best (like first steps, the sound of baby laughing, etc.) and try to at least record these things.

[papal]

Yes! Ours is borrowed from my sister because she constantly wants new video clips of Leela. Everyone in my family looks forward to the small clips I put up every now and then. My parents, who are in India, especially love them!

[C99]

We don't. We have a digital camera that takes mini-films (about 15 seconds or so) and that's enough for us.

[Rachels]

Well, okay, I am in the minority here at the moment, but I have to say that I really love having one. Ours has limited frills, but the older she gets, the more I cherish those sweet baby videos. You swear you'll never forget, but you really do. We recently transferred all our stuff, and I was startled by all the things that had slipped my mind-- and I LOVE hearing the newborn squeaks and grunts that she hasn't done in sooooooooo long now. We tape sporadically, but there is a little bit of her at least every month or two, and I'm SO glad we did that.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[egoldber]

I also love watching Sarah's videos. And so does Sarah, LOL! :) And having an almost 3 year old (yikes! how did that happen!), I agree that you DO forget things that you think you will never forget. I look at the video now and I honestly cannot remember her being that small.

When the milestones were more frequent, we took video once a month or so. Now that she's older, we do it less frequently, but still try to capture significant milestones and new experiences.

I know someone who did video every month (just a few minutes) on their child's "month birthday" for the first year, and I thought that was a great idea.

[emilyf]

We didn't have one until he was about 9 months or so, but he started doing this hilarious on command dancing that we really felt we needed to have on tape. Now we whip it out every once in a while, and took it with us on vacation. I like having the random video of every day stuff which is mostly what we've taken-we're not much on videoing parties and outings.
Emily \r\nmom of Charlie born 11/02

[em_jon98]

Our digital also takes short videos, and has a mic on the front to record sound. I think I would probably get a camcorder if we didn't have a digital with sound recording. I want to remember the way Lindsey talks...sometimes she says things in Lindsey-language. I want to have that to remember. Lindsey also likes to watch her videos. She is entertained for a good 15-30 minutes by flipping through her videos and pictures on the computer, and I love to go through them as well.

We probably won't get a camcorder now though. It is so easy to whip out the digital to take a short film when I want to capture a precious moment, and I cannot imagine lugging a camcorder around. Plus, we know a few people who already own camcorders and would be willing to lend them if we ever needed to take a longer video, like for a dance recital, play, or athletic event.

I would burn your photos to CD for long term storage. Not only are they "backed up" in case of a computer issue, but you also don't have them taking up space on your hard drive.

[snp624]

We do! I love having her movies! When I see ones from her newborn phase, I realize she has changed sooo much, and I am already appreciating them. I think DD will enjoy them too when she is older. Of course lots of them will only be enjoyed by immediate family, for example the one DH is filming her sleeping for 5 minutes, saying "oh, she might wake up now..." like 10 times!

I don't have my movie as a child, but DH does. It's old 8mm, so I haven't seen it since we don't have the equipments. But I am dying to see them. Neither of us like to be in the film now as adults, but he likes having his movies as a baby, and I would have liked to have mine.

Also mother is in Japan, and she've only visited here for a week in December, so she always ask for the next tape every time we talk on the phone! So we HAVE TO keep filming. Camcorder was a gift from my mother :)

[JElaineB]

We don't have a video camera but we do occassionally take 30 second videos of him with the digital camera. Come to think of it I don't think I've taken any pictures of him in months. I really meant to today, but he got a fever so it didn't happen. I really should take a few more before he starts kindergarten!!!

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[ppshah]

We have one and use it sporadically. DH has bought this expensive editing progrma and promises a great scrapbook video one day- but that project has not strated. I think it will be nice to have. I still love looking at the videos of my family when we were kids.

[Vajrastorm]

We don't.

Our new digital takes short videos, but we haven't used it for that purpose yet, and we don't own any specialized video equipment.

[August Mom]

Our plan was not to have a video camera. We invested in a digital camera and thought that was enough. Well, I wound up having DS 13 days past my due date. I guess that gave me too much time to think. I was scheduled to be induced (on the day that DS was born, but labor started on its own). Anyway, 3 days before my scheduled induction, I started obsessing about recording us bringing DS home from the hospital. For some reason, I really wanted that memory on tape. So, the day before DS was born, I went video camera shopping. I wound up getting a pretty good deal because the salesman knew I was buying. LOL Anyway, I love having the video camera. I don't use it daily or anything, but I do try to capture new things that DS does, take it on trips, record holiday celebrations, etc. I think it really does capture certain memories better than a still camera, especially those that involve sound and motion.

We make our video recordings into movies with editing software. We select what portion of the various clips we want, set them to music and burn the whole thing to DVD.

[amp]

We do take video regularly of our son. I wanted the video camera to be here before DS arrived and we bought it about a year before he got here. We use it a lot! And then we edit video to make it cute and succint and burn it to a video CD and send to the grandparents.

With digital pics, we store them all on the computer and then burn picture CD's for the grandparents every month or so. We also burn discs of these pics to keep in case the computer should crash.

[alkagift]

Catherine,
I just saw my cousin's adoption video in China and I'll tell you most of the video is dead centered on the child, not the parents! The moment of the "gotcha" (which is what our family calls the moment the baby was put into her mothers hands) was the climatic moment, but the rest was just interesting to see the Chinese culture for those of us who were not there. Honestly, though, they were able to sneak pictures of her orphanage when they went for a visit by leaving the camera running, tucked under their arm--and captured pictures of the baby's crib and nannies. Without the video camera that would not have been possible. Just food for thought--I'm sure you'll be happy with whatever YOU decide!

Allison
Mommy to Matthew Clayton, 5/19/03