Baby Milestone Photo Ideas with a Japanese Seasonal Twist
Last Updated on September 4, 2025 by Kay
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When my daughter was born, I knew I wanted to document her first year with monthly baby milestone photos. But I also wanted to do it in a way that felt meaningful for our multicultural family, something a little more than just her lying on a blanket next to a printed or wooden number. (Not that there’s anything wrong with this!)
Living in Japan, I’m surrounded by seasonal beauty and centuries-old traditions that embrace and celebrate nature. My husband is also Japanese, so I thought, what if I based my daughter’s milestone photos on Japanese traditions surrounding each month and the seasons?
This post is part love letter to how beautifully Japan marks each month and season, and part practical inspiration if you’re thinking of doing milestone photos for your own baby, whether you’re in Japan or just looking to add more intentionality and beauty to the way you capture your baby’s growth.
Table of Contents
So, What Are Baby Milestone Photos?
I’ve covered this earlier, but just as a refresher, baby milestone photos are a popular way to visually mark your baby’s development monthly during the first year of their life.
Some parents keep them simple with a picture of the baby lying down next to a milestone card and perhaps a chalkboard or whiteboard with the month and date written on it. Others go all out with props and backdrops, but it’s completely up to you! At the end of the day, the star of the photo is your child, and you’ll always look back on the pictures you took fondly.
Personally, I went the “all out” route, so I thought I would share my experience and tips.
Why Seasonal Monthly Baby Pictures Made Sense for Us
In Japan, each of the four seasons is celebrated through festivals and holidays. Beyond this, each month has something to appreciate and celebrate, such as colorful hydrangea in June and autumn leaves in November.
I found that by tying each monthly milestone photo to a monthly seasonal theme in Japan, I not only created more visually interesting images, but I also built in little moments of celebration, even on days when I was exhausted from running on very little sleep.
One Year of Japanese Seasonal Baby Photo Themes
Here’s how I approached my daughter’s milestone pictures for each month. I will introduce them in the order I took them, so you can see my daughter’s growth from a newborn to a one-year-old as well.
As you’ll find out, this is a very realistic look at what it’s like to take seasonal and cultural monthly milestone photos, as it’s far from perfect! I had to improvise on the spot a lot as well.
August – NO THEME!
August was when my daughter turned one month old. I hadn’t thought of seasonal photos or any themes at the time, so I used a monthly milestone blanket I bought online (which I soon discovered would be too small later on). However, I did dress her in a cute jinbei.
I circled the month using fake cherry blossom petals.
September: Tsukimi (Moon Viewing)
September in Japan is traditionally known for Tsukimi, a moon-viewing festival. So I incorporated Tsukimi themes in my daughter’s 2-month-old milestone photo:
- A round yellow moon shaped using a t-shirt
- Otsukimi dango (rice cakes) shaped using paper wrapped with tissues
- A Sanpou (wooden stand) made using cardboard
- Leaves and pampas grass from the 100 yen store
- Clouds made from cotton
- Stars cut out from paper
I also dressed my daughter in a rabbit outfit.
The emerald green backdrop is a bedsheet.
I had my husband cut out the month in Japanese (２ヶ月) using a piece of paper, which we decided to continue for the other milestone pictures.
For more information on this September tradition in Japan, read my article all about Tsukimi.
October: Halloween
I love Halloween, and it’s become quite popular in Japan over the years, which is why I decided to do a Halloween-themed 3-month milestone photo for my daughter.
All of the decorations are from the 100 yen store, and we kept them to use for following years.
The backdrop consists of four pieces of craft felt paper.
November: Pocky Day
November 11th is known as Pocky Day in Japan because 11 looks like two pieces of Pocky next to each other. So I decided to go a Pocky-themed milestone photo for my daughter.
This featured maple leaves for autumn since November is peak fall foliage season, and of course, Pocky. I decided to make it seem like my daughter was coming out of a box of Pocky, which was super cute.
She was four months old in this picture (４ヶ月), which I “wrote” using Pocky.
The background is a blanket.
December: Christmas
December is most known for Christmas, even in Japan, so I made a Christmas-themed milestone photo to commemorate my daughter turning 5 months.
All the decorations were bought from the 100 yen store, but I made sure to reuse them again for next Christmas. The “5 Months” (５ヶ月) was made using ribbon.
January: Oshogatsu (New Year)
My daughter turned 6 months in January. I decided to make her milestone picture Japanese New Year-themed. I made a red sun and Mount Fuji using T-shirts. The other decor is from the 100 yen store.
It was the Year of the Mouse that year, so I put mouse ears from Tokyo Disney on my daughter. This headband is for adults, but it fit her perfectly! (Yes, my daughter has a big head.)
February: Valentine’s Day
Yes, Valentine’s Day is a thing in Japan! It’s a little different than in the West as women give chocolate to men, and then get a return present on March 14th (White Day).
To celebrate, I cut out hearts using multicolored paper. I tried to make it look like candy hearts and wrote things like “Love Bug”, but I should have used a red marker instead of a pen because it was too light and didn’t show up in the photo.
The 7 months (７ヶ月) was made using heart-shaped confetti, and the background is white felt.
February is also known for the Setsubun festival in Japan, so another idea for this month would be to dress the baby in a little Japanese demon costume and put a demon mask next to them with a tiny tray of soybeans.
March: Cherry Blossoms and Hinamatsuri (Girls’ Day)
March in Japan is known for the start of cherry blossom season and Hinamatsuri, a festival that celebrates girls. So I decided to combine these traditions by scattering faux cherry blossom petals and flowers around my daughter. I put a cherry blossom-pattern piece of felt behind her to look like a mat, which people sit on when viewing sakura.
I also dressed her in traditional Japanese clothing for Hinamatsuri.
April: Easter
Easter is not really a thing in Japan, although you will find decorations for some reason at 100 yen stores. However, since I’m Canadian, I wanted to base my daughter’s 9-month milestone photo on Easter.
I made the tulips and eggs myself using cardboard paper. I placed her bunny rattles around her (I really love rabbits). The rest of the decorations are from the 100 yen store.
May: Flowers
This is the month when I had to think of something on the spot because I hadn’t prepared in advance.
If I had time, I would have made a Children’s Day-themed milestone photo featuring tiny koinobori streamers.
But alas, I did not have the time for that. (I believe this was around the time I went back to work after maternity leave.)
So, I placed a blanket down and decided to do a spring-themed milestone photo featuring origami flowers I made. I wrapped a towel around my daughter and secured it with a piece of pink ribbon so she looked like a bouquet.
I made the 10-month sign using colorful balls from her ball pit.
June: Tsuyu (Rainy Season)
June is the rainy season in Japan, but it’s also known for beautiful hydrangea (my favorite flowers). So I combined both to mark my daughter turning 11 months.
I made an origami umbrella and a frog, and I scattered faux hydrangea petals and flowers throughout. I made 11 months (１１ヶ月) using raindrops I cut from paper.
July: One Year Old!
When my daughter turned a year old, we were quite busy with her first birthday celebrations (which are very interesting in Japan).
I also wanted to compare how much my daughter had grown from a wee one-month-old, so I decided to use the same milestone blanket and also put her in a jinbei.
As you can see, she barely fit on the blanket, which is why I stopped using it back when she was two months old!
July in Japan is known for Tanabata, otherwise known as the Star Festival in Japan. So if you want to do this theme, you can place craft paper stars around your baby with some craft bamboo and tanzaku, small rectangular pieces of paper where you write your wish. You could write many wishes for your baby’s future, which would be super cute and meaningful.
Tips for Taking Seasonal Baby Milestone Pictures
You don’t need fancy equipment or professional lighting to take great milestone photos. Here’s what helped me:
- Use what’s around the house to create the background. For instance, a shirt can be folded up to create different shapes.
- Pick up additional resources at craft shops or the dollar store. Make sure to keep them for craft time with your child in the future! (We don’t want to waste anything!)
Use natural light whenever possible. A bright window during the day is your best friend.
Take the picture right after a nap and feed for a happy, smiley baby.
- If your kid is still fussy, try to make them laugh by doing something funny. (At nine months, my daughter liked it when I called her stinky, because she’s a strange child.)
If you’re short like me, use a stool. I often stood on one so that I could get the whole shot.
- Ask for your partner’s help in case you have a child who enjoys rolling over every five seconds.
Keep it simple and don’t overthink it because the goal isn’t perfection. That is just a recipe for stress!
Want to Start Your Own Seasonal Monthly Photo Tradition?
You obviously don’t have to follow Japanese themes. Instead, you can incorporate your ow family’s culture, use holidays you celebrate, the weather where you live, or whatever makes sense for your family. For example, one of my friends placed an orange next to her kid (a fruit she craved when she was pregnant) to show her son’s growth. You could even do country themes for places you want to visit with your child when they’re older.
Honestly, the best milestone pictures are the ones that reflect your world and what’s important to your family.
So for those of you who are contemplating going the extra mile when it comes to monthly milestone photos, here are a few easy ideas to get started:
Pick a theme (flowers, festivals, colors, animals) and let it guide you each month
Make a recurring prop — a little chalkboard with the month written on it, a toy that your child loves
Keep a shared photo folder so family abroad can follow along (we like Family Album)
Most importantly, have fun with it. You don’t need the perfect idea, especially the first time. (As you’ve seen from my personal experience.)
It was a pain to prepare these monthly picture shoots, but looking through our photo collection now, I’m so grateful I stuck with it. Even when it felt like one more thing on an endless to-do list, these pictures turned into a time capsule of my daughter’s first year in this wonderful world.
And if you do try this seasonal photo project, please tag me @TinyTotInTokyo — I’d love to see how you’re celebrating your baby’s most recent milestone.