Handprints or Footprints for Newborns: Which Should You Do First?

When you're holding your brand-new baby in one arm and a keepsake kit in the other, a surprisingly tricky question pops up: do you go for the hand or the foot first?

It feels like it shouldn't matter. But anyone who's tried knows that getting it right first time, when you're running on broken sleep and pure love, makes all the difference. So here's the honest answer, from a family who's helped capture thousands of these tiny prints.

This is something our co-founder Ashley knows better than most. As a Memory Catcher, she takes hand and footprints from 10 to 20 babies a day, Monday to Friday - so the advice below isn't theory, it's what genuinely works when you're holding a wriggly newborn. It's the same work other parents now do in their own areas as Memory Catchers themselves.

Our finished hand and footprint kit product being beautifully displayed in one of our customers' homes

The Short Answer: Footprints First

For newborns, footprints are almost always the easier win.

It comes down to those tiny fists. Newborns have a natural grasp reflex that keeps their hands curled shut for the first few months, which makes a clean, open handprint genuinely tricky in the early days. Feet, on the other hand, don't have the same stubborn instinct. Hold the foot gently by the ankle, roll it from heel to toe, and it opens beautifully.

It's why, when Ashley arrives to print a newborn, she'll almost always reach for a foot first - it's the surest way to get a lovely clear print before baby has a chance to grumble. That's also why most hospitals take footprints, not handprints, in those first few days.

Footprints are super easy to take using our inkless hand and footprint kits - leaving all the true detail, as you can see from this photo

When to Capture Each

Footprints - the first few days to weeks. This is when feet are at their most impossibly tiny. They're easy to print, baby is sleepy and content, and you capture that "I can't believe they were ever this small" detail. Don't wait too long - newborn feet plump up fast.

Handprints - around three to six months. This is when the grasp reflex relaxes and those fingers start to open willingly. You can absolutely try earlier (a sleeping newborn often relaxes their grip), but if you'd rather an easy life, a little patience pays off. The hands are still tiny and gorgeous at this age.

The lovely thing is you don't have to choose one or the other. Many parents do feet early, hands a few months later, and frame them together - a little timeline of those first precious months.

A Few Tips for Both

• Catch them sleeping. Deep sleep relaxes both hands and feet. Watch for limp limbs and steady breathing.

• Warm hands and feet print best. Cold extremities curl up - warm them in yours first.

• Use a firm surface. Pop a book or board under the paper so the print presses evenly.

• Have a few goes. Babies wriggle. The best keepsake is the one you actually managed to take, smudge and all.

• Skip the mess. Paint and ink make this far harder than it needs to be - an inkless wipe means no scrubbing tiny fingers or toes afterwards.

  
  

Why Not Both?

Honestly, our favourite keepsakes are the ones with a hand and a foot together. There's something about seeing those two tiny prints side by side that captures the whole of them - the hands that will one day wave goodbye at the school gate, the feet that will one day run circles around you.

Our Foil Hand & Footprint Kit is designed for exactly this. It includes everything you need for both, with four sheets of reactive paper so you can take your time and have a few attempts. Once you've captured prints you love, we transform them using our exclusive Foil Fusion Technology® into a keepsake that will never fade or yellow - the same the day your little one leaves home as the day you made it.

Quick Answers

Are handprints or footprints easier for newborns? Footprints are easier. Newborns keep their hands fisted thanks to the grasp reflex, while feet open readily when rolled from heel to toe.

When should I take my newborn's footprints? In the first few days to weeks, while feet are at their tiniest. Hospitals often do this within days of birth.

When can I take my baby's handprints? Around three to six months, when the grasp reflex relaxes - though a sleeping newborn's hand often opens enough to try earlier.

Can I do handprints and footprints together? Absolutely - many parents frame a hand and foot side by side. A good kit gives you enough materials for both.

Capture Them Both

Whether you start with those tiny toes or wait for an open little hand, you're freezing a moment that passes far too quickly.

Order your kit today and capture every tiny detail - hands, feet, and all.

Love, Ashley Co-founder, Bespoke Foil Company® & Memory Catcher Franchise™