Expecting You: A Keepsake Pregnancy Journal

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Small and oh-so-sweet, the pregnancy journal from Only Little follows simple weekly prompts “Dear Baby..” and “Dear Me…” to write notes, musings and words of wisdom to your bump and yourself, and learn how big baby is each week of your pregnancy. Most expectant parents like to highlight key milestones, including the first time they feel their baby move or the details from certain ultrasounds. Should my partner keep a pregnancy journal?

Likewise, having questionnaires helps some moms-to-be begin mentally preparing for what the fourth trimester will be like. However, some people don’t need that help. This might be especially true if this isn’t your first time pregnant. Design: Even if you're a past the first months of a pregnancy, you can still start a beautiful journal to cherish forever.

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Write your diary moments in your agenda, set an alarm, or link them to an activity in your day. Chances are that you will start keeping your diary fanatically, but later on, you will increasingly forget to write when you are busy or feeling tired. Make an appointment with yourself to write at fixed times. For example, when your partner is cooking or just before going to bed. If you're more of a visual person, you might prefer to take photos or draw pictures of your experiences and display them in a scrapbook. Hey there, mama-to-be. Congratulations on embarking on one of the most transformative journeys of your life. As you prepare to welcome your little bundle of joy into the world, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and forget some of the precious moments and emotions you experience along the way. I like to think of my pregnancy journal as more of a pregnancy memory book. Documenting all the pregnancy memories I want to remember for future pregnancies, or as a guide book for my future child in understanding my energy or choices while pregnant. Do I need both a pregnancy journal and a baby book?

Each week of pregnancy includes a description of your baby's development, as well as an explanation of the changes taking place in your body. You'll also find important medical info that will help keep you and your baby healthy.Just like with a scrapbook or standard journal, some pregnancy journals come with prompts. This can be ideal if you’re not used to writing in a journal and don’t know where to begin with documenting your pregnancy or recording your thoughts and feelings. Personally, we love this pregnancy journal because it's a nice mix of freeform and prompts. Educational vs Documenting You can start your pregnancy journal whenever you feel comfortable. Some parents prefer to wait until they’re a few weeks into their pregnancy while others like to start one the moment they find out they’re expecting. There’s no right or wrong answer about when to start a pregnancy journal — do what’s best for you. What should I write in my pregnancy journal?

Want to know what to expect during your pregnancy? You've come to the right place! Our illustrated pregnancy calendar is a detailed guide to all the changes taking place in your baby — and in you. Now that you know what you want to paste and write in your pregnancy diary, you can get started. But how do you go about that? We give you a few tips: Whether you’re a first-time mom or anxiously awaiting the birth of your third child, pregnancy is exciting, joyful, scary, and confusing all at once. Keeping a pregnancy journal is a great way to record all of the beautiful changes and thoughts that pop up throughout those long, tiresome months. “Pregnancy journals serve a number of purposes, such as a scrapbook, a health record, and/or a personal narrative,” says Joyce Marter, a licensed psychotherapist with 25 years of experience.

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Additionally, Marter recommends considering whom the pregnancy journal is for, and who in the baby’s life would like to participate. “Some pregnancy journals are just for the mothers, a few are just for fathers, and others are for couples,” she says. “It might be nice to ask your partner if they would like to be included or would rather pass. This gives them the opportunity to be included if they would like to,” Marter adds. If dad wants a journal all to himself, the “ First-Time Dad Journal: Monthly Prompts and To-Dos for Pregnancy and Beyond,” is specifically designed for him. Inclusivity Before selecting the best journal for you, consider if you’d like more space to document your emotions, thoughts, and stream of consciousness. If that’s the case, it’s best to select an open-ended journal with a lot of blank space and minimal instructions. If you’re looking for an easy, approachable way to document the many milestones of pregnancy, finding a journal with thoughtful prompts, like the “ Becoming Mama Keepsake Book,” is a great idea. After you announce your pregnancy, the first question you'll probably be asked is "When are you due?" At your first prenatal visit, your health care provider will help you determine an expected delivery date (EDD). Your EDD is 40 weeks from the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP). The most important thing that your pregnancy diary should reflect is you. As well as your thoughts and feelings, fears and hopes.

Describe in detail the unique situations you experience during pregnancy. With an increased amount of hormones, you are more emotional and forgetful. This often leads to situations that are (in retrospect) hilarious. Tips for keeping your pregnancy diary Keep your eyes on the price: You may not feel like updating your pregnancy diary every day or every week. Then try to imagine how much fun it would be to flip through your pregnancy book in a few years without missing a week or month.In addition to capturing special moments, a pregnancy diary may really help you work through some fluctuating emotions. Your pregnancy hormones could really make you feel a little fragile. It's important to find a healthy and constructive way to deal with the changes going on inside you. Joyce Marter, licensed psychotherapist and internationally published author specializing in self-esteem, empowerment, and mindfulness. She has experience working with women in areas such as fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum. This is a more open-ended journal that relies less on pregnancy prompts and more on freestyle journaling. Instead of recording details like mom’s first trip to the doctor, it’s a beautiful keepsake that focuses on the baby’s growth, birth story, and the first few days or weeks of the new baby’s life. If you have other children, this is a great way to stop and reflect on this specific child and pay some special attention to their unique way of coming into the world. We love that it includes a section where you can write letters to the baby, making it the perfect keepsake, especially for kids in larger families. This is a versatile book, too, so dads and other caregivers can easily participate in the journaling process. However, depending on what you plan to do with your pregnancy journal, you may want keep them separate. For instance, some mom's may want to leave their baby book as a coffee table book, but wouldn't want others to skim their pregnancy diary. Another common term you'll hear throughout your pregnancy is trimester. A pregnancy is divided into trimesters: