How To Maintain A Pregnancy Journal?

Pregnancy is one of the most incredible phases of a woman’s life. It is a time for a woman to reflect and relish the phase that brings along a whole lot of changes, physical and emotional. By maintaining a journal, one can put to book the issues, concerns and experiences that come with pregnancy.

The quiet time of introspection and penning your thoughts would be the most important time you can spend on your journey to motherhood. Because believe me, nothing would ever remain the same, after pregnancy. And therefore, this powerful, private and perplexing time needs its own space as a record.

Getting Started Pregnancy Journal

Here’s how you can get started on your pregnancy journal.

1. Set up a journal in the form of a notepad/notebook if you want it as a memento to be handed over to your child. You may not want to share your thoughts initially, but years later they may be a revelation to the transformation you have undergone
2. You may also keep a digital journal in the form of text, pictures or videos. Thus enabling you to share it with other expectant mothers and letting you download it into an eBook or pdf once you are done
3. A scrap book or DIY journal is another option that you can split up according to the trimester-wise progress

Maintaining Your Journal

Set aside at least 15-20 minutes to record whatever you are experiencing at the moment- your fears, doubts, questions. There is never an incorrect record. Trust yourself and give it a go- whatever your feelings are, must find a vent to be recorded. Believe me, it is not just a record of events but a meaningful trajectory of your progress through this important phase of your life.

Right from the way that you made the announcement of your pregnancy to your spouse and friends & family. Every stage of your pregnancy is as special, so leave no details out.

You would discover that the information from one trimester of your term is as important for another as well. The physical changes that your body is undergoing are of paramount importance because they will lead you to the changes post-partum as well.

Your self-reflections into how do you balance your work and pregnancy, how your diet has altered and what measure of additions and deletions you are making from your schedule can also be recorded.

Just like any personal journal, your pregnancy journal must be as transparent and honest.

Share your innermost feelings, which can be in a dialogue with your unborn child as well. Talk about the things you look forward to, your hopes and dreams, the changes that you wish to encounter, your feelings towards your spouse at the moment, and the like.

To give it a twist, you can also ask your spouse or family to write a few lines or contribute in the form of pictures, scraps or their own experiences. You may put this in an envelope and add that to your journal as well.

Decorate Your Journal

This is the most exciting phase of keeping your journal. You can take pictures or selfies and paste them. Pictures of places that you visited or people who helped your through can be added.

The ultrasound records can go in there as well. Baby bump developments are another way of displaying and recording the changes. If you have had a baby shower, do use the pictures from therein as well.

Another beautiful way to adorn your journal is scraps of paper you or your spouse may have written on during the term. Congratulatory cards, baby shower invites, list of baby names or anything that has a symbolic significance can be added.

If you are creating a digital journal, videos and audios can form a great component. Adding links of the music you love to play during the time, special audios you may have played for the baby can be added as well.

The journal is not only a record of the progress of your pregnancy but it culminates with the birth. So, don’t forget to record the birth details. Include as many details as you can remember.

Try to record everything as close to the birth when the experience is fresh in your memory. Include pictures of the new born, the hospital room where you brought the baby first and even the nurses and doctors if you can! These are valuable memories that you would love to cherish years later as well.

Wishing you an extremely special pregnancy!

Did you maintain a journal during your pregnancy? Are you already maintianing one? What all did you include in your journal? Share it with us in the comments section below, as we would love to hear from you.