Expecting You: A Keepsake Pregnancy Journal

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Try to find the right day, time, and place for a time of peaceful reflection or meditation. Take a deep breath, exhale and consider what has happened and how you feel before you start putting pen to paper. The demands of pregnancy together with the weight gained puts an enormous amount of pressure on your body. 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. 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?

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. Best Pregnancy Journal For Mental Health/Self Care: The Pregnancy Workbook: Manage Anxiety and Worry with CBT and Mindfulness TechniquesThis spiral notebook is designed to keep parents organized, but it isn’t particularly sentimental or memorable. If you’re looking for a special keepsake item, this probably isn’t your best bet.

Depending on how nostalgic you are or how much you like to process things, a pregnancy journal may certainly be worth it! Maternity Pajamas | What To Wear After Giving Birth In Hospital | Maternity Tights | Maternity Yoga Pants + Leggings | Best Maternity Bras + Nursing Bras | Maternity Pants | Pregnancy Supplements | Pregnancy Skincare Must Haves In addition to hormonal changes, physical and emotional changes also lower your energy levels and make you feel fatigued. Pregnancy may be one of the most unique and amazing journeys you will ever experience. Taking some regular time to record it every day or two will give you a keepsake of memories to enjoy and share with your child. CollectExperts recommend pregnant women limit their caffeine intake to two home-brewed cups of coffee, or less than 200 milligrams, per day. Pamper yourself

Any drama or challenging times you experienced while pregnant – even if not directly pregnancy related! Personally, we love this pregnancy journal because it's a nice mix of freeform and prompts. Educational vs Documenting Ask for help from family and friends. Take a warm bath. Ask your partner for a massage. Take a break. 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. InclusivitySome pregnancy journals have an educational component to them. This typically includes cute “your baby is the size of a ( fruit)” or tips for common pregnancy symptoms at each stage. Others skip all of that and focus on documenting the pregnancy. This food journal is also a great way to learn about all of the different body changes that come with pregnancy. However, it’s not designed to be a sentimental keepsake—it’s more of a practical, organizational tool rather than a special memento. Also, keep in mind that different people may have specific nutritional needs, so be sure to follow your healthcare provider's guidance when it comes to your nutrition during pregnancy. Of course, it's a personal choice, but in our experience, the 9 months go so fast and even if all you do is record seemingly mundane topics like weird food cravings and the moment you realized you couldn’t see your feet anymore, it’s nice to have the memory for future reference. What is the best pregnancy journal? Final Thoughts: There are some pregnancy journal books that include space for the first year with baby or all the way up to five years, making them a grab option for hybrid pregnancy journal/baby books. Length of the journal: If you enjoy journaling and want to note down every detail of pregnancy, then consider taking a journal with ample writing space. A day-to-day or week-to-week journal would work.