I put together a little pregnancy journal/scrapbook while I was pregnant, wanting to document the experience and feel more connected to the little person I was growing. I kept it pretty informal and made little collages and did an entry every couple of weeks. I remember reading some journal entries my mum had written in an old exercise book from when I was a baby that recounted mundane daily happenings and I really enjoyed it. It wasn't necessarily about the big milestones, but about things we did together on that day; what my brother was doing, where my dad was, the creative projects she was working on, etc.
I have seen a bunch of ready-made pregnancy books that you can buy but I felt like some seemed a bit impersonal and bland (*stick photo of ultrasound here* *write meaningful entry about your last checkup here*). It was important to me that I be honest in my entries and write about things that were happening in our life, good and bad and fears and worries I was having. I tried to recount some things we were doing and places we were going as well as the little milestones like finding out the sex. I thought I'd just share some of the pages (I guess some of the entries are a bit personal).
If you're thinking you'd like to keep a similar kind of journal but you're not sure what you'd write about/include, here are some ideas that I hope might help:
+ It was Spring when we found out we were expecting so we collected flowers and leaves from that first month and pressed them.
+ I included the postcard we sent out as thanks to our wedding guests.
+ A mix cd of music you're listening to at the moment (I would have loved one from my parents!).
+ Expected due date.
+ Ultrasound pictures (obviously) - what details were you able to see, what was the baby doing?
+ Are you finding out the sex? Why/why not?
+ Documenting the changes your body is going through - morning sickness, cravings, aches and pains, when you started showing, how you feel about your belly, feeling movements, etc.
+ Photos of your growing belly. I think I can only recall seeing one photo of my mum pregnant (and I think she had cornrows?!) and I really wished I could have seen more photos of my parents from around that time. Even just one is a nice addition if you're not keen on taking a lot of photos of yourself.
+ An informal kind of family tree - e.g. Your cousins are... Your great grandparents were...
+ Little updates based on hospital visits - how the pregnancy is progressing, how big you're measuring, hearing the heartbeat for the first time, thoughts on seeing the ultrasound, etc.
+ Name ideas for male and female (I'd love to know what other names my parents were considering).
+ A rough idea of things that are happening in the world at the time - e.g. Interesting world events, notable people who have recently passed away, who is the prime minister/president, what movies are coming out, songs/artists that are popular, things that are happening locally, etc.
+ A general idea of what life is like for you at the moment - What jobs do you and your partner do? What do you do in your spare time? Where are you living? Who are your close friends? What music are you listening to? What TV shows are you watching? What do you look like? What relatives live nearby? Siblings? Pets? What car do you drive? What websites are you addicted to? (I can't imagine Facebook will always be around, can you?)
+ Hopes for the future - what changes would you like to make to the things mentioned above? Where do you hope to be in 5-10 years? What hopes do you have for your child?
+ At least one entry from your partner (C did one for me after I pestered him for ages and it is so sweet).
+ A description of your partner. How did you meet? What are their best traits? What kind of parent do you think they'll be?
+ Photos of where you live - your house, your street, places around your town you frequent (imagine how these things might change over time).
+ Some of your favourite and least favourite things about pregnancy.
+ Things you're wondering about e.g. What occupation they'll grow up to have, what coloured eyes they'll have, if you'll be able to see a lot of yourself in them, etc.
+ Photos of their nursery/space as you put it together - mention things you've been buying, gifts you've been given, etc. What preparations have you made for their arrival? Do you feel prepared? Feeling nesty?
+ The price of bread, milk, stamps, etc (these things change so much over time).
+ Baby shower recount & photos (if you have one).
+ A recent photo of you and your partner together.
+ Photos of any siblings or pets.
+ Newspaper clippings from around the time they are born.
+ Hopes and fears about becoming a parent - what kind of parent do you hope to be?
+ Memories of your own parents.
I think it's important that what you include fits you and doesn't feel cliched or too cheesy. I wanted the book to be something that I could look back on after the pregnancy and enjoy, but I addressed each entry to my baby, knowing that I'll one day give it to him. I'm still adding entries as it has lots of pages left and will probably last until his first birthday (then I'll start another), though it is hard to find the time to get out all of my supplies, so they're looking kind of bland!I hope he enjoys reading the book I put together when he is older (though if I make one for each year he'll probably be like "oh mum, not another one!").
I hope it will be a starting point for lots of other questions about things I didn't even think to include!
Ps. I only noticed after taking these photos that one of my cats has lightly chewed on the corner of the cover! Cheek!
