Becoming a mother is a life changing experience and you’ll have many memories along the way that that you’ll want to savor. Making a pregnancy journal or photo book will give you a lasting memento of your blessed event from conception to birth. Think how exciting it will be to watch your body grow and see the baby develop from outside the womb. There are so many things that happen during that nine-month period and you can capture it all for future reminiscing.
To help you with your project, I have put together a few tips for making a book filled with poignant photos and stories that you can share with your family as well as your child when he or she is older.
How You Found Out
You could start your book with a brief synopsis of how you and your husband or significant other met and where you were living when you got pregnant, how old you are and where you were when you learned you were expecting. You could write about how you were feeling, your symptoms and your joy when you learned you were expecting a baby.
If you have a cell phone or camera, you might try to record the moment you found out you were pregnant. Your reaction will be priceless if you or another person can capture your facial expressions when you either read the home-pregnancy test or you hear about it in your doctor’s office.
Baby Reveal
Be sure to capture your husband’s reaction, as well as family members when they hear the big news. These pictures will be a great story on their own and a super start to your photo journal. You can add a note beside the photos about how you told your husband and family and their reaction and how far along you were when you made the big announcement.
Document Each Trimester
Your maternity book could have a section for each trimester with photos showing your body’s changes. Don’t forget your ultrasound images. These amazing pictures would make a great addition to your photo book to show your baby’s development inside the womb. You can include such information as when you found out the baby’s gender or write about how you felt upon seeing your baby inside your womb for the first time and other significant events.
Babymoon
Hopefully you and your hubby can take one last trip together as a couple before your baby comes. My sister sent me some wonderful photos of her and her husband floating in the pool at their Maui hotel on their own “babymoon” trip. She even enjoyed showing off her substantial belly in her bikini!
Capture Your Cravings
One thing that many women do not think about photographing is their cravings and how they change their regular habits. It might be a lot of fun later to look back on the different and perhaps bizarre foods you ate, so grab your camera and take pictures of that crazy pickles and ice cream combo or whatever weird concoction you crave. Think about other situations, like how you have to gingerly get yourself down to sit on the couch or how even tying your shoes is becoming a problem, and take some pictures. Have fun with it. These could be hilarious photos to have in your maternity book and to look back on later.
Chronicle Your Baby Shower
When family members, friends, neighbors or office associates hold a baby shower for you, why not ask one or two people to take candid shots for you? Photos of you opening your gifts, your reaction if it is a surprise shower, cutting the cake, and other important memories such as pictures of your own grandmothers and the grandmothers and aunts to-be, will be super additions to your pregnancy photo album. Don’t forget the decorations and the cake. My sister’s mother-in-law made a beautiful cake for her baby shower and of course it was extra special because it was made with love. Some people go all-out with themed decorations and special food and those photos will also make fun remembrances.
The excitement shown by everyone else at the shower will help you to remember the good times of your pregnancy so you can forget about your swollen ankles and multiple trips to the bathroom. Be sure to add a page with the guest list and gifts received. Not only will this make sending thank you notes easier, but you can show the baby when he or she is a bit older. Most photo book companies offer text-only page layouts, and it’s easy to copy and paste your guest and gift list into your book.
Baby Bump Belly Shots
To keep track of how much your baby is growing, take some belly shots. It is hard to believe that a real human being is inside there, but when the stomach starts to protrude, you can bask in the delight of knowing that you are getting closer to seeing your little one. You could have a whole series of belly bump shots taken at different stages and include the dates to show your progression.
Consider Hiring a Pro
Think about having a layout done by a professional photographer. Depending on her level of expertise and creativity, you should be able to get some very intimate and unique pictures. A good pregnancy photographer will suggest poses that highlight your unborn baby and your beautiful growing body. She will also be able to integrate props in a professional, tasteful and caring manner, such as a sheer scarf draped over your bare belly, or a personal setting between you and your spouse.
Baby’s Nursery
Lastly, don’t forget to take shots while you are preparing the room for the baby. Take before, during and after photos. When the nursery is complete, take a final picture of the room with all the baby’s lovely gifts you received throughout your pregnancy.
Finding Pregnancy Photo Journal Templates
You don’t need to be especially creative to put together an attractive pregnancy book. I’ve checked out a number of online photo services and found some beautiful templates where you just need to add photos and text. You can customize them as well with cute stickers and embellishments and if you wish you can change the layout and background colors as well as the fonts. Shutterfly and Mixbook have templates specifically for pregnancy photo books that you can customize to your liking. I used Shutterfly’s
theme for the image at the top of this post.
Indeed, it may be a lot of work to document your journey through pictures and words, but in the end, you and your family will enjoy your pregnancy photo book for years to come.
