Five Fun Ways to Document Your Pregnancy
Five Fun Ways to Document Your Pregnancy
Cara Terreri, LCCE, CD(DONA)
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| Liz Abbene, one of our contributors, waiting for her belly cast to dry during her 4th pregnancy. |
Newly pregnant? Documenting your pregnancy is a fun way to preserve the memory of your growing baby and changing body, and your child will one day love looking at the images, notes, or letters where she was in your "tummy." Below are five fun ways to document your pregnancy.
1. Weekly belly photos. This can be done in SO many ways. It can be as simple as taking a profile photo of your belly in the same spot and same shirt every week of your pregnancy, or as elaborate as putting your images into a video, or creating a hard bound or digital book. You can keep your images simple, or add a note, message, or comparison item ("your baby is the size of a lemon...") for fun. For some inspiration, check out this weekly belly shots board on Pinterest.
2. Keep a pregnancy journal. Your journal can include photos, mementos, notes about your pregnancy, doctors' visits information, sonogram pictures, letters to your baby -- anything you want to preserve and share about your pregnancy. You can create your own, or you can purchase one of the many available online or at a major bookstore.
3. Weekly letters to your baby. This is not only a wonderful way to preserve the memories from your pregnancy, but also an amazing gift that your child will always treasure. You can write hand-written letters, you can set up an email account and email your baby, or your can blog your letters.
4. Professional maternity photo shoot. If you can swing it, professional maternity photos are a wonderful way to capture a moment in time during your pregnancy. You can have them taken solo or with your partner. Be sure to research different poses and shots before going to your shoot so that you get just the look you were hoping for (Google "maternity photo poses").
5. Belly cast. For a more three dimensional documentation of your pregnancy, you can have your belly cast so that you can preserve your shape forever. You can purchase a kit online or find someone locally who will come to your house and do it for you. Once your cast is dry, you can decorate or paint it as you like. Some moms also use their cast to pose their newborn for the first set of baby photos.