Preserving your pregnancy memories

While it may feel as though you’ll be pregnant for an eternity, nine months will pass by before you know it. P&N gives you a few ideas to make your pregnancy more memorable.

Start a keepsake box.

A keepsake box is the perfect place to store the odds and ends that you just can’t bring yourself to throw out, and it’s an effortless way to hold onto your life-changing memories forever. Toss in those precious sonogram pictures and some mementos and photos from your baby shower. Once baby arrives you can add her tiny hospital bracelet and other keepsakes, like the first tooth she loses and a lock of hair from her first trip to the salon.  

Keep a journal.
No doubt your emotions are all over the place, and getting them out on paper is not only good for the soul—it also makes for good reading and reflection when your baby is packing his backpack for his first day of kindergarten. You’ll enjoy looking back on this crazy, exciting time and once your child is old enough, he’ll probably enjoy reading about what your life was like while you anticipated his arrival.

Create a pregnancy scrapbook.
A step up from a memory box, a scrapbook is a great way for crafty (or even not-so-crafty!) moms to document their days as an expectant mom. Scrapbooking materials can be found in pretty much any store these days, and the aisles filled with squiggly scissors and stamps á la 4th grade will bring you hours of fun! A gorgeous scrapbook makes a great coffee table piece, and will allow everyone who visits to share in your memories.  

Don’t lose the belly.
A belly cast is a cool and fun way to forever document your baby-housing body. Kits come with easy instructions, and creating your belly cast can be a great activity at your baby shower or as a girls-night-in project. Some casts can be painted, meaning you can deck it out just how you like—and it definitely makes for an interesting conversation piece!

Document with photos.
Take pictures of your belly at every stage, once a month from conception to delivery. You will be amazed to see how it grows! Whether you choose to frame the photos or simply keep them for yourself, you’ll be happy to have them to look back on (no matter how unattractive you might feel while you’re taking them!). Many professional photographers offer this service, or you can easily take the pictures at home.

Preserving your memories in the digital age
For some moms, paper and pen is passé—it’s all about what you can do with today’s technology. Here are a few ideas for the tech-savvy mama:

Start a blog or family web page.
You can document your day-to-day life and keep family and friends updated on your baby-growing progress by posting pictures, commentary and even a link to your baby registry.

Make your memories digital by utilizing an online scrapbooking service, such as howfasttheygrow.com. Simply upload pictures from your camera and use the templates to easily make gorgeous pages personalized with your own notes.

Products we love

Our pick: Make memory jotting easy with this made-for-pregnancy journal, which lets you document your to over 60 fill-in colored pages.

 
Tummy Talk $28 at babysakes.com

 

Our pick: Show that beautiful belly off! Looking back, it will be hard to believe that was actually your tummy (or your breasts)!
 
Proud Body $35 at amazon.com

 

Our pick: This gorgeous memory box comes with labeled pouches for important “firsts” and also has plenty of room for you to add other mementos worth holding on to.
 
       Suzibella $49 at suzibella.com