We had never thought of Pregnancy Journaling until we met a lovely woman at a market who told us that was how she planned to use her new Riveted By Design journal. She is the inspiration for this blog post!
To learn more about Pregnancy Journaling we connected with Heidi of Yellowbird Birth here in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. Heidi is a placenta encapsulation specialist, mother of three, and the owner of Yellowbird Birth. Special thanks to Heidi for sharing her time, knowledge and thoughts with us!
Pregnancy journaling is not a new concept, but it has become more mainstream over the years. As the popularity of #mindfulness practices grow, people of all walks of life are bringing more attention to their thoughts, feelings, physical and spiritual bodies. Pregnancy is a special time and it’s a perfect opportunity for women to slow down and integrate more self awareness and self care practices into their daily routine. Heidi describes journaling as “a wonderful way to be present during pregnancy”. Journaling can help bring awareness to emotions, aches and pains, and help women stay in tune with all the changes occurring on a daily basis.
“ Pregnancy journaling is also a nice way to track and remember milestones of pregnancy like baby’s growth, hearing the heartbeat, and feeling movement.”
Pregnancy journaling has plenty of benefits. Journaling provides an outlet for hopes, fears, and stress. With greater self awareness comes an increased ability to recognize personal needs and create healthy boundaries. Journaling can be an excellent organizational tool as well, helping women to keep track of appointments. Appointments can be overwhelming, so jotting down thoughts around how an appointment went, questions that came up, and recommendations to remember from the care provider can be quite useful for referring to later. It’s also a nice way to track and remember milestones of pregnancy like baby’s growth, hearing the heartbeat, and feeling kicks movement. Women may choose to keep ultrasound and lab work results in their journals as well.
When you think about it, the possibilities are endless. Heidi describes pregnancy journaling as “writing a love story” or a “love letter” to baby. It’s a beautiful way to bond with the #baby and as she points out, pregnancy journaling isn’t just for moms. It can help partners get a jump start on bonding and #connection to baby too. It’s a fun and meaningful way to share stories about pregnancy and #birth - what life was like before and during pregnancy, world and personal events, cravings, how names were chosen.
One thing is clear: each pregnancy journal will look different. There’s a lot of flexibility in how it can be done. It doesn’t have to be fancy, it can be as simple as how a woman slept and how she was feeling on a particular day. Writing can be narrative or point form. Keep mementos, use photos to help document, write poems and stories, be creative - or stay organized, make lists, and collect relevant info. Create a journal with the intention of sharing it with the child - or keep it private. It all comes down to preference and personal style, but regardless - #pregnancy #journaling has many assets.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Prospective parents - would you keep a pregnancy journal? Do you think it would be a creative / storytelling style or a planning / organizing style… or would it be a combination of styles?!
Parents - did you (or your partner) keep a pregnancy journal? How did journaling impact your pregnancy? Do you plan to share parts or all of the journal with your child?
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