5 Fun Ways You Can Document Your Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a season of life when time seems to crawl yet fly by all at the same time. Welcome to motherhood, mama! If you haven’t already heard the old adage about parenting, “The days are long but the years are short”, pregnancy is going to be your crash course in just how true this is!

I’m Liesel, Labor and Delivery Nurse and the face behind Mommy Labor Nurse, and today I’m excited to share some of my favorite ways to document your pregnancy. This is such a special time, and while you may not feel your best, believe me, you are glowing!

Growing a life is no easy feat, and I promise that one day you’ll want to look back on this special time. So finding a fun way to document your pregnancy is a great place to start.

1. Write letters to your baby

Letter writing in today’s day and age is a bit of a lost art, but pregnancy is the perfect opportunity to bring it back! Taking some time during your pregnancy to write letters to your baby is a wonderful way to document and process your experience.

You can write letters with the intention of sharing them with your baby one day, or write them for yourself as a keepsake of this special time. Writing a letter after a big pregnancy milestone, such as your first ultrasound or finding out the gender can be a great prompt to get you going.

But don’t get caught up on the right or wrong time! Whenever the feeling strikes, pick up a pen and some pretty paper and let the words flow.

2. Take progress pictures

Taking progress pictures is definitely my personal favorite way to document my pregnancies. It’s so fun to look back as your pregnancy progresses, after the fact, and to compare with subsequent pregnancies! I also love when I see people create stop motion videos of their growing bump by compiling all of their progress photos into a video––so fun.

You can take pictures every week, every month, at the trimester starts, at certain milestones, or at every appointment. Again, there’s no wrong way to do this! Using props can be fun, such as a letter board or milestone blocks. I love both of these options because you can totally use them to take baby’s progress pictures too.

Another idea for your progress photos is to wear the same shirt in every photo. It really highlights the changes week by week.

3. Frame your ultrasound pictures

In all of my interactions with pregnant women at the hospital, over on Instagram and on my blog, it’s pretty unanimous just how much they all LOVE the chance to see their growing baby. It just makes it all so much more real.

DIY or buy a special frame for your ultrasound pictures. They make a perfect decoration for baby’s nursery or your room that you will enjoy forever. My little guy loves looking at the picture of him “in my belly” now that he’s a little older, and I’m sure your little one will too.

4. Journal during your pregnancy

Similar to letter writing, journaling can be a fun and special way to document your pregnancy. You can challenge yourself to write weekly entries, journal after big pregnancy events, or whenever the mood strikes.

Some mamas find following a pregnancy journal format or guide can be helpful for sparking content, especially if you don’t consider yourself a big writer. For example, write down your symptoms, how you’re feeling, and the most exciting moments of each week. If you’re interested, you can grab my free weekly pregnancy journal to get started.

5. Have a professional maternity shoot

I know that professional photography can be expensive, but professional maternity portraits are a wonderful way to celebrate and document your pregnancy. Doing a maternity shoot gives you the chance to pamper yourself and feel extra special for a day.

A talented photographer will show you just how beautiful you are, and you will have photos to look back on that you’ll treasure for a lifetime.

Whatever you decide, I hope you find some way to document this time in your life and enjoy the journey!

Bio:

Liesel Teen is a labor and delivery nurse (L&D RN), mama, the face behind the popular pregnancy Instagram page @mommy.labornurse and creator of the online childbirth class, Birth It Up. Birth is something she’s been passionate about for as long as she can remember, and she loves sharing her nursing knowledge to help mamas-to-be learn more about pregnancy and birth. She lives in North Carolina and is expecting her second baby in August 2020.