Penzu

As an expectant mother, you can easily feel overwhelmed because you've got a lot on your mind. How can you balance all of your new priorities while you're experiencing roller-coaster emotions and "mommy brain" memory lapses? 

Pregnancy is also an exciting time in any woman's life, with multiple milestones that deserve to be recorded. One of the easiest ways to capture the amazing moments of pregnancy is to write about them in a journal.

Here are the top eight ways that you can get the most out of your personal pregnancy journal:

1. Write down any unusual pregnancy symptoms when they occur to ensure you'll remember to ask the doctor about them later.
2. Record what you eat to track new food cravings and aversions; your doctor needs to know if these cravings become unusual.
3. Write down how long you exercise each day. According to The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 30 minutes or more of gentle daily exercise prevents back pain throughout your pregnancy.
4. For your first trimester, record your daily basal-body temperature. 
5. Write down your feelings to allow yourself a much-needed emotional outlet.
6. Record your baby's movements to spot any signals of distress and understand how the baby is responding to your feelings or the environment.
7. Brainstorm baby names by jotting down your ideas and giving yourself time to think about them. 
8. Insert photos of new nursery ideas, selfies of your belly or even copies of your sonogram pictures into your journal entries to collect precious memories.

Pregnancy Journal Ideas and Prompts

Starting a journal, but struggling with ideas to write about as you dwell on the impending birth of your baby? Let these prompts for journaling guide you.

The Day You Found Out

No doubt you will always remember the moment you found out you were pregnant. But as the years go by, you might start to forget the little details that added to that special day. That's why some of the most popular pregnancy diary prompts revolve around those exciting first few weeks. Some examples of pregnancy diary ideas to write about include:

• What prompted you to test for pregnancy?
• How did you feel when you saw the positive test or first ultrasound?
• Who did you tell first about the pregnancy?
• Who had the best or most surprising reaction?
• What was your first pregnancy symptom?

Changes to Your Body

As you get through each trimester, you will start noticing some major symptoms you can't ignore. Be sure to record them so your child knows just how much you put up with to bring him or her into this world! Plus, you might want to have an idea of which symptoms you felt in case you want to feel prepared for another pregnancy in the future. Some good pregnancy journal prompts include:

• Are you experiencing morning sickness?
• What are your food cravings?
• What are your favorite and least favorite pregnancy symptoms?
• How much weight have you gained?
• Have you had any emotional changes as the pregnancy has progressed?
• Which trimester has been the best for you?

All About the Baby

Some of the most fun pregnancy diary ideas to write about involve your growing baby. Thinking about your baby is likely the most exciting part of pregnancy because it makes all the aches and pains worth it. So consider making your baby's milestones the focus of a journal entry:

• When did you first feel your baby move and how did you feel about it?
• How do you feel when you hear your baby's heartbeat or see an ultrasound of him or her?
• How many ultrasounds have you had to monitor fetal growth?
• Are you keeping track of how baby's organs, limbs, etc. are growing each week?
• If you know the gender, how did you feel when you found out?
• If you have a name picked out, how did you choose it?
• What are your hopes and dreams for your baby's future?

Online Pregnancy Diaries

Whether you’re starting a bible journal, a food diary, or a pregnancy journal, creating a diary online with Penzu’s diary software has many benefits. It’s the perfect way to keep all of your important health notes confidential and secure so that you can't accidentally lose them. Penzu's "automatic save" function will regularly save your entries online even when you forget to hit the "save" button. Plus, Penzu lets you search through your diary and organize it into categories so that you'll find important data right when you need it for doctor visits and more.

Check out Penzu Pro's extra features that provide an ideal solution for expectant mothers:

• By upgrading to Penzu Pro, you can also maintain multiple journals within the same account for different aspects of your life.
• Change background styles and import custom background photos to keep you inspired while writing.
• Print out pages to bring to doctor's appointments or share important diary notes with others easily over email.
• Create customizable tags for your entries to help organize them under main categories.
• Set email reminders to alert you to write even when "mommy brain" makes you forget.

Sign up for a free Penzu account today to start a new "my pregnancy" journal; it's sure to become one of your best friends while you're expecting!