A Tale Of Two People
So Many Thoughts, So Many Questions.
There's no doubt about it. Pregnancy is a time of emotion. Fear, anxiety, excitement, joy, worry-they all happen and it seems they all come in a flood leaving a woman feeling overwhelmed more often than not. Questions run rampant through the mind. Will I be a good mother? What about my other child? Will the baby be okay? Will I ever be able to enjoy my husband again? What does a woman do with all of these thoughts and emotions?
Writing Is Therapeutic
Sometimes the best way to deal with it all is to write it down. Journaling has a way of drawing the thoughts into focus, helping to end the sense of being scattered to the four winds. Most women will agree that pregnancy was the time in life they lost their minds. Some will tell you they never found them again. Still, writing down the date of the first flutter of movement and how it felt will be kept firm in the mind because it is recorded.
Keeping a journal helps a woman to remember how special the time of pregnancy was for her. And, if there were difficulties along the way, writing about them can help bring clarity so resolution can be made. Or, it may just be a way to let the fear out of the body and onto the paper. Capturing reflections and inner thoughts can be a way of remembering and appreciating all that happened during those months.
It Can Be An Extraordinary Gift For A Child
On top of that, keeping a journal of the pregnancy can go on to be a gift for the child who was being written about. Many parents save their journals for their children and make a gift of them when they are older and can appreciate them, especially when they are going through the experience of having a baby themselves. Just remember that journaling is about the journalist and the moments in time when the feelings, thoughts, or situations are actually happening. It is a "now" thing, not something to be written with the future in mind.
Getting Started...
The best way to get started journaling is to just start writing. It isn't necessary to have a particular book or special journal to write in, unless you want to buy one. The computer works well, as does a simple spiral notebook. There is no "right time" to start. When the first entry is made, it is made at the right time. Just don't wait until after the fact. It is a day-to-day logging of thoughts, emotions, and events, like the reaction of the in-laws when they found out they were going to be grandparents!
It's Your Story
Each woman will find the perfect way to journal for herself. There is no right or wrong way to do this. Whether it is an expression of thoughts or a record of special events, a resolution of past issues or a digest of motherhood, it doesn't matter. It belongs to the one doing the writing and it is entirely up to that person to determine how, when and what goes into it.
Find out in our pregnancy forum what women are saying about whether reading to your baby during pregnancy makes your baby smarter.
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