Baby Books

I just found out I’m pregnant. I see all these lovely baby books in the store, but they look like so much work. What did you do?

Our Mommy MD Guide’s reply:  When my husband and I found out I was pregnant, we were so excited. Right away, I started to keep a journal. I think a lot of people hesitate to do this because they fear it will become a huge, time-consuming process and that they won’t be able to keep up with it. But all I did was keep a steno pad on my nightstand. Here and there throughout my pregnancy, I wrote down my thoughts to my baby. I didn’t pressure myself to write something every day; I wrote when I had something to say.

For example, I wrote to my baby after I saw her on the ultrasound, I wrote how I felt when I first felt her moving, and I told her how much I love her. I kept a journal for each of my children during the pregnancies and to this day. When my children were little, part of the reason why I journaled was I realized that those first 5 years are the most important years of their lives as far as learning and emotional development. So that made me wonder: If something happened to me before they were old enough, would they remember me at all?

I still write in my kids’ journals, such as how I felt the first time they told me that they loved me and what my hopes and dreams are for them. I plan to give each of my children their journal when their first child is born.

—Kelly Campbell, MD, a mom of three and an ob/gyn in private practice at Women’s Healthcare Physicians in West Bloomfield, MI