You're reading this, which means congratulations on expecting! I know all of you are sitting behind your computers with one hand on the mouse and the other on your belly, your little growing baby. I'm here to tell you that it won't always be like this and to remind you to document this amazing time in your life now, before it's over.
Hi! I’m Salomé (haloumi with an 's') from Yellow Lab and I’m a professional baby portrait and pet photographer. I'm also a mommy of two so I have been in similar situations to you :-) I’m sharing my tips today on how to document your pregnancy so you can share it with your kiddo (OR keep it for yourself to reminisce) when he/she is much bigger.
1. Write weekly or monthly notes
Set a day (like every Monday or Friday) to write down a few things you want to remember. Write down things that are going on in your life right now. Are you moving house, did you and hubs buy something special for baby when you found out you were expecting? How you told your family members you were expecting. How you felt when you saw baby on the monitor at your scans.
If a weekly post is too much for you to commit to, try writing once a month. Perhaps the first or last day of the month.
TOP TIP: Personally, I used Google calender to remind me to write to my babies and I scheduled a repeat reminder to go off when it's time to write them a note again.
You can get a special notebook to write your notes to baby in, but if you're afraid of losing/misplacing it, do something digital? I emailed myself with the notes to baby. Just make sure that you title every email the same so you can easily find it: Letter to baby #1 week5 and Letter to baby #1 week6 and so on.
2. Take bumpies
You won't believe how baby grows if you don't photograph your bump and have photos to put next to each other to see the progress. Plus, it's super fun to watch baby grow. If it's your first, it helps time pass and it's fun to share your weekly bumpie on social media with your friends and family.
If you're not expecting your first, like me, you'll likely completely forget about taking regular bumpies. I suggest you take them when you remember. For extra crazy points ;-) take them with your new bubba's older sibling.
TOP TIP: To take a good bumpie, take the photo in the morning after you got dressed for the day and you feel fresh and energised. Use a mirror that has good lighting close to it. Make sure to open the curtains, or if it's winter and very overcast switch on the lights. Move clutter that show up in your photo away, if possible. You want to be the only thing in the photo. It's a pain, but I had to slog the doggy bed out of the picture every time I took a bumpie with my first. And SMILE! :-D
3. Get everyone into the picture
Now you have a fantastic looking bumpie, but you won't easily be able to capture your bump and hubby and any siblings or fur babies yourself simply using your smartphone.... this is where I can help. Before you know your bump will be running around outside your body (time really does go by fast!), so treasure and celebrate your journey with unforgettable photo memories. Be sure to bring along hubby and your fur kids!!
