Planning My Pregnancy Album

Hit a bit of a bump in the road recently.  Emphasis on the literal bump.

Yep, a wee one is going to be joining our family next year.  We are thrilled!

Me being me, I was not about to pass up such a momentous creative memory keeping opportunity.  The clock is ticking though!  Here’s what I decided.  Did I mention I’ve always been interested in book binding?  Thanks kid!

What Type of Album Do I Want?

Decide something and decide it fast.  I wanted a strategy that would work for the entire pregnancy and I didn’t want to have to think about it as I grew more tired in the passing weeks.  I came up with this in week 6 and put it together fast.

It had to be easy.  There are so many things I could have done here.  So many add-ons or cute things I could have added.  Nope nope nope.  I didn’t want something that started strong and then petered out.

Weekly documenting.  I love the idea of seeing the development of the pregnancy week by week.

Pre-work as much as possible.  I wanted to make the “kit” or supplies early, so I only had to accomplish a couple small tasks week to week.

Use my own supplies.  I shopped around for albums and realized 1) I’m picky and need something I design myself and 2) I needed to make something so I could start on it right away.

The Structure

7 x 9 inch album out of existing scrapbook pages.  I cut down some 11×14 scrapbook pages I already had to make the album pages.

I used this YouTube video to prepare the pages.  I prepared the signatures and pre-poked the holes for the thread.  I’m not planning on binding it until after the baby is born but will use this method to create the cover and bind.

The book will be kettle-stitched.  See the videos linked above for the best instructions on kettle stitching.  I chose this because it will allow the book to open flat, plus grouping pages into sections (called “signatures”) will allow me to control how long the book will be.  If I did something like saddle stitching, I’d need to pick the total number of pages ahead of time.  With kettle stitching, I don’t have to.  What if my pregnancy is longer or shorter?  I didn’t want to have too many or too few pages and yes, I was really worried about this.

Cover color is undecided.  I want to wait until a bit later in the pregnancy, but I am planning on making the cover according to the video above.  It will be out of some hard cardboard and probably patterned paper.

The Formula

Each week has the following four items.  Each are cut the same size:  2.5×3 inches so they fit well in the album with lots of white space.

A number card.  I designed these myself using the print and cut feature on my Silhouette.  The font is Beyond the Mountains.  I printed weeks 4-42, knowing that it’s possible I won’t make it to week 42 but also that my doctor likely won’t let me past that week either.  I started at 4 because that’s when we found out we were pregnant.

A bump picture.  I love love love weekly bump pictures.  We started taking them in week 6 (which was when I decided on the album structure).  For earlier weeks, I used whatever pictures I had on hand.

Writing.  I jot down important pregnancy milestones, how I’m feeling, and any other notable things that happened that week.  I could write for days, but I like the forced brevity and I think I’ll thank myself for it in the third trimester.  I pre-cut all of these cards, plus extra for when I don’t like my handwriting and need to start over.

Another photo of something from the week.  It can be anything really.  It will add interest to the page and also show a bit of what we were up to.  I’m excited to show house projects as we prepare for the baby’s arrival!

Optional full page spreads.  I decided this in week 12 when I had some ultrasound pictures.  If I feel like it and if I want to tell a longer story, I can add a full page to emphasize something.  I pre-cut a ton of letters and numbers last week so I can add one of these at any point.  Thank goodness for the flexible size of the album (see above).

The Plan

Take notes during the week.  I’m using Google Keep to jot down happenings from the week.  This has worked really well so far!

One bump picture from any point in the week.  I’m not going to try to get a picture on the same day of the week.  Emphasis will be on the best natural light and then I’ll hope for the best.

Writing the cards and editing photos every couple of weeks.  I try and write the cards no more than a week late because I’ll forget details despite my notes.  I’ll pencil on the back what week they’re from and leave them until I’m ready to print pictures.  I’ll crop and edit the pictures weekly and keep them in a folder until I have enough to print on a sheet.

Results?

So far, thumbs up.  I’ve had a blessedly uneventful time so far and I’m keeping up!  I love the way it’s turning out.

Very soon, I’ll share what the pages look like so far!  I hope you’re up for the ride with me!

More Information on My Pregnancy Album

Check out these posts for everything you need to know!

Having Dad in the Weekly Bump Pictures
Album Pages: Beginning – Week 16
Album Pages: Weeks 17-31