It’s amazing how quickly a pregnancy is gone when you look back over the almost ten months following delivery. During these months, time drags while waiting to meet your baby, but after the fact, you might feel more than a bit nostalgic for your large belly and mood swings.

It’s important to capture pregnancy in as many ways as possible as this is a stage of your life represents the most important transition you can achieve, yet the details are often forgotten over time. Preserving your pregnancy can be as simple as:

Journaling
Write a few sentences in a journal every day or every week of the pregnancy. Some baby books and pregnancy journals have a space designed exactly for this reason.

Taking Belly Pictures
Every few weeks or every month, take a new belly picture. Stand in the same position and be brave enough to lift your shirt above your belly. Some day you’ll miss those stretchmarks. Plus seeing evidence of how big you really got as your belly grew is almost overwhelming.

Using a Tape Measure
If you buy a new tape measure, you can use it to chart your pregnancy. Wrap the tape around your waist every week and mark the spot with a permanent marker. As your belly grows, your marks will get farther apart. Then, when your tummy is returned to normal someday, you can marvel at how large it once was.

It’s no secret that exercise and pregnancy are an excellent mix – for most women. But not everyone needs to be hauling off to the gym for a session of free weights and elliptical trainers. Mixing exercise and pregnancy should be done carefully.

Are You Comfortable with the Mix?
Most exercise is perfectly fine during pregnancy and can actually help many pregnancy symptoms like nausea and muscle cramps. But some women become stressed when exercising. They worry about the welfare of their unborn baby. For women with history of miscarriage, bleeding and other symptoms of high-risk pregnancies, it might be best to lay low for a while – consult your doctor if you’re not sure.

Take it Easy
The first trimester is the easiest physically for exercise, but the worst in relation to feeling like it. Not only are you overwhelmed with the news, you’re also sick and bone tired. This is just a sign that starting now your exercise should be low key and easy. Take a walk to clear your head, or do a bit of water aerobics to stay loose and de-stress. You can continue these classes right up to delivery in most cases.