The Belly Book: A Nine-month Journal for You and Your Growing Belly (Potter Style)

I purchased this book early into my pregnancy (this being my first baby) and have been very diligent about filling it in every single week! I actually find myself looking forward to filling in the week's activities. It only takes a few minutes to fill out each week (I am still working full time and going to college while pregnant - so no excuses!) Now, I am in my 39th week of pregnancy and looking back, reading the previous month's activities and feelings, I am SO very happy I filled this in! There are things I already forgot happened or things I felt that I had not remembered! What a treasure to have for my son AND myself. I will be buying this book for EVERY pregnant woman I know in the future. All my friends who already have kids are jealous I have this little Belly Book and wish they'd kept one for their children. I know it will be looked back on with a smile!! This book is basically a scrapbook-type of journal, where you have a roughly 3x3" square at the top of each week's page that allows you to place a picture (glue or tape). Below that, there is a place for you to write the week's date(s) and then a log to write what you did that week or felt that week. Some weeks mix it up by asking you questions like: What's going on in the news right now? Or.. What music are you listening to lately? - Its a really easy way to get a quick glimpse into your week's happenings and what you are feeling on the pregnancy rollercoaster. There are dividers for the trimesters, sections to list your baby shower, ultrasounds, other photos, other thoughts, your baby's birth, baby's footprints, keepsakes (flat ones of course), and other ramblings. I found that by now (week 39), my book is brimming with stuff and is kept closed nicely with the little elastic band that the book comes with. I've been able to keep ALL my doc appts listed and able to mention what happened at each appt, what I felt.. its been amazing to keep this journal and I cannot say enough great things about it! It also made a great conversation piece at my baby shower! Buy buy buy this!!!

I absolutely LOVE my Belly Book! And let me start out by saying that I am not even pregnant yet. That being said, my partner and I plan on trying in not too long and I want to be prepared. I am a very nostalgic person and want to keep as many memories as I can. I think most people want to remember the pregnancy and birth of their children (and most people probably do with or without a pregnancy journal), but I love little keepsakes, so I knew I had to get this book after watching a review on it on YouTube. Like others have said, I love that it is fun and light-hearted. It is also sectioned into trimesters, which I find super fun and cute, but the only problem is that the trimesters/weeks seem to be a bit off. Sure enough, the first trimester is 12 weeks and in that regard the book gets it right, but one of the first questions asks whether you knew you were pregnant or not in week 1. Surely, you couldn't possibly know as week 1 is two weeks before you actually conceive. So when I start to fill out this journal, I will fill out week 1 as week 3, week 2 as week 4 and so forth. The book has a page for each week with room for a photo and also loads of space to write down thoughts about that week. Every other week it asks you different prompts. I am so excited to fill them out! Like it says in the book, you don't HAVE to fill out everything. I love filling out things, so I'm pretty sure I'll fill out every single prompt, but do as you please with this fun pregnancy journal. I also have to say that I love the look and layout of the book. Super cute! Oh, and at the end of the book there is a section for when your baby is born, which I also love. Have fun with your Belly Book! Hello belly, goodbye feet!

I shopped around quite a bit for the perfect journal to record the milestones and info leading up to baby's birth day. In fact, I purchased 4 journals...and this one is my favorite. The layout is charming (shaped like a growing belly) and there is enough space each week to write whatever you desire, as well as to include a photo each week if you so choose. I have photos pasted on some weeks...and others have lots of my ramblings filling up the entire page. There are separate pages in each section for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimester prenatal appointments, ultrasounds (and photos), name ideas, and full pages at the end of each trimester for mom/dad's "closing thoughts". I like that there are some occasional lead questions, but not too many that it is cumbersome or overly rediculous with petty questions. The type is also light enough that if you wish to ignore a question...well, I write right over it. :) The cover is hard covered board, and inside it is spiral - making it very easy to turn and lay open to write. There is also an elastic strap that wraps around the entire book and keeps it tightly closed -- I have placed photos, envelopes, and other special mementos inside and they do not fall out!! My only wish is that it included 40 or 41 weeks (for those of us who do tend to carry to full term) rather than the 39 it currently has. I used the "closing remarks" pages at the end of the 3rd Tri for my Week 40. I have had fun with this book and will certainly purchase another for our next baby-to-be.

I am an archivist and journal-er at heart, so I really like this book because it allows me to record what I want to record, and it gives me enough space to do it. It's not perfect, but it's pretty good. If at all possible, I'd suggest that you buy it before you become pregnant. That way you can at least have a chance at recording everything you want to record. What I like about this book: It's neatly divided into trimesters. For the first trimester, it has places to record the things I wanted to record (e.g. when I took the preg. test, how I told my husband, our reactions, etc.) and there was enough space to write everything I wanted to write. For all the trimesters, they have a generic space to write "Notes" about every week (and post photos) - LOVE that because it allows me to write down anything I want, so that's where I put the symptoms I have each week, what happened that week, etc. They also have a section in each trimester where you can record your pre-natal visits. And then at the end of the first two trimesters, it has two pages to record any other thoughts. At the end, they have a place to record details about the birth, footprints and handprints, and a photo of the baby. What I didn't like about this book and/or wish they could add or change: For the first trimester, they have a page for each week, beginning with Week 1. But technically, Week 1 starts when your period starts, and typically the actual conception doesn't happen until the end of Week 2. So they have two pages devoted to weeks you're not even pregnant yet. Maybe they could instead represent the first four weeks as "Month 1"? They have a page dedicated to each week as I mentioned above. This is nice, except that at least for the photos, not many people get belly photos before they know they're pregnant, and then for me, it's difficult to keep up taking a photo EVERY week. I love the notes section for each week, but wish they gave ideas or had some other way to utilize the photo space. In the prenatal visits section, they have a place to record belly measurements and weight. But I also wish they had a chart where you could record your weekly weight and belly size. OR have a spot for this on each Week page. It would also be nice for them to include a pocket in each trimester section to hold any papers or mementos. Because of the varying nature of people and pregnancies, it's impossible to make a one-size-fits-all book, so it would be nice if they could perhaps remove pages that record morning sickness, cravings, and aversions and maybe instead give blank pages to journal, but list possible things to record (e.g. morning sickness and cravings, reactions of certain people to the news, etc.) OR suggest that people include this info in the Week pages. This also goes for the birth section - while some of it is good, I wish they would allow more room to write about the birth story and have a list of possible details to record (e.g. who came to visit, nurses to remember, etc.) rather than having a specific section for those which may or may not apply to everyone. One last thing - the Week pages only go to Week 39. Although I know most pregnancies don't go past that, my first one did. It would be nice if they could at the very least go to Week 40. So ultimately, despite my criticisms listed above, I'm glad I got this book - it's allowing me to document my pregnancy in the way I (mostly) want.

I'm currently using this journal and From Pea to Pumpkin: A Pregnancy Journal to record my first pregnancy. I'm 26 weeks in, and after using them both (after reviewing tons of journals on Amazon), I have to say this one is my favorite. I almost didn't buy this one because the graphics and the emphasis on the "belly" really didn't appeal to me. I'm so glad I did, though! I've found that this is the journal that I've been most able to make my own. The structure of the journal allows for a lot of flexibility, and the number of extra pages allowed me to make some entries the book didn't anticipate (I had an extra ultrasound in my first trimester and it was very exciting; I used one of the extra pages to journal about it). Each page has room for a photo, which I love. There are separate pages for ultrasounds with room enough for even two photos per page. On most pages, you have room to write whatever comes to mind, which I really enjoy. From Pea to Pumpkin uses a "fill-in-the-blank" format that only allows you to follow their prompts. I find I'm much more able to express myself with the freedom to write what I want. However, The Belly Book also has some pages with multiple choice questions and some called "Snapshot of My Life" which takes up the whole week's page (but I really enjoy). These weeks ask: "Music that I (we) have been listening to lately: Recent movie I've seen: Book I'm reading: Top news story at the moment:" I like the balance of pages with tons of room to just write whatever comes to mind and other pages with direction that help ensure I'm including the important stuff. At the end of each trimester, there are several pages to list your reflections on the last 3+ months. I've really appreciated that, as it's allowed me to really think about the changes and get ready for the next trimester. I also appreciate the fact that each week has you list the dates of that week of your pregnancy (I've referred to this over and over as people ask or I wonder which week I'll be in on that date), and that there are many places to fill in info on your prenatal visits, with lines that ask pertinent information about the visit (like your size, the baby's size, etc.). Other fun pages include one where you list the names you've been calling your little one, places to list your cravings, and pages that ask about your feelings as you get bigger, tell people the news, etc. This journal is really well put together. It's a treasure for me and will be one for my child someday, I hope. It even has enough room (and a rubber band to keep it together) to put cards I've gotten in the back. I can't recommend this enough!

I am 25 weeks pregnant with my first child (a little girl!). And I don't know anyone who's ever had this book through their pregnancy. Thankfully I bought this book while TTC and had it ready to go from the positive test at home! It starts from week 1, which it has humor and says "Mommy and Daddy didn't know I existed" Or "See that shine in mom's eye? that's me." I LOVE THE HUMOR in this! It's meant to be fun and intriguing to those reading it. I love that it's not 'typical' each week or trimester. "How are you feeling" gets really boring to hear and respond to through pregnancy... why would you want a book that has you answer that same question!? I wouldn't! Only thing I don't like about the book is that each picture has to be horizontal... 4x6. A vertical 4x6 wouldn't fit within the given space for a picture. Also they need about 1-2 more spots in the 2nd trimester for prental appointments. And 1-2 less for the 1st trimester (since most doctors won't see you till 8 weeks!) I think there is 4 spots for prenatal appointments in the 1st trimester (I had two appointments) and then 5 spots for the 2nd trimester (I had six appointments) And in the 3rd trimester I don't know for sure how many spots there is since week 25 is the start of 3rd trimester in the book (?? Yeah didn't understand that since it's 28 weeks on everything else I've read!) but there is double what there is for 2nd trimester, atleast. Which is awesome. Only 15 weeks left... so I'm sure it'll work out great. Also has a ending of delivery and baby's arrival so it's like a 'internal baby book'. Which it really is when you think about it. It's about the baby in your belly not really YOU. I love it! And I'm so happy that my daughter can look back and see her growing from a positive line on a test to being born. Not just being born to age one or older. I recommend the baby book as well. It starts off where the belly book ends. And it's the same humor and fun questions as the belly book. Not typical same questions as typical baby books. We also just ordered the birthday book a couple days ago. So I'm excited to see if that one leads off of the baby book in any way. Great series!

This is a wonderful little book for helping to journal your pregnancy. I am 8 months pregnant and just got the book one month ago. I wish I had gotten it from the beginning of my pregnancy. If you are pregnant or know a friend who is, get this book. The reason this book is so great is that it prompts you for all the neat facts and memories you may want to remember later or share with you child in the future. It has plenty of areas to attach pictures. I compared many pregnancy books and this one was the best because it was the most comprehensive in the types of questions and fact prompts it covers. It's also nicely organized by month. I plan to use this book to help me document all the memories through my pregnancy, but I am choosing to place the information and supporting pictures and memorabilia in a scrapbook. This is because this lets me just answer the questions I want or can answer, choose the fact that apply to me, etc. without leaving many unfilled areas in the book. I also would like to include a ton of, probably all of my ultrasound pictures and DVD's in the same book. So at a minimum I would suggest this book as a guide to putting together your pregnancy journal or scrapbook. If you plan to use the book as is, which is just fine too, get a new one. If you use it as a guide, like I am, save some money and buy a slightly used one. Both options are available on Amazon.

This journal is really cute! I love how each week there's a page to put a belly picture and write a little bit about what happened that week. It will really make a nice keepsake for my daughter when she's older and maybe she can look back at it when she gets pregnant too. I plan to keep this book in a keepsake box for her. There are also spots in each section (divided by trimesters) to put ultrasound pictures. There's a lot of other stuff to fill out too, like what your cravings are each month, what your feelings are on certain things pertaining to the pregnancy, your doctor appts, when you first start feeling baby move, etc. Then at the very end there's a few pages for labor and delivery and baby's first photo and prints. The only thing I find odd is that it only goes up to 39 weeks. This isn't a problem for me since I'm getting induced at 39 weeks, but may be for other moms who go beyond that. It also starts out with week 1 which is odd too because at week 1 you don't even know you're pregnant yet and there's not a whole lot to write! But overall it's really cute and a great way to document your pregnancy. I plan to get one each time I become pregnant so that each child we have has a special keepsake.

I will rate all 3 books the same - absolutely lovely. Compared to other products which have either too much info for you to write or not much at all (blank pages!) this is great as a keepsake for your motherhood times. It is funny and easy to fill in, doesn't take huge amount of time.

Está en inglés (por si alguien lo dudaba) y llega hasta las 39 semanas. Ayudó mucho a llevar el embarazo con alegría y tiene opción de customizarse un poco (yo me puse pegatinas con la fruta a la que se parecía esa semana mi bebé). Me encantó usarlo y ahora tenemos un bonito recuerdo de aquellas semanas <3

Little present to my wide as we are expecting our first child! Guys... your partner will really love it if you give it as a present...you can trust me. Recommended, fun journal and definitely good memories to give to our children.

Such a great book for recording pregnancy, really funny quotes and not too 'mumsey' like a lot of others. Don't understand a few phrases etc as its american but i got jist of it! The week-by-week belly photo is a great idea, i was doing it anyway but having it in this book is great. I like how the outline of the belly-shaped pages grow with each trimester, and there is a section at the end for the arrival of baby etc which finishes the book off nicely, it'll be great to show my little one when she's older! Definitely recommend for moms who aren't too soppy and who want a quirky pregnancy journal with fun things you want to remember.

Although I am not pregnant (yet!) I wanted to have a book to use as soon as I found out. I wanted a simple book with prompts instead of a journal and this book is perfect. It has some fun things to keep track of, a nice way to organize thoughts and feelings, and a spot for weekly pictures. It's a little weird to have week 1 to 4 since the way pregnancy weeks are counted week 1 and 2 you haven't even ovulated yet and weeks 3 and 4 (or longer) you don't even know if you are pregnant but I'm going to put inspirational photos there instead. My only complaint is that it doesn't work well for alternative families. Everything says "my husband" so as a single mother by choice (I'm using a donor) I have crossed it off and added "my parents" or "my friend" etc. depending on the question.