The Belly Book: A Nine-month Journal for You and Your Growing Belly

by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Before you get to meet your baby, you spend a swell (so to speak) nine months getting acquainted with your growing belly. The first pregnancy journal devoted 100% to you and your belly, The Belly Book is organized by trimester and includes pages for “time-lapse” belly photos and ultrasound images, as well as prompts for writing about morning sickness, food cravings, maternity clothes you never want to see again, and much more.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction

96 pages, Spiral-bound

First published March 7, 2006

About the author

SHORT BIO:

Amy Krouse Rosenthal was.
She divided her time.


NOT SO SHORT BIO:

Amy Krouse Rosenthal was a person who liked to make things.
Some things she liked to make include:

Children's books. (Little Pea, Spoon, DuckRabbit)
Grown-up books. (Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life)
Short films. (The Beckoning of Lovely, The Money Tree)
Guided journals. (The Belly Book)
Something out of nothing. (see above)

A longtime contributor to WBEZ and to the TED conference,
Amy lived with her family in Chicago and online at whoisamy.com.

Reviews

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was pregnant with my first, I found this fun and funny pregnancy journal. I adored it.

This book includes pages for each doctor's visit, a monthly spot for cravings/aversions, ultrasound pictures, one page for each week with a spot for a picture and journaling, pages for why and how we chose his name, the labor and delivery story, and MUCH more.

Plus it does it all with a humorous twist:
Is the baby a girl? a boy? or a boxer?
What is my current disposition? sunshine and happiness? partly sunny with a chance of showers? hormonal hurricane?
I'm starting to feel like.... a fertility goddess? Humpty Dumpty?
I thoroughly enjoyed filling it out. And no - I didn't take a belly pic EVERY week. In fact, some weeks are empty. Or sometimes I added a pic of other stuff going on; the house we just purchased, or my husband and I in our Halloween costumes. Sometimes I filled in the prompts, and other times I crossed them out and used the lines for journaling about other things.

However, when I started looking for a baby book... they all included things my Belly Book already took care of: how and why we chose his name, baby shower momentos, how we prepared for the baby, a place for his birth announcement, hand/foot prints, etc. And I didn't want a duplicate book... so beware of that.

I enjoyed this journal so much, I bought it two more times for each of my other children.

[Alisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as a gift and have loved every minute of recording my memories from this pregnancy, adding in pics of my belly and answering the thoughtful questions about how I FEEL about it all. I look forward to sharing this info with my daughter one day, years from now. I totally recommend this book for the pregnant women in your life! Great gift and great keepsake, and so easy to use and keep up with.

[Kylin Larsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books I bought because I loved the design of the book: the shape of the book includes a curve that reflects a pregnant belly. The book is divided into trimesters and has prompts ranging from the mama's reaction to the pregnancy test, first hearing the heartbeat, and dealing with body image in a humorous way. There is a lot of room for pictures and other mementos.

[Jennifer Lyons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for not only journaling your pregnancy, but also to put pictures week by week through pregnancy as well as ultrasound pictures. This will be a great book to show Baby when he/she is big enough.

[KimberLeigh Hadfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been the BEST pregnancy journal! It has plenty of room for everything you want to record and save about your pregnancy. I have LOVED IT!

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best pregnancy journal I've found - detailed, but not overwhelming and a wonderful keepsake when completed.

[The.Roaming.Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved having this book to help me remember my pregnancy! I would have never written anything down and I loved that it was more of a guide to the memories.

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so glad that I bought and used this book during my pregnancy. It is definitely a keep-sake now.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have bought this book twice, one for each pregnancy and I love looking back at them both, great way to treasure memories of pregnancy.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love looking back at the weekly photos.

[Torrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great journal for a first pregnancy. Lots of goofy questions.

[Shana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just enough area to write -- great journal to keep during pregnancy.