Pregnancy Album and Diary Template

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pregnancy-album-template.jpg

Back when I was pregnant with Zé, I kept a diary of photos and memories which ultimately culminated in an album/book of some sort. Naturally, I shared it on social media and has people asking for a template. I've just gone through and updated it for 2018 and added it to my shop. These are the details:

Features

  • 86 drool-worthy pages including an intro/outro, birthday spread, and a full-spread per week (x 40 weeks)—but don't feel like you have to fill in every week! Feel free to edit as needed!
  • Totally editable! Add/subtract pages, edit fonts/colors/layouts—whatever!
  • Don't want to use Blurb? Just adjust the specs to fit whatever vendor you want and get to it already! (Out of the box it's formatted for a 7x7 hardcover book from Blurb.)
  • THIS IS AN INDESIGN TEMPLATE. It is saved as an .idml file, so it can be opened with versions as far back as InDesign CS4. (If you're looking for a Photoshop template, stop and ask yourself, "Why would I design an 86 page document in Photoshop? That'd be crazy! I should know better than to even consider that!" Then, return to your senses and proceed with InDesign.
  • Includes an InDesign Library file with all the icons for each week making it super easy to rearrange/add/remove pages and drag-and-drop design elements as needed. (Instructions included!)

Tips for Easy, No-Stress Diary Keeping:

  1. Write as Much (or as Little) and as Often (or as Infrequently) as You Feel. Just because a template (this template) includes a spread for each of 40 weeks—doesn't mean you have to make an entry every week! I found pregnancy to be the most challenging thing I've ever put myself through, and as such, if I had tried to force myself to journal every week, it would've been a recipe for failure. I didn't even make my first journal entry until week 13 after we heard the heart beat, and that's totally ok. From that point on, I only made entries when I felt like I had something worth sharing with baby. Sometimes that was several times per week, other times there were 4 or 5 weeks between entries. Do what works for you and add/subtract pages as needed.
  2. Keep it Real. You don't have to fill the diary with flowery prose about rainbows, unicorns, and perceived pregnancy bliss (because let's face it, pregnancy can be hard). Write about the day-to-day happenings, how the plans for the nursery are coming along, or even current events that are on your mind.
  3. Use Tools That Make it Easy. Maybe you'll want to make your entries directly into the template in InDesign. Or maybe you want to get it out first, before worrying about making it pretty (that's what I did). I used Google Docs to make my entries (even adding small images to remind me what images I wanted to include), letting them pile up for months before I transferred (copy and pasted) everything to InDesign.

Just remember to keep it simple—pregnancy can be hard enough on its own. Hang in there mama!