Bonding with Baby-to-Be

Put It in Writing

To guide yourself through this enormous life transition and bond with your unborn child, write her letters or keep a pregnancy journal. Such a record can also be a wonderful gift for your child when she's older, notes Carista Luminare-Rosen, Ph.D., a San Rafael, California, counselor and the author of Parenting Begins Before Conception (Healing Arts Press). "Imagine the thrill of reading about your parents' deep desire for and commitment to your arrival," she says. Laura Kimpton, a mother in Sonoma Valley, California, filled a journal with favorite quotes, week-by-week photos of her growing belly, notes on the highlights of her pregnancy, and even an in vitro photograph of her daughter, Kiley. "I look forward to my being able to share the book with her someday -- when Kiley's old enough not to rip out the pages," she says.