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There are so many ways to bond with baby before they are even born. Pregnancy is more than the sum of all of your symptoms. It's more than science, more than statistics, more than the idea of adding another member to your family. Pregnancy is the beginning of a connection that will last for the rest of your life. Believe it or not, bonding with your baby starts now.

Although it might be challenging to establish a strong bond before birth, there is no reason to wait to start bonding with your child until you're holding him or her in your arms. Bonding with baby during pregnancy is the perfect time to start forming the attachment that is essential to your baby's development and your own mental health after delivery.

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10 Sentimental Ways To Bond With Your Baby Before They Are Born

The connection between mother and child during pregnancy is strong before you do anything at all. It's easier than you might think to start bonding with your baby during pregnancy. Don't worry if you don't know where to start building a bond with your unborn baby. These 10 ways to bond with baby before they are born are easy ways to strengthen and enrich this special relationship right from the start.

1. Keep A Pregnancy Journal

I am a huge advocate for documenting your pregnancy in every stage. I believe that writing out your thoughts, feelings, and experiences during your pregnancy is an important way to bond with your baby before they are born.

Trust me, you want to remember your pregnancy. You want to be able to tell your pregnancy story and express what a journey it was long after your baby is born. Keeping up to date with your pregnancy journal can help initiate the initial bond that you will have with your baby.

Before you know anything about your unborn child, all you know is what is going on with your own body. You can see how you are changing and how your body is growing, but early on you might not have any evidence that there is another human involved.

Write love letters to this mystery person and you'll soon find how much love comes out onto the page. You will look back on these pages and be baffled at how much love you had for someone you never met. Someone who now, is the apple of your eye.

This is the best Pregnancy Journal you'll find. It comes complete with daily journal pages, a pregnancy calendar, pregnancy to-do lists, and worksheets to fill out to document every sweet memory in this short yet magical time.

2. Start Your Baby Book

Whether or not there are pages in your baby book to fill out before the baby is born. It's a great idea to buy one early, flip through the pages, and imagine all of the milestones that you will be meeting with this new baby in the months and years to come.

Write your baby's name in it, put your favorite ultrasound picture in it, and take a mental note of all of the sweet milestones that you may not have even thought about before you had babies.

Imagine that first smile that you'll be capturing in a picture you'll keep on your fridge. Imagine how excited you and your hubby will be when you suddenly see a tiny tooth in your baby's gummy smile.

This is motherhood. And no matter how many times you've done this before, I'll bet you can't wait.

This is the baby book that I have for my baby. I can't wait to start filling it out!

3. Videotape Your Ultrasounds

Whether you have one ultrasound, or ten, please get a video. Those first feelings of love after you see the heartbeat or burst of excitement when you see the movements that you've been feeling actually show up on screen does not fade away over time.

You are going to remember the first time you saw this baby's heart beating or the first time he sucked his thumb forever. Imagine being able to share these memories with your child when they are older.

Maybe at the end of your pregnancy you can put all of your videos of ultrasounds + belly movements into one adorable home movie full of the first ways you bonded with baby during your pregnancy.

4. Save Every Memento

Every memento, every sentimental item will bring back a flood of memories when you pick it up and feel it on your fingertips again. Pregnancy tests don't seem all that sentimental when you're peeing on them, but the feeling that you get when you look back and remember the shock of the “positive” is priceless.

Keep it all, girl!

I'm talking ultrasound photos, letters you wrote to baby before they were born, the first baby item that you saw and could not resist buying for your unborn child, all sorts of things that you don't want to forget.

These first few tangible items are directly related to the first few memories that you have with this baby. The baby might still be in your womb, but they are your baby nonetheless. Keeping these things close to you heart is a start to growing a bond with your baby before they are born.

5. Create a Baby Box

When I was pregnant with my first, I did not know that I was saving everything…it just started piling up. After time, I felt attached to some of these things and realized that they were sentimental to me and I could not let them go. So, I went out and bought a memory box to put them all in.

So far I have three memory boxes for my babies. Take a look at how perfect this memory box is for boy or girl.

The one for Logan is full of fun memories such as first photos, favorite pacifiers, first lovey, and the outfit he came home in.

The box for Rory, the son that we lost, only has what was given to us at the hospital on the day of his birth and death. He has a tiny hat, a bracelet, his hand and foot prints, and his birth information.

Now, the baby that I'm carrying as I write this post has a box too. I can't wait to fill it with memories that I'm already making as I bond with him before he's born. So far, all that is physically in the box are my pregnancy tests. But soon the ultrasound photos, the fetal heart tones strips, the pregnancy journal, and his baby book will all end up in there. I already feel so close to him because of the plans I have in these things!

6. Personalize ONE Blanket

Personalization is huge. Everyone loves a good personalized blanket, onesie, wall, etc. Our kids names end up on everything now ‘a days.

I love it, I think it's absolutely adorable.

But…

With Logan, we put his name up on his wall, yes, but when it came to personalized baby items, we only had one blanket embroidered. When I hold that blanket in my arms and look at this big boy that I have running around, I can't believe that it's the same baby that I wrapped up every night before bed. It's special.

If you have one very special item like this (it doesn't necessarily have to be a blanket, but a onesie or a lovey works too), then you will have all of those feelings embodied into one special piece that holds all of the memories in it's fibers.

7. Sit in the Rocking Chair

This is a big one. A BIG ONE.

It kind of seems like the smallest one yet, doesn't it? It's so not.

When you finally put that rocking chair in your baby's nursery, decorated or not, sit in it and look around and the four walls that will soon hold a new life, you will suddenly feel a bond that you hadn't felt before. You're suddenly picturing an actual 7ish pound baby in that crib. You're picturing yourself changing an actual dirty diaper on that changing pad over there.

You can almost feel the weight of your baby in your arms as you rock in the chair you will rock in for the next year at least.

8. Address Your Baby by Name or Nickname

I acknowledge that not every baby has a name before they are born and that's perfectly fine. Some parents don't even know the sex of their baby before their birth day.

• Related Read: Uncommon Girl Names With Beautiful Meanings
• Related Read: 25 Strong Baby Boy Names With Meanings In 2019

That does not mean that you can't bond with your baby on an incredibly deep level, calling them by a nickname you can picture yourself calling them for years to come.

When I was pregnant with my first son, I knew he was a boy and I even knew his name. But as I rocked, talked, or sang to my unborn baby, I called him little bear. I pictured me calling him little bear as a child and it was one of my favorite ways to bond with baby while pregnant.

9. Nest

Getting ready for baby is a pretty necessary way to bond with baby while pregnant. Every mom will nest in their own time. As long as you do some nesting during your pregnancy, you will be bonding with your baby before they are born.

Purging the old to make room for the new gave me some kind of high, I swear. Cleaning out a kitchen cabinet to store all of my breastfeeding, bottle feeding, and pumping gear feels weirdly good. Tossing out the crap that was in the spare closet to turn it into a nursery closet is incredibly satisfying.

Not only are these things personally rewarding, they will make room in your brain for more daydreaming about what's to come.

10.Daydream With Your Partner

Speaking of daydreaming…

One of the best ways to bond with baby before they are born is to make their presence in your life a reality. Talk about your baby and dream about what life will be like when he finally comes.

Even though your baby is literally a part of you right now, they may still feel like a total stranger to you during pregnancy. Putting this baby in your future and making plans around his tangible existence is a great way to start bonding with your baby before birth.

Bond With Baby While Pregnant

There is no “normal” time to start loving your baby. These emotions come in their own time. The point is that they will come. Sometimes these emotions come in unexpected moments like sitting in a rocking chair alone. Do whatever it is that you think will connect with your child at a time when your heart feels ready to do that.

The maternal bond with her baby is something no other bond can touch. It starts at different moments for each mother and child. If you have any intention of creating a bond before birth, this list is absolutely where you should start.

Congratulations on your pregnancy, mama! Keep reading below for more ways to make this pregnancy everything it can be!

Leave a comment below to let me know how and when you bonded with your new baby!

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