A. Christine Harris - The Pregnancy Journal: A Day-to-Day Guide to a Healthy and Happy Pregnancy

To my own precious family: my husband, Bob; daughter Heather; her husband, Ryan Carroll; and our grandchildren, Olivia (9) and Colt (7). In 2011 we became parents again by adopting granddaughters Alexis Madiscella Ayala (19) and Isabella Ariceli Bautista-Harris (12). We are so lucky to have such a great family!

This Chronicle Books LLC edition published in 2016.
Text copyright 1996, 2009, 2016 by A. Christine Harris.
Illustrations copyright 1996, 2009, 2016 by Greg Stadler.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Harris, A. Christine.
Title: The pregnancy journal : a day-to-day guide to a healthy and happy pregnancy / A. Christine Harris, Ph.D. ; illustrations by Greg Stadler.
Description: Chronicle Books LLC edition, 4th edition. | San Francisco, CA : Chronicle Books LLC, 2016. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015050260 | ISBN 978-1-4521-5552-4 (pb) | ISBN 978-1-4521-5952-2 (epub, mobi)
Subjects: LCSH: PregnancyPopular works. | PregnancyMiscellanea.
Classification: LCC RG525 .H357 2016 | DDC 618.2dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015050260

Design by Gretchen Scoble
Illustrations by Greg Stadler

Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com

When I was pregnant with my two daughters Heather (the elder by three years) and Wendy, I was amazed by the transformative properties of pregnancy. I felt different, in many ways physically better than usual and special because I was carrying a child. But there were also some surprises: I felt unusually tired, even with normal rest, and I worried more than I thought I would. I was also surprised that I could apply so little of my knowledge about prenatal development and human behavior to my own pregnancy.

My practitioners offered good care, but their answers to my questions about my babys development always seemed vague: Hows my baby doing? I would ask. Fine, they would say. I can hear the babys heartbeat. I longed to know more: What features were present? Could my baby move around? Was my baby processing any sensory information? How much did the baby weigh? Where was my baby in terms of development?

I eventually found the answers to these questions while doing research for a textbook on child development. Those answers, too late to provide insight into the chronology of my own pregnancies, are summarized within the pages of this book. Thus, it is my hope that The Pregnancy Journal will help parents feel:

• enlightened and inspired about their baby and their pregnancy
• informed about how pregnancy can influence their bodies, themselves, and those around them
• a sense of wonder and amazement as they follow the fascinating chronology of their babys cell-by-cell growth
• inspired to act in the best interests of their baby during and after pregnancy
• a powerful emotional connection to their son(s) and/or daughter(s) that manifests as deep and abiding affection, fascination, and sheer delight
• inspired to make a lifetime commitment to prioritizing their babys needs above their own

The Pregnancy Journal is keyed to your babys birthday (due date), so your sons or daughters personal day-by-day growth is laid out like a daily planner. No need to sit down and digest an entire chapter before you guess how it might apply to your own baby at any particular time. The developmental entries are brief enough to be read quickly and easily with key information in bold print. In addition, the recommendations and revelations are thorough, current, interesting, and derived from evidence-based knowledge and best practices.

Extensive content revisions have been incorporated into this twentieth anniversary edition. Reliable research findings add new knowledge and validate or refine past practices. In order to give your baby every developmental advantage, you can rest assured that all recommendations are up-to-date and current.

Many women read The Pregnancy Journal with their husband, wife, partner, special friend, or their own mother, father, or parent figure. I would encourage you to do the same. Enjoy! Share! Communicate! Each pregnancy is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all participants. In retrospect, the time between conception and birth comes and goes in the blink of an eye.

A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.

I am grateful for the support, encouragement, and good advice of a fine collection of people. First and foremost, my family is utterly patient and supportive. In am indebted to my husband, Bob Harris, for doing everything a great partner needs to do to encourage my progress, shore up my energy, and offer advice. When I need a lift, sister Debby Day Carman, Nana Jeanne Carroll, daughter Heather, sister Care, my four grandchildren, sister Diana, son-in-law Ryan, and my flowers never let me down.

When she was in the sixth grade, my daughter Heather Harris (Carroll) thought the book sounded like a great idea and her validation really got the project off the ground. Next, my talented sister Carolyn Johnson used her creativity and graphic arts skills to transform the lifeless text into an eye-catching document. Finally, and through an incredible stroke of luck, colleague Cath Hooper, pregnant with her first child Theo, became intrigued and helped me establish a rewarding working relationship with Chronicle Books through Rob Shaeffer, Karen Silver, and Ursula Cary. The Pregnancy Journal and Chronicle Books have now been partnered for more than twenty years. Most recently, I have enjoyed working with Chronicles Christine Carswell, Lorena Jones, Laura Lee Mattingly, and Leigh Saffold.

Finally, great friends and colleagues continue to be important to me and my work. Im particularly grateful for Clyde Perlee Jr., John Davis, Bill Karns, Karen Andrew, Cathy Kennedy, Becky Pellegrin, Barbara Mitchell, Socorro Molina, Claire OConnor, Mattie Cook, Phyllis Ramsey, Mrs. Jessie Andrews, and Lynn Fowler.

All of the information in this journal is keyed to your estimated due date, or EDD. In that way, the information is not just a description of the sequence of events for any pregnancy; its the sequence of events for your unique pregnancy.

The easiest way to personalizeThe Pregnancy Journal is to begin with your babys current due date, Journal Day 266. First, go to and note your babys due date on that day. Then, using a monthly calendar as a guide and working backward from Journal Day 266, date each day in reverse sequence.