Calling all my maxed-out-momma soul sisters! We all know the thrill and importance of our little ones’ firsts: first smile, first time they roll over, first time they wipe their own bum (YAY!). We want to see these moments. We want to document them. We want to hold onto the details of them long after those children go off to college and we’re left holding their sweet baby sock. But we are so busy, and so tired, and they learn new things so quickly that it becomes this insurmountable task to somehow capture all the important moments for posterity and still be IN the moment. If you’re anything like me you end up with a mish mash of memories: a detailed account of a first something lost on your Facebook wall; others nestled between that great burrito you had in New Mexico and that time you actually got ready to go out and took a selfie on your Instagram feed; still more buried within your camera roll or jotted on the back of an envelope and shoved in a drawer. Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a simple way to record it all in one place? Cue Promptly Journals…
Jayne Swallow, the owner and creator of Promptly Journals felt all the same things and did all the work for the rest of us. After trying countless ways to organize and document all the memorable moments of her first child’s first years with apps and items already available in the marketplace, she came up with her own system. Let me tell you, it’s one of those ‘from one mom to another’ things. She gets it. First off, it’s beautiful and timeless. This is not the blue and pink baby book of old. It comes in three muted neutral linen colors that fit in perfectly on my bookshelf with the rest of my décor. This not only makes them easy to grab when I have a spare second to fill in a page, but it doesn’t disturb the aesthetic I’ve worked so hard to create in our space (major, major bonus).
Second, it’s nothing like opening the daunting, blank pages of a standard journal and trying to decide what to write about. Really, no one has time for that. Jayne has done the legwork and each page has prompts to jog your memory of things you’ll want to remember from each stage, from how you found out you were pregnant, to your toddler’s favorite outfit, to how your teen envisions their future. Which brings me to my third (and favorite) thing about Promptly Journals: it takes you through your child’s life from pregnancy to college in one book.
It’s convenient, simple, and thorough. Plus, it’s pretty (and did I mention very reasonably priced?). I have one and I’m elated to have these precious moments on paper forever, to no longer have to worry about forgetting these stories I’ll one day want to remind them of, or even tell their children. These journals, I know, will become treasured family heirlooms – and I hope a family tradition.
Xx,
