Starting a Pregnancy Blog: Tips for the Blogger To-Be

So you've taken the test and had it confirmed. The results are in - you're expecting! A million things are likely going through your mind. Things you want to keep track of, progress reports you want to share, feelings and thoughts you want to record. There's no better way to do all of this than with a pregnancy blog. Getting started in the blogosphere isn't difficult at all. The hardest part is deciding what you want to say and finding a place that's user-friendly to say it in.

A blog is a web journaling platform where you can enter commentary, thoughts, messages, upload videos, post pictures, and share it all in one place on the Internet. There are many websites that offer user-friendly blogging platforms free for the registering. Some of the most popular sites are www.blogger.com, www.wordpress.com, and www.typepad.com . All of these venues are free of charge. All you have to do is sign up and start blogging. The sites allow you to tweak your page to various customized settings like font type and colors. The choices varies with the platforms so performing a Google search to see what's out there is a good way to see which kinds of blogs are out there.

Now that you have the how, why, and where, it's time to decide on the what and the who.

Once you've familiarized yourself with how a blogging platform works, you must then decide what you want to put in it. Here are some ideas as to which kind of blog you'd like to start for your pregnancy:

A progress blog that tracks your entire pregnancy from start to finish, including your OB visits, ultrasound photos, problems you encountered, tests you had to take, etc.

A journaling blog that's more personal, detailing your feelings, hopes, and fears regarding the pregnancy

A photo blog of yourself during each month of the pregnancy

A networking blog that connects with other mothers-to-be

Or you could do what most people do and make your blog an all-inclusive one that encompasses all these things!

The last question you need to answer before starting a pregnancy blog is 'who' - who are you going to share this special event with? You can choose to connect with other people who also have blogs on that particular platform and add them to your friend list. This can be other expectant moms, friends, family, etc. Most of the blogging platforms offer privacy settings that allow you to keep prying eyes and strangers from seeing personal thoughts and/or information that you post within your blog. With the friend list, you can restrict your blog to only people that you know. However, if this setting is in place, people who are not on your friend list will not be able to see what you post, including friends and family members that live in other parts of the world who you may want to show your blog to, to keep them updated. As with all areas of the Internet, a certain degree of discretion is advised.

The most important thing to remember when starting a pregnancy blog is that there's no right or wrong way to do it. It doesn't have to look like hers, hers, or theirs. It's YOUR blog. It's YOUR baby. It's YOUR body. Embrace it and have fun with it. If it looks good and feels right to you, that's all that matters.