Creativity During Pregnancy

I can’t say that I’m great at drawing or painting.  But when I was pregnant and even advised to go on bedrest, I was able to do a lot of things, creative activities that made me feel good about myself and even more excited about the arrival of my child.

Not caring what anyone thought, I went right ahead and indulged in a lot of creativity, whether it was keeping a pregnancy journal, writing poems, fixing scrapbooks and albums, writing a song, or simply trying out some watercolor painting using these cute painting books for kids.

Here are two little existing pictures from a coloring book (“Horton Hears A Who” by Dr. Seuss) that I painted when I was confined in the hospital during my pregnancy (my daughter wanted to come out already, but my doctor advised me to still wait a day or two so she would be full-term already…But wait, I have to say, that my hubby and I, as well as everyone else, waited until the very moment I delivered to find out the gender of our child! We wanted to enjoy that kind of suspense and excitement, and it was soooo worth the wait!).

I remember a friend of mine asking me if I was getting all impatient about the long wait (9 months of carrying around a little “watermelon” in your tummy can get a bit exhausting for sure!), but I have to say, for the most part, I did enjoy my time being pregnant…it gave me all the time in the world to just enjoy the moments given to me…to dream about my child, indulge in pampering myself and making sure I was healthy for me and the baby, to write new songs, to read more books, and yes, paint, and journal, and do scrapbooking and organizing photos, and pen some poetry…

I’m happy to share that it was a creative time for me.  It’s really up to us mothers if we want to make the most of our time concentrating on the discomforts that pregnancy can sometimes bring.  No doubt, there were days of exhaustion and fatigue, simply because the weight was getting to be a bit much for my slight frame (heeeheee), but it was a time of joy and laughter.

If you’re pregnant and perhaps a bit bored and wondering what you can do during this time, I suggest that you try reading the book “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron, it’s a fantastic read that can help fuel your creative juices and keep you inspired to just keep on creating and doing what makes you feel alive.

Even cooking can challenge your creativity, like whipping up dishes you’ve modified yourself, or decorating or plating the food you’ve prepared.

I kept a journal throughout my pregnancy, and even now as I read through some of the entries, I feel grateful that I documented such moments I experienced…it’s a wonderful keepsake to remind you of the highs and lows and more of the excitement and anticipation of being blessed with a child, and it’s also a great gift to give your child someday.

If I had a good camera, I would have gotten into photography during my pregnancy.  But even if I had just a regular point-and-shoot camera, I still took the time to document every little thing, and the efforts paid off…I have a shelf full of photo albums to show my child, about how we (my husband and I) prepared for her arrival.

Here are some concrete suggestions and ideas on how to be creative during pregnancy:

1. Journal / Keep a diary.

2. Write free-verse poetry or make lists of observations.

3. Write a song or come up with melodies (the old-school tape recorder is still pretty handy!) you can later on hum to your child as your personal lullabye.

4. Take photos.

5. Organize photos into scrapbooks.  Don’t limit yourself to just labeling photos with names or captions.  Include a poem for your child, or create borders for the photos with whatever art materials you have.

6. Paint. Or at least try.

7. Create menus or come up with modified dishes/desserts you’ve always wanted to try but never had the time for.

8. Sketch/draw.

9. Create mood boards or dream boards using construction paper, old magazines, glue, and scissors, etc. Let your imagination run wild. Or you can make a board about goals you’ve set for yourself as a wife and mom.

10. Attend creativity seminars (I attended a creative workshop conducted by Jim Paredes of the APO Hiking Society…Jim is a renaissance man who is a mentor, inspiration to many.  Apart from being a gifted songwriter and singer, he is also into photography, writing (he has 3 books), and he teaches guitar, and was a teacher in Ateneo de Manila University before he decided to make a home in Australia) and be in an environment where everyone is eager to learn.  You’ll be surprised and delighted at this kind of positivity.

11. Work with your hands (sculpture, cross-stitching, knitting, painting, etc.).  The possibilities to staying creative are endless.

As long as you don’t overextend yourself (you and your health care provider know exactly the amount of rest and nourishment a pregnant woman needs), it’s always a great thing to be able to stay creative, apart from nurturing the little one in your tummy.  After all,the creative genes would certainly be among those good traits you want to pass on to your child.

The list goes on and on,  but I will be adding more to this list as time goes by.

One Response to “Creativity During Pregnancy”

1. Marci Mckouen says:

   July 15, 2010 at 9:07 pm

   I bookmark your site, nice work