Setting Up a Pregnancy Journal in Notion
Most people just download a template and move on. I built one from scratch after my sister asked me to set hers up, and it took me about three hours to get right. The problem is that pregnancy tracking has specific needs that generic journal templates don't handle well. This is really just a Notion database setup with relational properties for weekly check-ins, ultrasound logs, and mood tracking. There's no special software required. You create databases, link them together, and set up views that filter by trimester or week. I set up a main database called "Pregnancy Log" with properties for week number, symptoms, weight, blood pressure readings, and notes. Then I created a separate "Ultrasound" database with properties for date, measurements, images, and vendor. They're linked via a relation property. A third database tracks baby milestones and kick counts once you hit viability.
The tricky part that nobody mentions: Notion's mobile app is genuinely terrible for quick entries when you're seven months pregnant and just need to log symptoms before forgetting them. I learned this the hard way. My workaround was setting up a shortcut using Apple Shortcuts that opens the exact entry form I needed, pre-filled with today's date and week number. It saves maybe thirty seconds per entry but those thirty seconds matter when you're tired and your fingers are swollen. Another thing people miss is how to handle the photo storage issue. Notion has a 5MB file size limit per upload, and ultrasound images are often larger. I found that taking screenshots of the ultrasound reports and cropping them down works fine for reference purposes. The resolution drops but you lose the ability to see fine detail anyway on a phone screen. I just keep the full-resolution originals in Google Drive and link them. For the actual setup, here's what you need. Open Notion and create a new database. Switch to table view. Add properties for date, week of pregnancy, category (symptom/ultrasound/appointment/notes), severity level using a select property, and a text area for details. Create a second database for appointments with properties for provider, type, and follow-up needed. Link them with a relation. Then build a gallery view filtered to show only current week entries, and another view grouped by trimester.
The template itself isn't complicated to make. The value is in the structure. I've seen people spend weeks customizing databases when half the properties they add never get used after the first month. Keep it simple. Add a "trimester" formula property that calculates from your due date. Use a progress bar formula for the percentage of pregnancy completed. These two things alone make the journal feel functional rather than decorative. One warning: Notion databases don't sync well across devices for real-time editing. If both partners want to log entries independently, you'll get conflicts. I've had entries overwrite each other. The fix is assigning one person as the primary data entry person, or just accepting that there might be minor discrepancies you sort out later. There are free templates available online if you don't want to build from scratch. Search for "pregnancy tracker Notion template" and you'll find several. Most are decent. None of them include the shortcut trick I mentioned, and none of them handle the photo upload issue. So if you find a template that works, consider spending thirty minutes customizing the mobile experience rather than starting from zero.
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The whole thing took me about four hours total on a weekend afternoon. After that, maintaining it is roughly five minutes per day during the first two trimesters and maybe ten minutes per day near the end when tracking becomes more frequent. It's not a lot of overhead, and having everything in one place is actually useful when you're at appointments and need to pull up past notes on your phone.
