Expecting a September Baby? Record This Before They Arrive
Here's something you probably didn't know: nine of the ten most common birthdays in the United States fall in September. September 9th tops the list, followed closely by September 19th and September 12th. If you're due this month, your baby is about to join a lot of company.
Once your baby arrives, the days blur together fast. The specific way you're feeling right now, the hopes you have, the version of your life that's about to change forever, all of that is easy to remember but hard to remember exactly. A recording holds it in a way a journal entry never quite can. Your voice, right now, saying these things out loud.
Here are prompts to help you capture it.
Questions to record before your baby arrives
About this moment
What does today feel like, physically and emotionally?
What are you most excited about? What are you most nervous about?
What's a small, ordinary detail about this week you want to remember, something you'd otherwise forget?
About your baby
How did you choose their name, and what does it mean to you?
What kind of person do you hope they become?
What's one thing you already love about them, even before meeting them?
About your life right now
What does the world look like right now, the news, the season, what's happening around you?
What does a normal day look like for you right now, the one you won't have again after this?
What's something you're proud of, from the pregnancy or from your life leading up to this?
A message to them
Tell them about the day you found out you were expecting.
What would you want them to know about who you were before you became their parent?
If they listen to this recording as an adult, what do you want them to hear in your voice?
How to make it happen
You don't need a formal setup. Pick a quiet moment, open leaf, and just talk. Answer a few prompts in one sitting or spread them across the days you have left. The goal isn't a polished narration, it's your actual voice, unscripted, saying what you genuinely feel.
Once they arrive, the questions don't stop. When their birthdays start rolling around, we've got prompts for those too.
