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The Changing Room: A Mother’s Journal of Gratitude

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This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

As moms, most of us desperately want to preserve our children’s memories. We blog, we take photos, we scrapbook, we write journals.

For those of you who are looking for something to help guide you in recording your thoughts of this very special time, Cristina Carlino has written the changing room. It’s called “a mother’s journal of gratitude to her little girl.”

Now my own little girl is not so little anymore. She just turned twelve. BUT I was surprised when I looked through this book how useful it could be to me today. I had such resolve to keep a journal for Amanda to read when she was a mother, but I’d write a nice full entry, and promise to do better in the future, and then many many months would go by, where I wouldn’t write at all. Is anyone with me on this?

For all of those who are filled with regret for not recording your thoughts about those early years of motherhood, I think that this is just the book for you.

The prompts go back to finding out you were pregnant and bringing the baby home. But more than that we are invited to explore our own early years with our mothers. We also look back to our childhood home, and how our own home changed with the addition of a baby.

The beautiful classic muted colors and artistic design inspire just as much as the prompts.

This journal is not only a great keepsake for your daughter to have when she’s a woman, but it’s a great way to remember things from your life, write them down, and process them within the framework of the time, distance and perspective that being a mom has given you.

What a lovely idea — a perfect baby gift, gift for a friend or sister, or just for you. All net proceeds go to The Joyful Heart foundation which benefits abused children and adults.

Find out more about Cristina Carlino and her project at her Facebook page or her blog.

If you like the sounds of this, but you think in blue instead of pink, Mariska Hargitay is working on the boys’ version of the Changing Room, so stay tuned. . . .

But for those of you who love the idea of this journal, please leave a comment as your entry. We will award journals to 2 winners (U.S. and Canadian shipping addresses). We’ll announce the winners in our 5 Minutes for Books column here on Monday September 27.

You can buy the changing room journal on amazon.

The winner of the complete set of 39 Clues books is #50 Achinthya.

The winner of The Wild Soccer Bunch book is #11 Marj M.

Original post by book blogger Jennifer Donovan, who manages 5 Minutes for Books and blogs at Snapshot.

Disclosure: I received a copy of the journal for review purposes. Links to amazon are affiliate links, for which I earn a small referral fee if a purchase is made.

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39 Comments

  2. I love this idea, since it is difficult to comeo up with new ideas, the prompting would be very helpful and jarring your memory from years back! cheers to you for a great concept!

    Sheri

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  3. oh yes, I can totally relate to the part about writing a nice long entry and then NOTHING for months! That is so what I have been doing since I had a baby 7 months ago! Would love this book (AND the one for boys when that comes out!) 🙂
    Thanks!

    Reply

  4. This is an excellent idea. I’m with Jennifer… I always had the best plans for keeping a journal for my kids, but I think I’ve filled in about 3 pages thus far, and now they are 12, 9, and 6. Even their baby books are sadly empty. I’d love to have a structured way to organize my thoughts and write things down for them. 🙂

    Reply

  5. I would love one of these journals – it sounds just like me – I try and try to keep up, but, honestly I journal a couple of times a year, like when my daughter got seriously hurt by her horse (bucked off) I wrote in my journal because I needed an outlet. Thanks for the chance!

    Reply

  6. I had such grand ideas to journal my children’s babyhoods, and of course I didn’t at all. I am a chronic (if sporadic) journaler though, so I think I would LOVE this! Esp as (oh the things we admit in public comments) my girl is 13 now and things are beginning to go up and down.

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  9. What a great journal! would love one to start writing for my daughter. When we found out the one kid we were expecting was two, life became a whirlwind and still is. Something like this would really help me focus on one child and one day give something special to her!

    Reply

  10. Since my life’s calling is to encourage women to Recognize, Record and Remember – I would love to have this journal (plus I raised 3 daughters).

    Reply

  11. I would like to win this for my oldest granddaughter who has a nearly 5 month old daughter herself. How wonderful to read.

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  12. I’m so far behind in my journaling and scrapbooking. I had time when it was just my son, but I have not done any journaling for my 2 girls. This book would help me “catch up”!

    Reply

  19. This is a fabulous idea! I have “Reflections from a Mother’s Heart,” which is the story of my life that I plan on giving my daughter for her 20th birthday (she’s 19 now and the date keeps changing because I never get finished!) and I’ve been wondering what to do for the other children. I know she’s the oldest… and she knows about the book and expects to get it one day. This would be perfect to give to my middle daughter and when the boys one comes out that will be good for him. Now all I have to do is get one for the youngest daughter and I’m all set. They’ll all feel special and thought of. (Yes, I’m talking like I already won! LOL)

    Reply

  32. I just had my first little girl {first child, actually} almost two months ago. Something like this would be perfect for recording about her life.

    Reply

  33. I would love to win this for my upcoming baby girl. At least I think it’s a baby girl. Ultrasound this Wednesday! We’ll see!

    Reply

  36. I am with you on not recording enough, especially when I can remember. What is worst is when the children ask and you can’t even come up with something to tell them.

    Reply