In the midst of the many tasks that have popped up as I prepare for my baby's arrival, there's one thing I'm particularly thrilled to have on my to-do list: writing letters to our little one. From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I felt like I had so much that I wanted to share with our baby — so many stories and memories and little pieces of advice. I decided to start writing letters to the baby at around the three-month mark, and since then it's become a ritual of sorts.

A night or two a week, I pick up the small journal on my nightstand to write about whatever feels important to share that day. One night it was the story of how my husband and I met, and another night it was all the promises I made to our baby [1]. There's a list of things I'd like the baby to know about its grandpa, my dad, and another list for my mom. I've covered Chicago spots I plan to bring our baby to someday, the ups and downs of my pregnancy, and a list of names we've considered for our little one.

Interested in creating a book of letters for your child too? A few tips:

The Journal

• If you plan to handwrite your letters, be sure to pick a sturdy, hardcover journal that will hold up over time.
• Hoping to go digital? Moleskine's Smart Writing Set [2] will digitize anything you write to transform it into a file format.
• For something that's ready to go with prompts, you can buy the Letters to My Baby [3] book, which features envelopes to hold your sweet notes.

What to Write About

• Pregnancy: It's an obvious starting point, but when it comes to your pregnancy, you can cover everything from the day you found out to your baby showers to names that didn't quite make the cut. Other ideas include how loved ones reacted to your big news, the things that surprised you most, and why you chose certain nursery details.
• You and Your Partner: What do you want your baby to know about you and your other half? Consider lists of your favorite things; what you were like as a child, as a teen, or in college; your best memories together; and things you hope the baby learns from each of you.
• Family and Friends: Your child will build relationships with your loved ones over time, but wouldn't it be special for them to learn about their family and friends from your perspective?
• Current Happenings: Let the baby know what's going on in the world they're about to join. Along with any newsy current events you might want to share, think about your personal life, too. Where do you live? What's your job like? Who do you hang out with, and where? How do you spend a typical day?

Oh, and the best thing about these letters? You can continue writing them through pregnancy and beyond — and there's no deadline, which really makes it a to-do list task I can get behind.