The Parenting Journal You’ll Actually Use

One journal. Eighteen years of stories. A gift they’ll treasure forever.

Not your typical baby book. It’s a flexible memory journal with birthday interviews, prompts, and space for your words...a love letter your child will treasure.

Customize your journal cover or keep it classic

🤓 Details

This isn't a baby book that makes you feel guilty for blank pages. It's a flexible memory keeper designed for real parents with real lives.

What you'll find inside:

  • Yearly birthday interview prompts (ages 1-18) to capture who they're becoming
  • An adventure map to keep a log of places you've been together
  • A few gentle nudges when you need inspiration
  • Mostly just lined pages waiting for your words

The truth no one talks about: Your camera roll is overflowing, but it can't tell the whole story. Between first steps and high school graduation, there are a million little moments you swore you'd never forget.

You will forget them.

That's exactly why this journal exists. It bridges the gap between endless digital photos and the real memories behind them—the messy, magical, hilarious reality of raising a human.

This isn't just a journal. It's a time capsule. A love letter. A gift your future self (and your future grown-up kid) will treasure forever.

📓 How It Works

Write on your schedule.

Once a year birthday interview, once a month, or whenever they do something you need to remember. This journal bends to your life, not the other way around.

Prompts when you need them.

Tucked in the back are ideas, prompts and age-based birthday interview prompts (toddler years through age 18) to spark ideas.

A keepsake they'll treasure.

Someday you'll pass this on, and they'll have a front-row seat to their childhood, told by the person who knows them best.

✍️ What’s Inside

At the front there are some basic prompts followed by a map to log travel adventures. The other prompts are tucked in the back as more 'guides' and ideas than prompts.

  • Things like yearly birthday interview prompts (from age 1–18).
  • Reflection ideas for you to pull into the pages and make your own.
  • Such as milestone reflections you actually want to remember.
  • Creative space for photos, doodles, predictions, and observations.


🎁 Perfect For

  • Baby showers (hello, unique gift idea!)
  • First birthdays
  • Sentimental parents with no time (aka all of us)
  • Anyone who wants to write less stuff and more meaning

A Peak Inside 👀

What Makes us Different

A Keepsake, Not a Chore

Capture the chaos (before you forget it). No awkward prompts, no fluff...just space for the moments that truly matter.

The Gift That Keeps Giving

Someday you’ll pass this on, and they’ll see their journey, captured through your love and perspective.

Birthday Interview

Guided prompts for every age, helping you capture the little quirks, and all the moments that make them uniquely them...year after year.

The Best Gift

This is not just a baby book, it's an inheritance. A living document of you that your child gets to carry forward.

It's a time capsule. A love letter. A window into who they were and how much they were loved.

When you hand this to your child years from now, you're giving them something no one else can: Their story, told by you.

They'll read about the moments they don't remember. They'll discover the quirks that made them uniquely themselves at every age. They'll see how their dreams evolved, what made them laugh, what you noticed that no one else did.

Real Talk

Most baby book prompts feel rigid and insignificant - favorite foods, weight, and forced photo updates.

I wanted something more meaningful for Bodhi, so I created the first Heart Journal and filled it with real memories, reflections, and milestones.

I started doing yearly birthday interviews, capturing our journey together as well as who he is becoming. Seeing my friends become mothers, I wanted to share this gift. But many found blank journals intimidating.

That's why I created @heart_journals - a balance of structure and freedom.

"The perfect gift for baby showers, first birthdays, or new parents."

– Babylist (JK, but seriously...it is.)

WTF is a 'Birthday Interview'?

I'm am so glad you asked.

Birthdays are the perfect chance to pause, reflect, and celebrate the journey ahead. This journal helps you capture who your child is becoming, one year at a time. A chance to look back on the past year from your perspective and ask them thoughtful questions to see the world through theirs.

In the back of your journal there are prompts and questions tailored to each age. I added them grouped in the back so you can start at any age.

Things like:

What’s one thing I do that makes you feel loved? Or, If you could talk to bugs, what would you ask them?

How to Use This Journal:

This journal is designed to help you capture the moments that truly matter, from your child’s first steps to their journey into adulthood.

Your Journey, Your Way

Write in it yearly, throughout the year, or as special moments happen.

Capture the Small Stuff

Document the funny shit they say, the times that make you proud, and everything in between.

Gentle Prompts

Helpful prompts inside to guide you when you need them — skip them when you don’t.

Keepsake for Life

The goal is to fill this book with love & memories, creating a time capsule to gift your child.

FAQs

What makes Heart Journals different from other memory books?

Traditional baby books want you to fill in “first haircut” and “shoe size at 14 months.” Heart Journals is about the real story, the wild, funny, emotional, messy stuff that actually makes up parenting. Think less checklist, more love letter. Open space to make it yours.

Unlike milestone trackers, Heart Journals leave room for your reflections, yearly birthday interviews, funny sayings, and the little quirks photos can’t capture. Over time, you’ll create something truly meaningful: a keepsake your child can hold, revisit, and cherish for years to come.

How does the birthday interview section work?

Every year, you sit down with your kid and ask them a set of questions ...simple, fun, and age-appropriate (we even put a list of ideas in the back of the journal to help spark inspiration). When they’re little, it might be things like “What’s your favorite snack?” or “Who makes you laugh the most?” As they grow, the answers naturally evolve into bigger stuff like “What do you want to be when you grow up?” or “What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?”

The magic is watching their answers shift over time. At 3, they want to be a dinosaur; at 7, a YouTuber; at 16, maybe a doctor or an artist. You’ll end up with a yearly snapshot of who they are in that exact moment, their personality, quirks, and dreams....all captured in their own words.

The other juicy piece is just your own refection fo the year. How things looked from your POV, what made you proud, who they are in that moment.

It only takes about 10 minutes once a year, but it turns into a treasure trove of memories. Future-you will be obsessed with it, and when you hand the journal over someday, they will be too.

What age is this journal for?

It’s designed to document from birth through age 18. That said, there are no timeline prompts so it’s never too late to start. You can jump in at age 3 or 7 or 16...we’re not the memory police. Just start.

Prompts are located at the back of the journal, meant to be referred to if you need ideas. The rest of the journal is lined for you to use in whatever timeline suits your family.

What kind of prompts are inside?

No 'prompts' here, just a guided section in the back to help you with ideas so you can reflect on who they are right now. Some are deep, some are fun, all are flexible. Most of the journal is open space to jot down the funny things they say, milestones, tantrums, sweet bedtime chats, sibling dynamics, and your own parenting journey too.

It is structured more like leaving love notes over time, not crafting a perfect story or writing down how much they weighed at three years old like traditional baby books.

What if I forget to write for a year (or three)?

Then you pick up where you left off. No guilt, no judgment. Life is full, parenting is intense. This journal is here whenever you're ready to come back to it.

Plus when you purchase we send you a custom calendar invite to schedule a yearly nudge on your kid’s birthday so you remember to jot down what made this year special (or chaotic). So you should at least remember once, which is enough!

Give it a swing here.

When should I gift this to my child?

It’s completely up to you.

Personally, I joke that my kids will have to claw it out of my cold dead hands...I love it that much. Maybe I’ll let them peek while I’m here, and they’ll keep it forever once I’m gone. Who knows.

The point is, there’s no rule book here, just do what feels right for you.

Can I get reminders to write?

Yes! You can opt in for us to send you a gentle nudge on your kid’s birthday so you remember to jot down what made this year special (or chaotic). You can test it out here.

What if I’m “not a writer”?

Then this is perfect for you. Prompts are short and simple, and most of the magic comes from your everyday words.

Your kid doesn’t care if it’s Pulitzer Prize-worthy they just want you. And the most authentic peek into their lives as a little human.

Will my kid actually care about this when they’re 18?

Yes. Imagine being handed a book full of your parent’s memories, stories, and love...it’s priceless. This isn’t just a record of milestones; it’s a view into your story before you even remember it. What made your parents laugh when you were two. The funny things you said at four. The chaos, the joy, the moments they don’t always post online but never wanted to forget.

It’s like a time machine that lets your kid see themselves through your eyes, year after year. And when you gift it to them at 18, it’s going to hit way harder than a graduation card with a check inside. (Although we do recommend both.)

Is this a good gift for new parents?

Absolutely. It’s thoughtful, unique, and way more lasting than another onesie.

Bonus: it doesn’t require batteries.