This is one long journey. What starts with those two mild lines in your home pregnancy test has a whole gamut of scans, nausea, advises and….and kicks. There is such a metamorphosis in your body; it’s like going through puberty all over again. There are of course doctors and mid wives to guide you through this but it’s comforting and entertaining if you use your Smartphone to tag along.
I am an avid android phone user and have jotted down some nice apps based on my experience so far. Most of these apps are available both on iPhone & Android. The story below is the journey from conception to 3rd trimester….
Before Conception
Preparation for pregnancy starts from the day you start thinking about it. Even remotely! If you want to just have fun playing safe, there are some wonderful apps that help you do that. For tracking ovulation, I used this app called My days .
This app of course requires you to be disciplined about adding to a calendar every time you bow chicka wow wow. Trust me that works in your favor. Firstly, makes you feel good about thyself, but the main thing is, you can get your LMP right. LMP – stands for last menstrual period, which is like the source code for most of the further calculations that will be made regarding dates associated with pregnancy, fetus development etc. This also helps to narrow down on actual date of conception.
First trimester
Congrats…you are it.
You & your partner are on a high and are determined to go through this phase in a savvy, no nonsense way unlike your sloppy cohorts. Kate Middleton…Make way, this is my time to pull off those high heeled silhouettes with an amazing bump.
Reality check – this panache takes about 5 – 6 weeks to turn to pukathon. This is when your body seems to be adhering to just about every symptom mentioned by the ‘been there, done that’s’. So it’s best to keep a check on these. Initially, I downloaded a plethora of apps, to track my symptoms. But by the time the nausea catches on, you understand it best to stick to 1(or 2 at max). I struck to I am expecting from med help. In fact it helps throughout the three trimesters. Helps you keep track of dates, appointments, progress & symptoms.
I lost about 1.8 Kg or 4 pounds (ok…I have an app that converts that for me ;)) during 10- 13 weeks. This app has a body weight setting that indicates suggested range corresponding to each week. It is possible to lose weight since you are eating lesser and also puking most of what you eat. It’s best to add what you are going through to the app’s daily symptom notification that pops up end of the day. Just seeing a numeric representation of other women going through similar symptom makes you feel stronger. It also has a cool widget that you can keep on your home-screen, where you can see a progress chart of baby’s growth per week. Best of all, this is measured in food sizes so you don’t have to deal with darned metric or FPS systems. 
Apart from pregnancy apps, there are corresponding apps you can use to aid your metabolism. My gynecologist advised me to drink a lot to keep well hydrated…and beer doesn’t count. Water your body app does an excellent job of reminding you at regular intervals. Also suggestions are based on body weight, so your expanding hotbod is accommodated.
Second trimester
These three months are bliss for both you & your partner. No CC cream can give you the glow that now your skin radiates (or not!). Good time for prenatal instagraming. This is when you are in mood for some knowledge seeking, and some apps can be your pocket Sensei. My husband & I were hooked on to My Pregnancy Today from baby center.
Best part is, this app is packed with amazing videos about what is happening to your body. All the data is clustered into weeks that correspond to certain fetal development process. Also this has an active participation of expectant moms in discussion forums. The app interface looks too ‘PowerPoint’ likes though, but maybe that is what makes it papa friendly compared to other over the top estrogen heavy interfaces.
If you already have appsessive compulsiveness, then you will see there in an acute shortage of good apps for pregnancy fashion, workouts, diets and games. Of course there are some apps in these genres but they still are nascent compared to above mentioned apps. I will try to make one this year 🙂
Third trimester
Ok …I am just a week into my third trimester and it already feels like I am taking the ring back to Morder… (translates ‘tough’ to non LOTR fans). You are getting bigger, have earned highest loyalty points for visiting the bathroom …and started feeling the kicks! This is the most amazing feeling I have felt so far into the pregnancy. So I decided to document it. The apps that I mentioned for 1st and 2nd also accommodate kick count feature. But I found this 3rd trimester exclusive app called kick me.
This helps to keep track of frequency of baby kicks, time stats, and active hours in a day. You just have to start a session timer and tap whenever you feel the kicks. The resultant can be viewed as hourly, daily and general stats.
To conclude…this is where I am so far into the pregnancy, and shared about all the apps that have been awesome fun and facts. There is a lot of useful and just as much junk out there. You have to set a filter on your head and not get carried away by the information surplus. These apps are just our companions and no way replacements for the real experts. They sure are ‘smart’ companions though.
Appy Pregnancy 🙂
April 14, 2015 – Lepakshi turns 1
vyjayanthy 