Five Favorite Pregnancy Apps

The first thing I did when I found out I was pregnant was download some pregnancy apps.

Well, no. The first thing I did was order a few books about pregnancy on Amazon, because I'm nothing if not over-prepared. But a few days after that, I went a little crazy researching pregnancy apps, and downloaded five of them.

Yes, you read that right. Five! I wanted to test out a few different ones, and I figured I could delete the ones I didn't like later on.

But eight months later, I still have four of the five on my phone. And they're not just taking up space—I use each of them at least a few times a week! Each of them offers something a little different, so I find that each one is useful in its own way.

My main criteria for the apps was that they had to be free. No paying for apps for this girl! Beyond that, each of them offers a range of different resources. Here's a list of my five favorite pregnancy apps, with a short review.

1. Baby Bump app

This is my favorite app because I love that little green tracker at the top. It's been so much fun watching it go from wayyyy over on the left to where it is now. The app includes daily tips, weekly development articles, and a little "photo diary" to fill out week by week. My favorite are the frequent "Just for Dad" tips—they are a great mix of funny and sweet. I often forward them to Frank.

2. Baby Center app

This app was built for the Type A amongst us—every single day comes with a "to do" item to check off. I enjoyed checking off items for the first few weeks, but long ago stopped keeping up with them. But their articles are awesome, and the weekly development updates are my favorites—very informative.

3. What to Expect app

One of my friends said this was her favorite app, but I wasn't as crazy about it. Too many cheesy videos, maybe? But I love the impressive variety of articles they link to every day—including great blog posts!—and the list of "Common Symptoms" for each week. They made me go, "Yes! I'm not the only one!!!"

4. Ovia app

Let's put it this way: if you love celeb gossip and have a fancy, tricked-out nursery planned for your child, you will love this app. (Seriously, they are always linking to celebrity pregnancy stories!) I'm not that kind of person, but I can't resist keeping this app around for one little reason: the "baby hand" feature. You can click to see exactly how big your baby's hand is, week by week.

It's kind of the cutest thing ever. I love looking at that tiny hand, comparing it to mine, and imagining holding it someday!

5. The Bump app

As you can see from the picture, this is your standard pregnancy app, with all the usual features: calendar, weekly development updates, photo diary. This was the first pregnancy app I downloaded, and the only one of the five I've deleted. It's just kind of boring and doesn't offer anything that the other apps don't.

Honorable mentions: Sprout and Pregnancy+ apps

Dang, these two apps are cool. I loved the 3D images of what babies look like at all stages of in-utero development. These two would be my favorites, but the downside? Both of them cost money. They do offer a free trial of several weeks, however, so I'd check them out. And if you're willing to pay for your pregnancy apps (I wasn't), these two should be at the top of your list.

5 Favorites: Pregnancy Edition!

This week I've been gushing to friends and family about some favorite items that have been lifesavers this pregnancy. I thought you might enjoy hearing about them too!

*Note: Male readers may wish to skip this post.

Five Favorites!

It's been a while since I did one of these! I have a few little changes around my house to share.

1. My rose wall!

I painted the rose for my senior project in high school Art, and I've been waiting to have a home for it ever since.

I finally brought it home from my parents' house and found it was a perfect match with the cute "Him and Her" frame from my dear friend Ruth:

We added photos of our families on either side—Jersey family on the left, Illinois family on the right.

I love how it turned out!

2. Pumpkin butter on toast is a delicious breakfast...

... but it's even better with a little apple cider.

The combo makes me feel like Ms. Autumn Woman. :)

3. A few weeks ago, my family came to visit and my littlest sister brought a friend.

I heard her escort her little friend over to the bookshelf and gush, "They don't just have boring grown-up books. They have kid books too!"

I took that as a big compliment.

Then they went outside and tried to climb the fire escape to the top of the building (fortunately we intercepted them). So... I'm not sure I should really trust their judgment.

But it's a compliment nonetheless. :) I do love collecting children's books from thrift stores and book sales.

4. After overhearing that comment, and noticing how my little siblings always gravitate to our bookshelves when they visit, I decided to put all the children's books together in one place.

I cleared off a messy windowsill and made it a home for my growing collection of children's books instead.

5. My trusty owl Minerva keeps watch on the end.

Have I told you about Athena and Minerva? That's what we named our owl bookends, a wedding gift from my dear friend Joey.

Joey thinks it's crazy that I name things like laptops and bikes, so of course I had to name the owls he gave me. Contrariness for the win. ;)

And yes, I do know that Athena and Minerva are the same person in mythology. But aren't those great names for twin owls?

I've loved owls ever since I met Hedwig in Harry Potter. And I sure do love our little book-sill. Here's to adding many more books to it.

Many thanks to Hallie for hosting!

Five Favorites + WWRW

I've hit a writer's block. Can you tell? I can't think of a lot to write about lately, yet I can't work up the motivation to work on my (stalled) Love Story series or a post about my wedding or honeymoon.

In hopes of kicking the writer's block, at least for today, I thought I would jump on not one, but two bandwagons that I've enjoyed for a long time from afar, but never participated in. (WWRW readers, feel free to skip to the bottom!)

Five Favorites

1. Pinterest is really killing it these days. I've been making a bunch of recipes from my Deliciousness board with stunning success. My sister Cathy came over for tea last week, and we made these brownie-cookie dough-Reese's bites. It was really easy and they turned out better than they sound ... if that's even possible.

Teatime with Cathy // homemade bread // nutella, honey, cookie butter

2. I've been making this sandwich for lunch a lot lately—it's amazing, amazing.

3. This list of one-tray dinners will change your concept of after-dinner clean-up. I made this one last night with some chicken, potatoes, and zucchini we had lying around. The meal was good, and the zucchini may have been the best I've ever had.

4. Ok, last one about food! Frank and I made toasted marshmallow shakes on Monday—highly recommend—they turned out great. And I promised him I will make this dark chocolate Guinness cake some time soon. Maybe next time Cathy comes over? (She's my designated dessert-baking partner).

5. I've been really enjoying my walk to work lately. Hyde Park has some really pretty houses with glorious front porches.

Front porches are kind of the greatest. I dream of having my own wrap-around someday. Porch swing and rocking chairs included, of course.

*Thank you to Hallie for hosting!

What We're Reading Wednesday

I'm reading two books right now, and loving them both.

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Both of these books have been on my "Want to read" list for years. I'm glad I'm finally getting around to them—both are well worth it.

What are you reading this week?

*Thank you to Jessica for hosting!