Thank you, Bloomlife Smart Pregnancy Tracker, for sponsoring this post, Pregnancy with the Bloomlife Smart Pregnancy Tracker. I was selected for this opportunity by Bloomlife Smart Pregnancy Tracker; the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Baby Lillie is one week old and it is already hard to imagine what our lives were like without her. I will share her birth story soon, but today I want to share a secret that I used throughout my pregnancy -- the Bloomlife Smart Pregnancy Tracker.
When I found out about our pregnancy with Lillie, I was almost embarrassed to say out loud that I had no idea what an actual contraction felt like. I had a child, so I should know what to expect when it came to "go time", right? Wrong. With Ollie, I had such bad back labor that I knew those pains well but those pains definitely outweighed my contractions and I never really felt a "normal" contraction. So when it came to the standard questions from my OB-GYN about if I had felt any contractions yet during my last few weeks of pregnancy, I had no idea what to tell her. I was a second time mom googling what a contraction felt like. Craziness.
I also haven't shared much about this, but our pregnancy was considered "high risk". I will definitely tell you more about this story when our family has a bit more insight on our baby girl; however, right now, it is important to know that she is happy, healthy, and perfect... but it was even more so important during our pregnancy to know when it was time to go to the hospital and what was happening when it came to our contractions and labor. Additionally, we had to deliver a bit further away from home in the city and we wanted to be able to give ourselves enough time to drive the extra distance when we needed to.
So with all that being said, when I heard about the Bloomlife Smart Pregnancy Tracker, I knew this was something we needed this pregnancy. The Bloomlife Smart Pregnancy Tracker is a contraction monitor that you wear on your stomach and it tracks the strength and length of your contractions. It also graphs your contractions out on a super easy-to-use smartphone app for you.
When I started to use it, I was completely floored about when I was having a contraction or Braxton Hicks. However, Bloomlife allows you to watch all contractions in real time, even ones you might not feel. As my weeks went by, I started to not only see the increase in the number of contractions, but also as they intensified, I was able to learn what my contractions were going to feel like once I was in active labor. Honestly, I would have just thought that she was moving around in my belly until much later into my labor and pushing pressure in uncomfortable places. Nope, those were definitely contractions.
The monitor itself suggests that you wear the tracker in one hour interval to gain the best insight and data. This was really hard for me with a toddler, because you cannot move really once it is on. I would attempt to put it on later at night once we got Ollie to bed; however, I always found myself wanting to even just adjust myself on the couch or grab a drink which would throw off the tracker. So some days I would get the whole hour in, and some days I would only wear the tracker for about twenty minutes or so. The great thing is that the kit includes a stack of adhesive stickers that are reusable for about five times as well as you can order more for free if you run out. These stickers are made to keep the tracker in place on your belly and they worked really well.
The tracker itself works like a subscription service that you pay per week and then return it after you deliver. This keeps the cost down for new moms when there are so many other expenses for a family that is adding a new baby into their lives. Keep it as long as you need it, send it back when you’re done.
I honestly was a bit skeptical of the whole thing at the beginning; however, the Bloomlife really works. With the Bloomlife live view, you don’t have to guess if you are having a contraction because you can see them as they happen! You always do not have to time your contractions anymore. You'll be able to see your contractions’ pattern as well as their average frequency and duration, and Bloomlife lets you see and compare past sessions to get to know your natural rhythms and share with family and friends. The more I used my Bloomlife Smart Pregnancy Tracker, the better it knew me!
It was so helpful to have on hand as we prepared for the delivery of baby Lillie. Although we ended up needing to be induced with our little girl, Bloomlife was helpful in those final few weeks and days of our pregnancy and my growing expectations of her arrival. I was able to learn what a contraction actually felt like, recognize my Braxton Hicks and contractions as they grew in intensity that last week or so, and felt so much more at ease when it came to preparing for the longer trip to the hospital. We did not have any need to worry "am I going into labor now?" because we were able to track and see our progress along the way.
If you’re on the fence about signing up to use the Bloomlife Smart Pregnancy Tracker, I would recommend it if you feel a lot of anxiety about recognizing the signs and being in charge of knowing exactly what’s going on in your pregnancy. Bloomlife Smart Pregnancy Tracker and its app make things a lot easier. There is so much pressure on moms to know their body and what is going on with it, but even for me, a second time mom, I had no idea what to expect. This is even harder if you have never been pregnant before.
If you'd like to try out the Bloomlife Smart Pregnancy Tracker, use this special link when you order your rentable Bloomlife contraction monitor and get your first week free (a $20 value). It has been such a blessing as we have walked through this pregnancy and I would recommend it to anyone throughout their third trimester!
To learn more about the Bloomlife Smart Pregnancy Tracker, you can visit their website or find them on Facebook and Instagram.
