Pregnancy

The Best Pregnancy Books and Apps

It wasn't long after my positive pregnancy test that I was already ordering books on the topic and comparing pregnancy apps.

I read some reviews and tried to figure out which ones sounded the most interesting to me and us and I ended up finding some good ones which I've listed below.

Before we get to the list, here's a short explanation on why these are my favorites. First of all, I don't like patronizing and guilting expecting mothers those books and apps were cut off first. What I did like was a positive, emphatic approach with a good amount of proven facts and preferably some humor too.

All the books and apps I've listed are in english.

Apps

Ovia Pregnancy
My favorite pregnancy app! The best part about this app are the pics. Each week the app has a new image to represent the size of the baby and there are different themes to choose the picture from such as "French Bakery" and "Fun and Games". For example, this week our baby is the size of a Mille-feuille (french bakery) or a Troll (fun and games). Also the weekly picture of the baby in the womb is really pretty and looks quite realistic. The texts approach each subject with a positive attitude and I like that also the mother's mental health is considered, not just the physical health. The app is free.

Who’s Your Daddy
For dads and other partners. Not perfect, but the best we've found. The reason it's not perfect is that I feel like it's putting a lot of pressure on the poor dad/partner. About five days a week the daily tip is something like "Book Sissi a spa treatment" or "Cook Sissi her favorite meal today". If you feel like you need more help and support from your partner, this app is great at reminding them about that. However, I feel like Eerikki has taken his role at this pregnancy very seriously and so after working all day and trying to make sure all is fine with me, opening the app and having it say "Cook Sissi a candlelit dinner' just feels unreasonable :P Some tips are humorous, however, and there are some good tips in there too like open up a savings account for the baby. I also like that the weekly info is always made funny. Costs a few euros, only available for iPhone.

Wee Mail
This app makes no sense, which makes it great! It's an app where your unborn baby sends you daily messages from the womb. The baby has a bit of an attitude, so be prepared for that. At its best it's really funny, below are some of my favorites.

Flo
This is an app I used when trying to get pregnant, which is why I wanted to mention it here. The full version is quite expensive and after trying it out, I concluded it's not worth it as Ovia is much better and free. Flo is great for when you're trying to get pregnant and the free version is sufficient for that.

Baby Names
I have no idea why I downloaded this as we've already picked the names. This was of no help with finding any new names but that's not to say it hasn't been a lot of fun! If you get bored while pregnant and have the sense of humor of a 7 year old, like I do, you'll have fun with this for a few hours! Here are some of my favorites:
Girls names:
Persis (very similar to the Finnish word for A**)
Rufina (Ruf ruf!)
Tanaquil (sounds like something that would knock out a horse)
Naama (uglier of the two ways you can say "face" in Finnish)
Conchobarra
Persephone (means a "butt phone" pretty much, see "Persis" above)
And one for the boys:
Adonis

Books

What to Expect When You’re Expecting
A classic and for a good reason. It's emphatic and positive and full of interesting facts. There isn't a pregnancy related topic I can think of that wouldn't be covered in the book and I like that it has separate info boxes just for partners. I also like that they emphasize that while they may say "dad" it can mean any partner and that the book works for all kinds of families. Sure, most of the stuff on the book is written with the expecting mom in mind but I like it that they want to be clear that it's not just for mom&dad families and they try to acknowledge different kinds of families throughout the book. If you only get one book, get this one.

The Expectant Father
Ok, I have to admit that I haven't read this and Eerikki has just gotten started so I can't actually promise that this is any good! But it was recommended... Once Eerikki finishes this, I'll tell you what he thought.

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