The second I found out I was pregnant, all I wanted to do was read about being pregnant. And talk about being pregnant. And get some sort of pregnancy club badge to wear so I could finally get a seat on the subway.

But I seriously wanted to be an expert on every single stage of the miracle going on in my bod and these informative, fun apps provided a much needed respite from Instagram, Facebook, and texting my husband every 2 minutes for attention…

1. What to Expect

I tried reading the book but I was too impatient, meta-millennial, and starved for weekly, personalized content. Two features on this app I couldn’t have lived without during pregnancy – #1 the weekly videos. What “fruit” is my baby this week? Let everyone’s iconic author Heidi walk you through what your baby is up to in motel mom every week. Force your husband or partner or a strange woman on the subway to watch with you so you can ooh and ahh with someone. No joke, I looked forward to these weekly snippets and I honestly miss them. #2 the message boards. Proceed with caution. I read but didn’t really write on most of these anonymous boards. That said, reading them did help me feel less alone in the early “secret” stages of pregnancy. There is another woman in the world who was also 6 weeks pregnant who was craving parmesan fries? No. Effing. Way.

2. Babystory

Take pics and stamp them with this app. Bodysuits, bikinis, tasteful nudes – you do you – but don’t forget to capture the experience. Pregnancy flies by. One day you’ll actually miss the bump. Or you’ll snap your fingers and it will be 2024. Your kid will be pissed that they don’t have anything to post for throwback Thursday. 

3. Baby2Body

I think this app is Australian. I never paid for the add-ons but they’re probably worth it. The weeks leading up to labor I used the Kegel breathing exercises on this one (free feature!!). I liked being able to take a 3 or 5 minute break to clench my cheeks. I also felt like I was part of an exclusive club because I had an app that no one else was using. Join the club!

4. The Bump

Have to include this because it is a great resource for never-ending pregnancy and baby content. The actual week-to-week content wasn’t as riveting as What to Expect or Babycenter but clicking 9 out of every 10 instagram headlines from The Bump would reload this app with much-needed info as I entered each trimester. Or as I started making life altering decisions, like which stroller to register for (more on that later).