I have to admit, I was rather late getting into the smartphone craze. But a few months ago, I caved, picking up an iPhone and the extra monthly data fees that go with it. A few weeks after that, I found out I was expecting and found an unanticipated benefit of being connected to the internet at all times (something I wasn't really sure I even wanted at first). Quick access to answers about my pregnancy questions.
Can I eat chinese food? (Sure, just don't overload on food with the MSG preservative). Is it normal for my arms to go numb? (Yup, your body produces 50 percent more blood so your limbs tend to fall asleep much faster). What are some things that help with nausea? (Ginger, lemon, peppermint, coke, Sea Bands…) Answers to simple questions even if I wasn't anywhere near a computer (or my mother or mother-in-law).
I used my Facebook page to let extended friends and family know the news. I receive weekly Baby-is-the-size-of-this-produce-aisle-item-this-week updates by email and post them to my Facebook page. I have two dozen nursery ideas bookmarked in my favorites. Which makes me wonder, what was pregnancy like before all this? Like when the doctor had to rig up a horse and buggy and ride across town in a snowstorm to deliver? Before ultrasounds could tell you that the baby was okay (or whether to buy blue or pink)? And for me in particular, before there was such thing as fertility treatments, hormone supplements, anti-nausea medication, or shots for negative blood types.
Perhaps every generation has different experiences when it comes to becoming a mother, just like every generation has different growing up experiences. When I was shopping for a gift for my 1-year-old niece, I found a teether holder to baby-proof smart phones. Really? Isn't that going too far? While I'm glad to have pregnancy information easily accessible on my phone, I'm going to have to make decisions for my children that my parents and grandparents didn't have to make, like how young is too young for a cell phone? A Facebook page? Or the next up coming technology that doesn't even exist at the moment?
I think its a matter of finding the right balance. Looking up everything before I put it my mouth (and probably finding way too many pregnancy myths as a result)—too far. Looking up the types of safe fish on my phone since the list my doctor gave me is at home—okay. Spending every spare moment looking up every pregnancy-related webpage—too far. Sharing my stories with other expecting parents (and years later sharing them with my child) on a blog—more enjoyable than you would think!
