Thank you to Bloomlife for sponsoring this post. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make LivingLesh happen.
At 33 weeks, I am currently in the nesting phase now that I’m out of the second trimester. Everyday, I find something else to do to get ready for Baby V to arrive. From finalizing everything with his nursery to installing the carseat bases in the car and packing my hospital bag, I’m ready for his arrival…well, kind of. I’m ready for Baby V to be here, but I want him to stay in my belly and develop for his full term as any mother would want their baby to. About two weeks ago, we had a small scare where we thought that Baby V was going to come early. I was admitted to the hospital with symptoms of preterm labor. It was a very scary ordeal and I feared for my baby and anxiously watched the monitors that the doctors had me connected to. After about 24 hours, I was released with news that I wasn’t dilating and that my contractions, that looked like early labor, was just my uterus contracting like any other muscle. But upon my release, I walked out of the hospital scared about how I was going to monitor going further to make sure that I could tell if this happened again. That’s where Bloomlife came in.
Bloomlife is a rented contraction monitor that you can get within your third trimester. It’s an easily worn device that you put on your belly that helps you to keep track of the “trends” of your contractions.
Many mothers have an experience with Braxton Hicks, and at times, it can either send mom into a scare thinking that this is it, or, like me, it can make you think that the consistent contractions that you are having aren’t that serious – which could be a problem.
Since my little scare with symptoms of preterm labor, I have been using the Bloomlife device to track my contractions, and it is probably one of the easiest things that I have done at the end of this pregnancy. All you have to do is find a comfortable spot to sit for some time and stick the Bloomlife tracker onto your lower belly. Once you have the app downloaded, you let the tracker calibrate and it does all of the work. You can then watch as Bloomlife tracks the frequency and length of any contractions that you may be having with it also being advanced enough to ignore the movements of baby so that it is not confused with a contraction.
I also have been enjoying the different tips and articles that are available to help you understand your patterns. One of the tips that I have stuck with is doing the monitoring at night when you are trying to settle down, and even the idea of having the monitor on overnight in the case that baby is a little more quieter at night than during the day.
As we get closer and closer to the end of the term, I am happy to say that my signs of preterm labor have subsided and the anxiety of getting those contractions again have gone away now that I am tracking my contractions with Bloomlife.
Instead, I am now focused on using Bloomlife closer to my due date so that I know exactly when I need to head to the hospital. Our hospital is about 35 minutes away, and though it’s not that far, I don’t want us to be the couple that heads out there thinking that it is time only to get sent right back home. That 35 minute drive can add up if you’re just driving up and down the highway. Additionally, with the Bloomlife keeping all tracking data on the app, when I think I am in the 5-1-1 rule, I’ll have proof to show my doctor that my contractions are close together and it is time. Or at least I have something to hand to them in the case that I am in so much pain that I can’t speak.
If you’re interested in trying out Bloomlife, get 25% off your rental by using code:
LESH25
