As you may have read in last week’s post, I am one of the new mommy-to-be bloggers who will be posting on Calm, Cool & Connected from now through Mother’s Day. I was invited to join the blog for the next few months to share my experience as I prepare to become a mom for the first time. Part of the preparation process is being informed. AT&T just announced its support of the new Text4baby service, so I thought I’d check it out. Text4baby made it easy to sign up: After texting “baby” to 511411 and providing my due date and zip code, the text messages began! It started, of course, with a welcome message that wished me a happy and healthy pregnancy. Now I receive a new text message each day with a reminder (take my prenatals, schedule a doctor’s appointment) or advice about my pregnancy (don’t smoke or drink). The texts also provide links to other resources, like the Center for Disease Control to check on getting a seasonal flu shot or H1N1 vaccination or a number to call to find an OB or nurse practitioner. These texts coincide nicely with the start last Monday of the four Prepared Childbirth classes my husband and I are attending each week at our hospital. Between the messages on my smartphone and the classroom learning, I feel better prepared as I approach this life-changing event. Spending time each day, even briefly, learning and thinking about my soon-to-be son is calming. Work and deciding what’s for dinner can gobble up mindshare rapidly – but a quick focus on what’s growing in my belly helps ground me and balance priorities.
Nicole Anderson
Hello, everyone! I’m Nicole, an AT&T employee and soon-to-be-mom of a baby boy. My husband, Justin, and I are expecting our first child at the end of April. It’s been a year of big changes for us, as I relocated with the company last April from the San Francisco Bay Area to Dallas. Thankfully, my husband was able to maintain his career, working remotely from Dallas. I’m jealous he gets to go back to California every month or so, especially during the summer to beat the heat! Just as we started getting settled in Dallas – learning the neighborhood, what road led where, and I was getting up to speed on my new job – we found out we were pregnant! It has been an exciting, if overwhelming, journey for us. Critical during our relocation was the use of our smartphones. If we got lost, or if we needed to find a restaurant, e-mail our realtor or send a quick text, our smartphones didn’t let us down. Now with the text4baby program, I can get quick and informative baby advice sent directly to my phone. With all the hecticness in our work and lives, these texts create a quick moment to reflect on the big change coming in our lives and learn something about the new life we are forming. I look forward to sharing this experience with you through my blog posts, and learning more about how to use technology as a new mom. Is there an app that helps your baby sleep through the night?!
