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In labor? Pumping at work? Emoji app lets moms share how they really feel

Want to tell your friends you're finally in labor? Need to share your sadness about the end of maternity leave? There's an app for that.
/ Source: TODAY Contributor

When it comes to describing the indignities of labor and delivery or the awkwardness of pumping breast milk at the office, any mom will tell you there are just no words.

But now — thanks to a new emoji keyboard — there are no words needed.

Emoji mom
From those hospital-issue mesh underwear to nipple cream, EmojiMom offers postpartum mommies a way to text about the indignities of delivery.EmojiMom

EmojiMom, a recent addition to the Apple App Store, is an emoji keyboard that expresses all things pregnancy-and-new-motherhood-related in illustrated form. From breastfeeding woes like pumping in a public restroom to the mesh panties and nipple cream needed post-delivery, the app hilariously depicts the feelings and frustrations of pregnant and postpartum mothers.

Emoji mom
From those hospital-issue mesh underwear to nipple cream, EmojiMom offers postpartum mommies a way to text about the indignities of delivery.EmojiMom
Emoji mom
EmojiMom allows moms to express their sadness about returning to work after maternity leave with one simple emoji.EmojiMom

Sarah Robinson, who co-founded the app with friends Natalie Ralston and Hannah Hudson, says the inspiration for the emoji came from a text conversation with her fellow moms on a stressful morning when her son, Jack, was an infant.

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“I was getting ready for work — one of my first days back from maternity leave — and my baby peed all over my work outfit,” said Robinson. “It was such a hilarious, frustrating, OK-I-might-break-down-and-cry kind of moment that I texted Hannah and Natalie about it and we all said, ‘Seriously, there ought to be an emoji to describe this feeling.’”

Emoji mom
Robinson says the idea for the app was born after her infant son peed on her outfit before work one morning. "Those kind of moments happen all the time when you are pregnant or have an infant," said Robinson. "So, we decided to make the emoji we were missing."EmojiMom

Since there wasn’t, Robinson and her friends partnered with an illustrator, Lauren Burke, to create an emoji keyboard that would provide new moms with an honest portrayal of motherhood.

“Our main goal with this is for moms to feel understood and to feel like they can have a means of expressing what they’re going through to other moms” Robinson told TODAY Parents. “So many people have pregnancies and labors and post-partum times that are difficult, if not traumatic.”

Emoji mom
The app pokes fun at the no-no's of pregnancy, with emoji showing a pregnant woman drinking wine and lamenting the need to abstain from eating sushi.EmojiMom
Emoji mom
As expectant moms count down the weeks of their pregnancies, EmojiMom offers weekly images that compare the size of their growing babies to produce.EmojiMom

“Many corners of the Internet — including the ones you tend to stumble on when it’s two in the morning and you’re awake with a fussy baby — tend to share this beatific, glossed-over version of motherhood,” Robinson continued. “So it was important to us to put something out there that is real — and we get very real.”

Emoji mom
In addition to emoji depicting labor, EmojiMom includes emoji for every centimeter of dilation. "It's just ridiculous to think that you'd be texting when you're eight centimeters dilated, which is why it's funny," said Robinson.EmojiMom

The “real” collection of mom emoji includes a c-section incision, anti-depressants, and a mom with mastitis, to name a few.

Emoji mom
EmojiMom co-founder Sarah Robinson with her son, Jack. "I'm glad to have EmojiMom to reach out to new moms," said Robinson. "Nothing says, 'I get it,' like a mesh underwear emoji."Nils Lundblad

Robinson, whose son is now a toddler, says she recalls being comforted in her first months as a mom when a close friend would be real with her about the difficulty of the newborn stage. The Boston, Massachusetts, mom and her co-creators hope their app will allow them to be that comforting presence in the lives of other new moms.

Emoji mom
Robinsonsays the idea for the app was born after her infant son peed on her outfit before work one morning. "Those kind of moments happen all the time when you are pregnant or have an infant," said Robinson. "So, we decided to make the emoji we were missing."EmojiMom
Emoji mom
Because it was important to Robinson and her and her co-creators to portray motherhood honestly, the app includes emoji that address topics like postpartum depression and infertility.EmojiMom

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“We want to make people laugh. And, make them feel understood,” said Robinson. “Now that I’m past the newborn stage, I’m glad I have EmojiMom to reach out to new moms. Nothing says, ‘I get it,’ like a mesh underwear emoji.”

EmojiMom is available in the Apple App Store, and retails for $1.99.