21 Apr Got to Parent? Here’s 16 good Apps for That
Baby-ing (and parenting!) is hard work. And there’s no denying that it can play havoc with your ability to function. We at Childmags know that you know there are great apps out there, ones that will legitimately make your life easier and more fun. But who has the time or energy to find them? So as our gift to you, we have wrapped up 16 of our favourite apps for people with little people. Go get your phone (if you can’t find it, look in the fridge) and get downloading.
The Wonder Weeks –Apple $5.99,
Lots of parents swear by this bestselling baby app. Based on a book by the same name, it’s lauded as a total lifesaver for parents trying to understand their babies’ development. It’s a calendar explaining what brain development is occurring when, and why some weeks your baby is fussy, sleeps poorly or eats less.
Feed Baby – Free
Trying to remember when and from which side your baby last fed can be harder than it sounds. That’s where Feed Baby comes in. This app allows you to log your newborn’s breastfeeds, along with sleep and nappy changes, so you have an easily accessible log to refer to when you can’t recall a thing.
Mind the Bump – Free
Smiling Mind and beyondblue have teamed up to create a Mindfulness Meditation tool to help individuals and couples mentally and emotionally prepare for becoming a new parent. Its tailored exercises aim to support you from day one of pregnancy through to 24 months after birth.
Natural Cycles – Subscription-based
Natural Cycles is the only certified app for contraception. Using just this app, your smartphone and a thermometer, you can track your cycle and ovulation. When used correctly, it’s reported to be more effective than the pill – but without all the hormonal side effects.
Keeps your records up to date. Sprout Baby is a powerful all-in-one tool allowing you to track all of your baby’s daily activities and care including feedings, sleep, nappies, developmental milestones, growth, health, medications, illnesses and more.
Fertility Friend Free with in-app purchases
This app is an advanced ovulation calculator, menstrual calendar, fertility chart and period tracker. It works to help you get pregnant because it interprets your own personal fertility signs.
Kindara: Fertility Tracker Free with in-app purchases
Goodbye surprise periods, mysterious fertile windows, and confusion about your cycle. It provide tools backed by science so you can master of your reproductive health.
Baby Monitor 3G – A$5.99
Baby monitors are great, and you don’t need to tote them around anymore. This app is a universal video and audio baby monitor that lets you hear every noise, stream live video, and soothe your child remotely. All it requires is two devices. One stays in the child’s room, the other stays with you. Easy.
Artkive – Free
So maybe your baby won’t be creating art for a while, but bear with us. This app lets you chronologically store, share and print your child’s artwork or schoolwork, ensuring you don’t feel guilty about throwing away anything your kids bring home. It’s obviously great for its intended reason when the time comes, but with a baby, you can use it to record cards, information sheets and all the random handouts you pick up in those newborn days.
ABC KIDS iview – Free
It’s amazing how many parents haven’t heard of ABC KIDS iview, a video on demand app for preschoolers brought to you by the ABC. All the content is free with no ads, and familiar to any child who watches a bit of ABC. Perfect for entertaining older siblings during feeding snuggles.
Mush – Free
Like a Tinder for mums, this beautifully designed app helps mums meet like-minded friends without leaving the house – or even having a shower! Huge in the UK, it now has 8,000+ users in Oz and growing. It connects you by baby’s age, lets you ask questions (“Anyone got a spare baby-carrier?”) and matches you by interest (the top three are ‘wine’, ‘chocoholics’ and ‘multi-taskers’ – no surprises there). It also keeps you feeling loved and informed with ‘Guides’, short articles written by mums for mums for a non-judgemental take on everything from breastfeeding to when it’s okay to start drinking.
Love Your Leftovers – Free
This cooking app minimises waste by matching the perfect recipe to your leftover ingredients, and it gives you the tools to plan and shop in a more efficient way to avoid food waste.
Adorable – Free with in-app purchases
New parents tend to go a little paparazzi in those early days. This app lets you stamp all those gorgeous pictures with beautifully crafted artwork and personalised text. Great for recording your baby bump week by week, creating announcements and generally doting over your bub via social media.
VSCO – Free with in-app purchases
All you need is a smartphone, good light and this app to get dreamy film-style pictures of your new baby. It is the chosen editing app of the Instagram elite, and for good reason. The filters are unbeatable. Perfect for shooting little toes!
Lake – Free with in-app purchases
If you’re into colouring-in, but have found yourself with fewer free hands than before, this adult colouring-in app will keep you entertained during those long feeding sessions – or when you find yourself trapped under a sleeping baby. It features lots of designs from well-known artists and is surprisingly addictive.
Captain Macleans and the Nurdles show kids a fun way to brush all parts of their teeth correctly. Catchy songs and dances get them brushing and help get them to the 2 minutes of brushing that dentists recommend.
All apps are available on Iphone and Android, except Adorable and Lake, which are iPhone only (when last checked).
