I purchased an ipad a few months ago, and finally have a more visceral understanding of “Apps”!  When a client raved about the app that helped her keep track of  “which side was when” with breastfeeding (Baby Connect), I decided that I should learn more about how these bits of programming could be useful to the new parents I serve.

Wow, I had no idea how extensive this journey could be! There are hundreds of apps that could be useful to parents; how to narrow it down? I decided to simply focus on the apps I found and believe would be useful to expecting and new parents, and invite you to share your discoveries here as well.  Please share your experiences-those “in the trenches” are the best critics!

Expecting parents can count kicks with the “Pregnancy Kick Counter” by Ethan Productions within the app “What to Expect When You are Expecting”.  The  free Labor and Contraction Timer” by Michael Kale uses  one button to time the duration and spacing of the last contraction, and will average the contractions so that you can determine if they are increasing or decreasing (and therefore help you decide when to go to the birthing center or hospital).   “Stage 1” by Arboretum Software  provides the timing features, in addition to a focal point, a timing ring, and a background photo of your choice.  For less than a dollar you can purchase the “Contraction Master” which will tell you the duration and frequency of contractions in a format that can be emailed from your phone.

“Babybump PregnancyFree” and it’s upgrade, “Babybump Prenancy Pro and Baby Namer” is available for the Android, Apple and Palm Pilot.  Both are really awesome in providing expecting parents information and schematics about the baby’s development, pregnancy countdown, in addition to the ability to journal,  photo journal and share  on Facebook and Twitter.

After the baby (or babies) are born, there is a free application called “Breastfeed” which provides all kinds of information about breastfeeding,  from birth to 48 hours, and from 48 hours until 2 weeks.  There is a menu of FAQs which covers issues regarding pumping, latch difficulties, and weight loss.  Finally, the app “Baby Connect”, which currently costs $4.99,  enables parents to track all kinds of information about baby: not only nursing details but bottles, solids, pumping, but how many diapers, sleep, milestones, medicine schedules, photos, and even more. They state that” it is the only application that allows one to exchange information in real time with your spouse, babysitter, nanny, or daycare”.

Again, there are so many applications, I couldn’t begin to cover them all . . . please let us know what you have found helpful in your journey into parenthood.