woah
believe it or not, this is actually the LAST post of the huggies series — a long-term project that began before annabel was even born [maternity wear post — i think this was the first!]. i’ve really enjoyed writing about the various and sundry baby-related topics, and i hope at least some of you have liked reading them. of course, it’s not like the annabel-talk is going to stop anytime soon, so nothing is really going to change. but i won’t have any official ‘assignments’.
anyway, let’s get down to the last subject: APPS + technology.
i’m kind of a luddite in many ways. you all know i refuse to abandon my paper planners, and i really do try to limit my ‘plugged’ time [though since i got an iPhone a little over a year ago, admittedly this has become quite the challenge]. but there are a few apps/programs that i thought were great and would really would recommend for any new parent or parent-to-be. here they are:
1. pregnancy countdown/info app. i used the free version of BabyBump [see screen shot below]. this app allowed me to a) keep track of where i actually was in the pregnancy, which can get a little blurry during those 40 weeks and b) enjoy little tidbits that related to where i was each week. i’m sure the pro version has some bells and whistles that are fun, but the free one was more than enough for me.
2. a contraction timer. i used another free app for this called contraction timer lite. i figured it would come in handy to help me determine when to go into the hospital. it ended up being even more valuable, as i [perhaps oddly] took comfort in watching the seconds tick by as i endured each wave of pain. seeing the clock reminded me that each one was FINITE and let me know when i could expect it to end! i will definitely use this again for my next pregnancy.
actual contractions the night before annabel was born . . . things were JUUUST starting at that point!
3. a baby sleep/feeding tracker. i once scoffed at people who said i’d need to record a’s sleeping and eating habits. how could you forget when your baby ate?! but then — i got tired, and things started blurring into a frenetic melange of diaper/nap/breastfeed, and . . . yeah. i needed and LOVED this app. i used one called baby connect and did pay for the full version — i believe it was something like $4. i don’t log her naps/eating anymore [would be pretty challenging with day care!] but i still use it to track her height/weight on the growth chart section.
example of the pretty color-coded sleep/eating data
4. an easy-online-ordering app. i have both the diapers.com app and the amazon app on my phone, and use both frequently. what can i say? i’d rather have diapers delivered to my door than trek out to get them myself. phone ordering makes things even MORE convenient.
5. a photo sharing app. i’m sure there are multiple ways of doing this, but josh and i just use photo stream on our iPhones to sync all phone pictures. this way, if one of us is at work or away, any photos taken will instantly be shared between both of us. there is nothing cuter than casually checking the ‘stream while working in the hospital on a saturday and finding this:
so that’s it! i’m sure there are plenty more, especially since i don’t really consider myself that technologically savvy. please share if you have more tips/app recommendations – for infancy and beyond!
mother of 3 // MD // south floridian // ESFJ // upholder.
into: planners, great food, running, reading, writing, mornings, podcasting, and coffee.
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