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When I was a mother to young babies we did not have apps. We barely had the internet, truth be told. Mobile phones were the size of a packet of Weet-Bix and social networking involved bumping into a friend in the checkout line at the supermarket.
Back in the day, we were advised to track our baby’s routines and feeding schedule in the Maternal and Child Health Nursing book. To keep track of which breast we should feed from next, we were told to secure a nappy pin to the bra strap of the ‘next’ breast. I think I tied a ribbon to mine, in an early stab at nursing chic (and to avoid a painful pin-in-the-boob situation, too!)
Things have moved on from ouchy pins and milky ribbon. We can now track feeds with a whole suite of fabulous apps. They tell us when we’ve fed, how much (if you’re bottle feeding!) and for how long. They’ll even give us a noisy prod about when we might be ‘due to feed’, although I always fed on demand so that thing would have been alerting the bejeezus out of me.
Here’s a healthy head start on the best of the track-that-feed bunch for smartphones:
Baby Nursing app
Cost: Free
Track your baby’s feed times, amounts and cumulative totals (so you know how much you’ve fed your baby in total each day!) This app includes a feeding timer, too. Apart from that, there are a ton of other features like measurement, change and milestone tracking. Super useful! For iPhone here.
Feed Baby: Baby Tracker app
Cost: Free
Record breast or bottle feeds, track which boob you’re up to, time feeds and record breast pumping sessions too. It’s all accounted for and documented with this ace app. This app also allows you to track health information, log a baby diary and a whole heap more. For Android here.
Total Baby app
Cost: $4.99
This app’s great if you have more than one bub to handle and er, only one pair of hands! The cost is worth it considering the 14 separate timing, tracking and logging functions so you have all your bubs’ info at your fingertips, no matter how many bundles of joy you’re juggling. For iPhone here.
iBaby Feed Timer app
Cost: $7.99
Designed by breast feeding mums, this app logs your feed times, amounts and any pumping sessions, too. It has a feeding timer that includes a pause button and you can set feeding alerts (in case you forget to feed your baby!). iBaby gathers your data and translates it into a useful report, so you can get an overall view of when, how often and how much your baby is feeding. For iPhone here.
Baby by Smallnest app
Cost: Free
This app says it’s ‘baby brain proof’ which has got to be the best feature of all time! It’s designed with big buttons specifically for one-handed operation in mind. Winning! You can track feed frequency, times and amounts and also set up feeding reminders and track breast pumping sessions. Make it social if you choose, by adding family and friends, or keep things private and document for you alone. For iPhone here.
Baby Feed app
Cost: $1.49
Not only does this app track feeds and allow you to set feed reminders, you can also track nappy changes, sleep times and other patterns in your bub’s life. Save your feeding history so you can get an overall picture of how hungry (or not!) your baby is and if you’re breastfeeding there’s a left or right reminder, too! For iPhone here.
MammaBaby feeding app
Cost: $4.99
Log not only breast or bottle feeds, but your child’s sleep habits, changes, measurements and more. MammaBaby syncs across devices, so it’s a super convenient tracking tool. There are other logging options, too, ranging from milestones to, um, poop colour! For iPhone here.
Baby Feeding Timer app
Cost: Free
Time your feeds, breast pumping sessions, number of bottles and more with this simple and practical app. It’s purely a timer and tracker without any of the data analysis or fancy features some of the others have. For Android here.
Baby Feeding Log app
Cost: Free
This is a super simple app focused solely on feeding, changing and sleep. This might be all you need while you are working on establishing a feeding routine for your baby. Super easy to use without the complicated features of similar apps. For iPhone here
ParentLove app
Cost: $3.99
Track breast, bottle or solid feeds as well as nappy changes and your baby’s sleep times. Parent Assist also offers a baby diary, milestone information, measurement tracking and kid’s medical documentation too. For android phones here