RoCo-Approved Apps for New Parents

Parenting has existed long before the extensive list of apps that you’re likely getting advertisements for as a new parent. While you absolutely do not need any of them, technology can be a fantastic tool to help navigate the beautiful chaos of new parenthood. As a doula, nanny, and childcare provider I’ve tested countless apps with a variety of families - some great and others… not so much. 

In this blog post, I’ll share my favorites with you including honest reviews from real parents and my own personal experience. From tracking feeds to sharing with your village, these apps are here to lighten your load so you can focus on what truly matters: bonding with your little one.

For tracking sleep, feeds, and diapers:

A traditional notebook works great for tracking, but if you prefer to track on your phone there are tons of apps available. A huge benefit to using the apps is shared communication among all the caretakers. So, if Nana is watching your little one, you’ll still be updated in real time about your baby’s sleep, feeds, and diapers. This was hugely beneficial when I worked as a nanny!

Huckleberry 

The Huckleberry app is most known for its sleep tracking abilities. The paid premium version includes “Sweet Spot” indicators to let you know the optimal time for putting your baby down for a nap based on the data you’ve provided. Some parents find that incredibly helpful and call this app their “life-saver”. However, for others it creates a dependency on the app and anxiety around missing the ‘perfect’ sleep window. My advice: your baby’s cues always trump what an app is telling you - trust that you know your baby better than your phone does. 

Napper 

The Napper app is very user-friendly. You simply click the + button and can add information such as: nap, bottle feeding, nursing, pumping, diaper change, temperature, and medicine. It does also recommend a nap schedule, but easily adjusts to your baby’s day. So, if your baby was ‘due’ for a nap at 10AM, but was showing no signs of sleepiness until 10:30, the app will adjust accordingly. 

For tracking developmental milestones:

Pathways.org

This is my gold standard for tracking development! The Pathways.org app is completely free and expert-approved. It breaks down milestones and recommends activities - with videos - based on your baby’s development. There are options for tracking tummy time and milestones. It’s also a fun way to keep long-distance family members involved - they can make their own profile to see what’s going on with your baby. 

Qeepsake 

The Queepsake app allows you to create a digital journal of your baby’s milestones and special moments that you can also turn into a physical baby book. The app will send you daily prompts to encourage you to document in real time. Some parents report the question prompts get repetitive or don’t always apply to them and in my opinion, the physical books they create are underwhelming. So while it’s not my number one recommendation, I did include it for parents who are interested in keeping daily/weekly logs due to the ease of the app’s daily prompts. 

For photo and video sharing:

I know your camera roll is full of adorable pictures and videos of your sweet little one. Maybe you’re not big on social media or just don’t want to share your baby there - or maybe you just want a separate place to document your growing baby. That’s where these private photo-sharing apps come in! You can create virtual albums and invite your loved ones to see them, too. 

In my experience, most of these apps offer similar features and deciding between them comes down to personal preference. If you have another family member already using a private photo-sharing app, I recommend using the same one so you don’t have to convince your family to download another app. 

FamilyAlbum

FamilyAlbum is incredibly popular - definitely the most used one I’ve seen. It’s user friendly and parents love the video collages the app creates either monthly for the premium version or quarterly for the free version. 

TinyBeans 

TinyBeans offers a milestone tracker in addition to the photo and video sharing making this one good for parents who want to add a little journaling element. 

BackThen 

BackThen is a lesser known, but highly rated app. Parents love the new premium feature, which allows you to create photo books from the uploaded images. 

Enjoy exploring some of these apps during your early days of parenthood but remember - they should be adding help or enjoyment to your postpartum experience, not stress. When in doubt, return to the basics and trust your instincts. 

With love, 

Ro