When Light was born, we were a mess.
We prepared for different scenarios but apparently, we weren’t prepared for it.
Yup, I’m referring to the baby log book. 🙂
I couldn’t believe that we had to use a pen and a notebook just to record feeding time. For me it was a waste of time but I had to be supportive… the wife wanted to keep a souvenir.
If you went through this in the past, then you know that most women can’t produce much milk on the first 3 days of birth.
So that means we need to consistently feed for every 30 minutes to an hour.
How many pages do I need to write on? I couldn’t take it!
Then I got to thinking…how about a newborn app? I certainly can’t use Trello, so maybe there’s an actual baby feeding app out there.
Searching around I found Basic Baby and it saved my marriage sanity.
There will be a few Basic Baby apps so be sure to select the most expensive one that has a diaper app and feeding function together because it will be better to have the diaper logger as well.
If you accidentally bought the cheaper one, just contact Apple support and they’ll gladly help you out because that’s what happened to this dummy. Just let them know that you got confused with the selection and they will gladly refund you the wrong purchase.
1. Once you’ve downloaded it, just set up the baby’s details first. If you had like 8 babies at the same time, then create separate profiles for each baby…
2. Now you are on the main dashboard so take a look around.
3. If you need to feed, then select one of the 4 options at the top and start the timer. Stop the timer when you are done. That’s basically it. It gets logged and you’ll know where you left off when the next feeding schedule comes around.
If your phone dies, the timer keeps going so don’t worry about it.
You can also study the charts and determine how your milk production is progressing. You will also have an idea of the number of feedings that your baby needs in a day. No need to obsess about it, it’s just a way to see that you already have enough milk to sustain the baby and if you need to wake the baby up if she sleeps too long. (Note: Don’t go over 4 hours without feeding. Some babies are heavy sleepers. Just wake them up.)
4. You can keep track of diaper changes as well. It’s important because you can calculate the diapers you need on hand (add a few from the average and you’ll be in a safe spot) and you’ll know how regular the baby goes #1 or #2. That way, you can prepare ahead of time. Less assumptions and less guess work because you are empowered by data.
5. The most important part of the summary area is the total hours of feeding. The number of times you feed can fluctuate greatly, but the total hours of feeding should basically be around the same area. That way, you know that the baby is getting enough nutrition.
These are all estimates for my own peace of mind. It gives me a sense of peace because everything is going smoothly. If there’s a big discrepancy, then there’s a possible problem that you need to address or observe.
6. Settings: It syncs with Dropbox as well. If you are a husband and you’d like to have some peace of mind that your baby isn’t starving (because your wife might be watching that dumb Twilight movie) then you can sync & snoop around.
When sharing this app with your partner, you need to set up Dropbox instead of iCloud.
- Download and install the Dropbox app on phone 1.
- Log into your Dropbox account.
- Go to Basic Baby on phone 1 and go to Settings. Select Dropbox instead of iCloud.
- On phone 2, load the Dropbox app and login with the same account.
- Load Basic Baby on phone 2 and select Dropbox in the settings area.
- You can also do this on Tablets.
That’s it. You’ve got it set up and ready to travel with you. We already lug around a diaper bag (I’ll be doing a post about the contents of my diaper bag soon before I start with my Stay At Home Mom Makes Money Series) with lots of other stuff in it already so why add a bulky notebook? I know not everything should be digital. I’m not an app freak/nerd. I just embrace things that can make my life easier.
The only thing I would like to see if to make the sleep counter easier to use. We end up neglecting it altogether though tracking sleep is very useful. So the guys at Walsh iTechnology, if you see this, then please improve that part. Maybe have an option on the dashboard to start/stop the sleep timer.
I just like this app because it works. It delivers and it’s simple. It’s perfect for newborns and great for both breastfeeding moms and bottle feeding mommies.
I hope this review helps out a lot of moms and dads out there. It took me 3 days of writing on a log book to realize that I really didn’t like writing every few minutes about the same things over and over again. Don’t waste your time like I did.
Remember, you already have too much to worry about so try to eliminate the unimportant so you can make every moment with your newborn baby, count.
You can find the Basic Baby app here on the AppStore.
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Papa
Yes, this app is really useful. I didn’t want to let go of my notebook but I saw how easy using this app was so I started using it, too. I don’t have to keep looking at the clock to check the time. Thank you my app addict husband haha!
This app is really helpful for mommy like us. Thanks alot