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5 Apps Every New Mom Should Download

July 1, 2020 · LIFESTYLE

5 Apps Every New Mom Should Download

If you're a new mom or you're adding another little blessing to your family soon, these five apps are total parenting game-changers!

Over the last few weeks, I've downloaded a few apps that have helped me keep my sanity as a new mama. Some were suggestions from friends, and others I stumbled upon and tried myself.

One of the benefits of being a modern mom is that we have the gift of technology to make parenting a little easier. In so many instances after using these apps, I've found myself wondering how parents functioned before smartphones! We sure are spoiled with technology - so we might as well use it to our advantage, right?

I'm sure there are many more helpful apps that I'm missing. (If so, let me know in the comments and help a mama out!) But after a little fine-tuning over the last month, I've come up with five favorites that I'd love to share with you today. I hope this list is helpful for you as you navigate the changes of life with baby!

This post contains affiliate links. Purchasing from these links doesn't cost you anything extra, but it does help me run my site and continue to provide free content. For more, read my Disclosure Policy.

5 Apps Every New Mom Should Download

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1. BabyTime

5 Apps Every New Mom Should Download

The BabyTime app was suggested to me by a friend, and it was the first app I immediately used when Ella was born. Users can track feeding times, diaper changes, naps and more using the app. I found it super helpful especially during the first few weeks and during the midnight feedings. (Honestly, I don't know how women remembered which breast to feed from before tracking apps made it convenient!)

Another cool thing about the Babytime app is that you can compare the data you enter throughout the days, weeks and months of your baby's growth. This can help you track your baby's patterns and detect any issues over time.

Tap here to download the BabyTime app for free at the App Store, or here for the Google Play Store.

2. Pampers Club

5 Apps Every New Mom Should Download

Lots of moms love Pampers diapers, including myself! Of all the brands I've tried, these are my favorite for Ella. They can be more expensive than generic brands, but I think they prevent diaper rash and blowouts much better than others.

If you like getting cash back (um, who doesn't?) download the Pampers Club app! Simply use the app to scan the code inside your Pampers diaper package and redeem points for rewards or cash back via PayPal.

Download the Pampers Club app at the App Store here, or at the Google Play Store here.

3. White Noise Deep Sleep Sounds

5 Apps Every New Mom Should Download

There are a lot of white noise apps to choose from, but the White Noise Deep Sleep Sounds app is my favorite. It has plenty of free options to choose from that are perfect for helping baby calm down and sleep. I find it so endearing to watch Ella's face soften and her eyelids get heavy when we turn the white noise on!

We have a white noise machine in Ella's room for bedtime, but the app is great for when she's napping elsewhere. Remember that your baby was used the the white noise of your heartbeat and circulatory system in the womb, so quiet rooms are actually pretty foreign to young babies. Using a white noise app or machine is very soothing for your little one.

Download the White Noise Deep Sleep Sounds app for free here at the App Store or here at the Google Play Store.

4. The Wonder Weeks

5 Apps Every New Mom Should Download

I'm still pretty new to The Wonder Weeks app, but I'm looking forward to using it over the coming weeks and months as Ella grows! The Wonder Weeks is actually a book you can read to learn all about your baby's growth and developmental "leaps."

When you download the app, you enter your baby's due date, and it will calculate approximately when each developmental leap will occur. It's nice to know ahead of time when your baby is going through these leaps so that you're not left wondering why your baby is suddenly so fussy! I'm a person who likes to know what's coming, so this app is comforting for me as a parent. Plus, it shows you tips on how to engage with your child through these developmental phases.

This app is $3.99 - a pretty cheap investment for your peace of mind, wouldn't you say? Get it here at the App store or here at the Google Play Store.

5. Qeepsake

5 Apps Every New Mom Should Download

Confession: I hate scrapbooking. I even hate creating digital photo books, and I usually only make them after we go on a vacation. So I have hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of pictures on my phone that just sit there, never to be reminisced on again.

Until I found the Qeepsake app!

If you don't have time for scrapbooking but you want to save memories of your child quickly and digitally, this app is perfect. Qeepsake will send you prompt questions via text, and you can answer those questions and add your photos to the app. Over time, Qeepsake will collect these memories for you, and you may choose the option to create a book from these journal prompts to remember special moments as your baby grows. I personally really like the prompt questions - some of them are topics I wouldn't have thought to document on my own!

Currently I'm using the free version, but I may upgrade soon to get more question prompts sent to me throughout the week. You can download Qeepsake at the App Store here or at the Google Play Store here.

There you have it!

These are my five current favorite apps, and I'm sure I'll discover more helpful apps for moms as I go. I hope you've found this list helpful!

 

Yours truly,

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The Truth About Fitness Trackers | Day 22 of #30DaysOfBlogging

September 30, 2019 · FEEL-GOOD FITNESS

The Truth About Fitness Trackers | Day 22 of 30 Days Of Blogging

I used to be an avid user of fitness trackers.

If I was going for a run, I'd use the RunKeeper app to track my miles and pace. If I wanted to know how many calories I was "allowed" to eat, I used MyFitnessPal. Then, Fitbit was invented so I could track all of that data with even more accuracy all in one place.

To be clear, I still wear my Fitbit and use it frequently. But to be honest, I don't recommend that everyone use it - especially if you are not at peace with your body in relationship to food and exercise.

 

The Benefits of Fitness Trackers

Apps and devices that track food and exercise can be helpful if you have specific goals in mind that have been given the OK from your doctor. If your doctor has recommended you try a specific diet, the MyFitnessPal app is perfect for tracking that. The app has a library full of thousands of foods and even a barcode scanner that makes inputting the foods you eat simple. If you need to track calories for a weight loss or gain goal, it's important to actually keep track of that data on the app rather than estimating in your head. And if you're specifically trying to stay within certain macronutrient parameters (fat, carbohydrates, and protein), you can adjust these levels in the app, which will then determine your "allowance" for each group for the day.

Fitbit and other exercise trackers can be a great way to track your activity for the day. These trackers can give a pretty accurate reading by using heart rate monitoring and GPS to track movement and distance. Again, if your doctor has recommended a certain amount of exercise per day or a calorie goal, using a wearable fitness tracker can be a helpful tool.

 

The Drawbacks of Fitness Trackers

Like I mentioned earlier, I still use my Fitbit frequently and enjoy learning from the data it provides. However, there was a time in my fitness and nutrition journey when using a fitness tracker would have been detrimental to my health. When I first started working out frequently and noticing some body changes, tracking my calories consumed and burned became an obsession. I reported every morsel that I ate even before I ate it, just to see what I could still eat. I had no professional advice and set arbitrary weight loss and calorie goals. At one point, my calorie goal set on MyFitnessPal was just 1000 calories a day, and I'd praise myself if I went under that goal.

An app or device doesn't know you and your needs as well as a professional adviser. So a data tracker might be able to tell you information about your diet and exercise, but it can't tell you whether or not those choices are actually healthy for you.

I've grown a lot since that time when calories ruled my life, and since I don't have any major health concerns that my doctor wants me to watch, I don't track the calories I eat or burn. I no longer log these things and I eat intuitively, based on what my body tells me I need and the environment I'm in. I know that if I started tracking again, I might find myself in a similar, obsessive state that I want to avoid.

 

The Bottom Line

For most people, fitness trackers probably are not necessary, and they might not be a healthy resource for others with obsessive tendencies. I believe that if you want to live a healthy lifestyle, you should eat foods that make you feel good and exercise in ways that are fun and make you feel energized, not miserable. You don't need to run on a treadmill for an hour, slaving away just to burn calories. Find something that makes you happy, and explore it!

For others like professional athletes and people who have real health concerns, fitness trackers might be helpful to achieve the goals set by their trainers and doctors. And others might not have obsessive tendencies over tracking their data. My husband is a perfect example - he is simply curious about what he eats and only uses fitness trackers when he's training for something specific, like an upcoming race. In this case, I think trackers are a helpful tool.

The bottom line: know yourself. Know your tendencies, challenges and weaknesses. Fitness trackers can be a healthy resource for you if you can use them responsibly. But for people who struggle with obsessive tendencies when it comes to health, it might be best not to use these trackers for the sake of your mental health.

 

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The Truth About Fitness Trackers | Day 22 of 30 Days Of Blogging

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About Me

Hi, I'm Rachel! I'm a millennial wife and mama loving life in the Midwest. Follow me for lifestyle tips like balanced food, accessible workouts, and personal growth inspiration!

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