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Trying to stay on top of everything related to your baby, when you’re existing on just a few hours sleep, can be a challenge. Thankfully there’s an easy way to keep all of the information in one place. Digital trackers are a great way to monitor your baby’s activity from diaper changes and sleep habits to milestones and nursing.
In your baby’s first several months of life, you’ll be making many trips to the pediatrician’s office. Having all of the answer’s to the physicians questions in one handy place — your favorite breastfeeding app — will help make appointments simple and informative. We've rounded up some of the best breastfeeding app options for busy parents.
Best free breastfeeding apps to try
If you’re looking for the best breastfeeding app for your needs that won’t break the bank, the following free options help track breastfeeding length and offer basic breastfeeding tips if you’re having difficulty nursing your baby.
1. Baby Feeding Log
Available for iOs, this app is perfect for minimalist parents who just need a simple and straightforward way of tracking the time baby spends nursing. It is allows you to time feedings, edit data if necessary and also has features that track diaper changes and baby’s sleep habits.
2. Baby Nursing
Baby Nursing is a free all-encompassing app to help track everything nursing related and even offers breastfeeding tips and resources for easier nursing sessions.
“This app will track weight, diapers, breastfeeding, formula feeding; it just helps you keep on top of all the little details that your pediatrician will want to know when your baby is very little,” new mom Bekah explains on her YouTube vlog. She used the Baby Nursing app to time her daughters feedings.
“What I liked about it is that it kept a tally of all the minutes that she nursed so I could check and make sure that she had eaten enough throughout the day so that she could make it through the whole night until the morning to eat again,” Bekah added.
3. Ovia
If you’re looking for a free breastfeeding app that provides breastfeeding support and tools to help monitor and track your baby’s first few years, Ovia offers a variety of options. You’ll be able to track milestones, compare percentiles, upload and share photos and videos to send to family and friends, and of course track your little one and how they’re nursing.
These breastfeeding apps offer breast pumping tips and more
For busy moms who need to pump, these nursing apps provide breast pumping tips and help track your breastfeeding sessions. An easy breastfeeding schedule can take the some of the guesswork out of your baby’s feedings.
4. Glow
The Glow app is your one stop shop for everything from tracking fertility to parenting your newborn. It provides ovulation tracking, prenatal and pregnancy care tips as well as everything you need once your baby arrives. Glow includes breastfeeding reminders, tips, tracking capabilities for nursing and pumping and even support and resources for any challenges you may be facing postpartum. All of these advanced features do come with a cost; Glow is available for both iOs and Android and is around $59.99 for an annual subscription.
5. MyMedela
Well known breastfeeding brand Medela provides everything you need for keeping track of your baby’s breastfeeding feedings. You’ll be able to you’re staying on track with feeding and pumping times with its easy-to-use tracker. MyMedela also connects to your Medela breast pump so you’ll know how much you’ve pumped. You’ll also have access to real-time breast pump support and troubleshooting tips.
Helpful apps that track breastfeeding length
Whether you need reports that indicate your baby’s average breastfeeding length or you simply need an easy way to record everything your baby is doing, the following apps will keep you organized and informed.
6. Baby Connect
Available as a monthly subscription, Baby Connect will help you stay on top of everything baby-related. It includes a time tracker to help you monitor both nursing and pumping sessions and keeps track of everything you need to know related to your baby’s nursing history. All data can be exported into a reports to help you better understand your baby's feeding schedule. After a 7-day free trial, the family plan tracks up to 5 children at $4.99 per month. Baby Connect is available on Android and iOs.
7. Baby Feed Timer
This app lets new parents track baby's feeding schedule so you'll know exactly how long your baby takes to feed and how much they're consuming in a single feeding session. The app also has a feature that lets you know when the next feeding should be, and even reminds you on which side you should begin feeding.
Don't rely entirely on apps
For some parents, even the best breastfeeding app choices don’t hold a candle to organic, one-on-one nurturing and connection through nursing.
“Breastfeeding apps make it too clinical, too formulaic, mom Lisa Yvonne, who has apprenticed as a nursing consultant, told Mom.com. "Breastfeeding is natural, nurturing and intuitive. It provides sustenance for a baby’s body, as well as being healthy for mom, but it’s also about connection.”
Currently living in Ukraine — where she has assisted nursing mothers — Lisa considers herself an old-fashioned mama and believes that nursing apps feel less personal.
“When directed by an app, it’s less intuitive and more forced. Moms need to learn to trust themselves and their intuition; this early development of tuning into your baby and your body will help throughout your years as a mom. It’s all inside of you,” Lisa said.
