The Mommy Diaries: iPhone App of the Week

It has been a long time since I reviewed an iPad app. Since my last review I have crossed the river, and moved from being a Blackberry user to an iPhone user. (Hubby surprised me with an iPhone for Christmas!) I appreciate being able to sync information—especially appointments in iCal—on ALL of my devices, and of course as a total Apple geek I love the interface and design! But I didn't whip out my almost 5-year old Macbook to tell you that. (She's still kicking. Let the church say, "Amen!")

I did put fingers to keyboard to tell you about my new favorite app. It is not for everyone...but new parents (and anyone who has new parents in their lives) should read further. The app is called Baby Feeding Log and it was created by Aaron Beaver. I downloaded it after being home from the hospital for three days. While in the hospital, the baby nurses would have me keep a log of feedings and diaper changes. They had a neat tear sheet with a spreadsheet where I would record the time I fed Afia, which breast(s) I used (I am exclusively breastfeeding), and how long she nursed on each breast. The same tear sheet was used to record wet and poopy diapers. It was, and still is, important to know whether or not she is getting enough milk when she nurses.

When we arrived home I continued to log Afia's feedings and diaper output. (Thank God, there is much to be logged, lol!) Instead of using the sheet, I used the notepad on my iPhone. I must admit that it was not as easy as filling in the boxes on the hospital spreadsheet, but we had a pediatrician's appointment the next day and I knew that she would assess her weight gain/loss based on this information. That was Thursday. On Friday morning I had an aha! moment

Since there is an app for everything, I thought, "Surely someone has developed an app for logging babies activities of feedings and poopings." And there was! There were several, but I went with Baby Feeding Log because it had the best reviews. The app was free, but there was an in-app option to pay .99¢ to get rid of the advertisements. I opted to get rid of the ads. Anyway, the interface is so easy to use. For feedings, it gives you the option of choosing Left, Right, or Bottle feeding. Once you've chosen your feeding option, you can tap a start button when the feeding begins. Once feeding is over, you hit stop and, like magic, it automatically goes into the log. For diapers, when you hit the diaper button it gives you the option of choosing wet, soiled, or both. The surprise in this app, which I haven't used, but someone else may find helpful is the sleep log. All in all, this app has revolutionized logging feedings and diapers! (Especially those 3am feedings!) I would suggest it for every technologically savvy new mom or dad!

images taken from http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/baby-feeding-log/id412360317?mt=8

- Posted using BlogPress on the fiercest device ever...the iPad!!!