6 Best Apps for New Moms You Need to Download

Among the thousands of apps for new moms out there, there are only a few that you really need. These 6 apps for new moms I am recommending below have all helped me:

1. Save time by tracking and organizing my day.
2. Save money by knowing which products to avoid or by getting cash back.
3. Stay informed about my health as well as my baby’s health and development.

I have saved all these apps under one group in my phone for easy access.

Below you will see the apps categorized into three categories of WHEN you should download it:

1. Trying to Conceive (TTC),
2. Pregnancy,
3. Newborn and Beyond.

You’ll see a star rating based on the Android app store ratings, not a personal rating from me. I break it down to what’s included for the contents most important for you to know, and Jenny’s uses on how I’ve used it.

I’ve also included some honorable mention apps for new moms that is not a must, but nice-to-have, that you can use to help you on your journey as a new mom.

Download During Trying to Conceive (TTC)

Period Tracker Period Calendar (free)

4.9 • 6.5MM Ratings

What’s included?

• Shows up after download as “My Calendar” on your phone to be discrete.
• Easy to use calendar that clearly shows when you are ovulating, when you might expect your period, and areas to input details.

Jenny’s uses:

• Tracking ovulation cycle, period, and baby dance.

BabyCenter (free)

4.9 • 1.3MM Ratings

What’s included?

• Articles relevant to your stage of pregnancy, or stage of parenthood.
• Birth Club available for moms who are born in the same month and year as your baby.
• Groups available for important topics such as “trying for a baby”, “first time moms & moms-to-be”, “Life with a new baby”, and more.

Jenny’s uses:

• Due date calculator for when you first find out you are pregnant with an at-home test: Tools > Trying to Conceive > Due date Calculator.
• Timing contractions during labor: Tools > Pregnancy > Contraction Timer.
• Mainly used for information before getting pregnant, during pregnancy and for baby’s first year milestones.

Download During Pregnancy

280 days: Pregnancy Diary (free)

4.4 • 39K Ratings

What’s included?

• Simple to use interface to track how far along you are in your pregnancy.
• Tab for mom to record how you are feeling during pregnancy, your weight, and health memos (such as morning sickness, breast pain, swelling, and more). This is very helpful for your doctor/OBGYN/midwife visits.
• Tab for diary split for Mom’s and Dad’s inputs, area to insert a photo and large amount of text.

Jenny’s uses:

• Tracking all of my symptoms during pregnancy.
• Writing a mini-diary of what’s happening during the pregnancy. For example, when we told our family and friends we were expecting, when I set up the nursery, etc.
• Useful to look back on comparing pregnancies now that I’m well into my second pregnancy (and a very different one than my first!).

Think Dirty (Updated: No longer free – $36.99 CAD annual subscription)

4.9 • 9K Ratings

What’s included?

• Information on the ingredients that are potentially toxic in your personal care products and cosmetics. App provides a clear rating with detailed information on ingredients, certifications and health impacts.
• If the item you are looking for is not available, you still have information on toxic ingredients to avoid when you make your purchases.

Jenny’s uses:

• I search any baby personal care items or my personal care items and cosmetics on this app before I make a purchase to understand what the ingredients are. Your baby will likely be touching your face and putting their hands in their mouths, so it is important to take note of your own personal care ingredients as well as cosmetics to ensure they aren’t harmful to your baby’s health.
• It was shocking how some commonly known baby brands such as Johnson & Johnson, Aveeno baby, Cetaphil baby are rated so “dirty”!
• *Update*: Even though the app is no longer free, I still think it is worthwhile to have it between your second trimester to when baby is about 6-9 months old to check the toxicity for all of the baby care items in their first year. It will save you so much time from researching yourself. Once you have the products you and your baby both enjoy, you can unsubscribe for the next year.

Download During Newborn and Beyond

Huckleberry: Baby & Child (free)

4.7 • 12K Ratings

What’s included?

• Baby tracker for sleep, feeding, diapers, pumping, medicine, growth and temperature.
• Provides aggregate data for all of your inputs, very informative for doctor’s appointments and check-ups.
• If you input enough sleep data, app will predict optimal nap time, but this option has since become a paid service.

Jenny’s uses:

• I used this app religiously for the first 8-9 months mainly for feeding, pumping and medicine (vitamin d drop) tracking. It was especially useful in the newborn phase when you are sleep deprived and cannot remember when and which boob you fed last. You can include both bottle feeding and breast feeding.
• Used the information I’ve inputted for doctor’s appointments and to also track growth.

The Wonder Weeks ($6.99)

4.5 • 34K Ratings

What’s included?

• App version of the book, “The Wonder Weeks”.
• App provides concise information about baby’s mental development in 10 leaps, from 5 weeks to 75 weeks (17 months). It provides the signals to anticipate leaps, explanation for the changing behaviour and the skills that your baby is learning.
• Diary feature allows you to input stories, photos, track signals and skills (checkboxes), add in any favourite toys, and to track their sleeping schedule.

Jenny’s uses:

• Understand the developmental leaps happening so I know what to expect and to be frustrated or confused at the many behavioral changes within the first year of the baby’s life. Note nothing is meant to be exact so this is really for your own information.
• I only utilized the leaps chart and read more about each leap. I did not find the signals checkboxes particularly useful or accurate for each leap. The skills checkboxes are more tailored to each leap. I did not use any of the diary features.
• I recommend you get the book if you want more detailed information and use this app as a quick guide to visualize each leap as it counts down the days left to the leap, and the days until the fussy phase is over. See my post on “12 Best Books for New Parents Actually Worth Reading“.

Honorable Mentions

Spotify Playlist: “Happiest Baby: Super-soothing White Noise”

8 songs, 1 hr 49 min

What’s included?

• White noise that REALLY works with calming down a newborn. I recommend “Strong Hair Dryer” and playing it as loud as the baby is crying for optimal results.
• This playlist is completely free. Dr. Harvey Karp is a leading pediatrician and the author for the “Happiest Baby on the Block” book. He developed the Snoo which is claimed to be the safest bassinet in the world. See my post on “12 Best Books for New Parents Actually Worth Reading“.

Jenny’s uses:

• Mostly used during the fourth trimester when newborn is between 0 – 4 months old to calm baby. Seriously worked like MAGIC. Make sure the sound is as loud as the baby’s crying sound to truly make it work.
• Very handy to have on hand for car rides, anything outdoors to drown out other noise, or when baby is having a hard time going down for a nap/sleep.

Spotify Playlist: “Sweet Lullabies”

374 songs, about 10 hr

What’s included?

• 11 hours of soft instrumental lullabies for your baby

Jenny’s uses:

• We play this every night on a Bluetooth speaker. This playlist helps create routine and signals to baby it’s time to sleep. I would recommend this when baby is reaching 6+ months and able to form some sort of routine and association when it comes to sleep.

Reddit Groups

Groups I followed with descriptions taken directly from About Community

• /AttachmentParenting: A place to support and educate caregivers about the importance of secure attachments during babies first 3 years of life as well as fostering secure attachments throughout childhood and beyond. Parenting with a focus on attachment is one of the greatest gifts you can give to a child. In order to legitimize the importance of that concept, this community is rooted in the science of Attachment Theory and aims to transcend the controversy around the term “attachment parenting” by doing so. 
• /BabyBumps: A place for pregnant redditors, those who have been pregnant, those who wish to be in the future, and anyone who supports them.
• /BabyBumpsCanada: A place for Canadian redditors, those who want to have children, are having children, have children, and anyone who supports them. p.s. couldn’t change the subreddit name, but we’re really BabyBumpsCanadaAndBeyond!
• /beyondthebump: A place for new parents, new parents to be, and old parents who want to help out. Posts focusing on the transition into living with your new little one and any issues that may come up. Ranting and gushing is welcome!
• /Buyingforbaby: A place to discuss when looking for items for your children no matter where you’re from.
• /Parenting: is the place to discuss the ins and out as well as ups and downs of child-rearing. From the early stages of pregnancy to when your teenagers are finally ready to leave the nest (even if they don’t want to) we’re here to help you through this crazy thing called parenting. You can get advice on potty training, talk about breastfeeding, discuss how to get your baby to sleep or ask if that one weird thing your kid does is normal.
• /SnooLife: A community dedicated to the Snoo bassinet. A place where Snoo owners can talk about their experiences and parents who are considering a purchase/rental can ask questions. This community was started by a mom who LOVES her Snoo. I am in no way connected to Happiest Baby or Dr. Karp. I’m just a mom who had a fantastic experience with the Snoo.
• /October2020BabyBumps: find the relevant month and year for your due date.

Jenny’s uses:

• A place to ask questions anonymously or get answers to questions you didn’t even think of yourself.
• A place to connect with parents in similar life stages and experiences. It helped me immensely to read questions and answers from moms who are going through the same phase as me.
• Read interesting personal stories.

Pampers Club: Rewards & Deals (free)

4.6 • 143.1K Ratings

What’s included?

• Pampers brand rewards scanner for wipes and diapers purchases to gather points and redeem for cash or other gifts.

Jenny’s uses:

• Scan and collect pampers points for cash back.
• Certain Pampers purchases have immediate cash back, and it can be directly transferred to your PayPal account.

This post was all about the best apps for new moms. These apps help you track your pregnancy, your health conditions, your baby’s various needs, and help you stay organized in this new role as a mom.

I highly recommend you to check theses apps for new moms and let me know if it has helped you make your motherhood journey easier in any way!

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