Which Breast

I am lucky to be a breastfeeding mom, but the cluster-feeding induced sleep deprivation had me quickly confused as to which breast I’d last used. I was even too tired to use a safety pin in my bra on the last side I’d used, a trick recommended by my mother. In my first few days of motherhood I tried out a variety of breastfeeding tracker apps, and I like this one the most. It’s straightforward and really easy to use. I used it far longer than I probably needed to, but it kept me feeling on track. It’s free, but it’s only on Android. The good news is there are similar mom apps for iOS. If you bottle feed, there’s an app for that too.

Because I only let go of my phone to change diapers, and on the odd occasion when I would shower, I wanted a camera with a video baby monitor app, not a separate screen. You can watch your baby sleep from anywhere, as long as you have an Internet connection. Like on date night when grandma is watching the baby, but you miss them so much, even though you really needed a break. Yeah. This app is free, but you do have to buy the camera. I’ll be honest, I chose it because it was on sale, but I have never had a problem with it. It may be the second best thing to happen to me. This mom app is available for both Android and iOS.

Relax and Sleep

When you spend a lot of time on the Internet searching “why won’t my baby sleep?”, you often get the answer “use white noise”. Again, I went through a lot of white noise apps and I just liked this one the best. With this app you can become a white noise DJ, mixing different levels of wolf song and thunderstorm, or ocean and campfire (my daughter’s favorite). My cousin’s son will only chill out for vacuum sounds. And the best part? It comes with you wherever you go. This mom app essential is free, but only for Android. (Sorry guys, I’m a Galaxy gal). However, iOS has some great free apps too.

The Wonder Weeks

If you are worried about the dreaded four-month sleep regression, The Wonder Weeks is for you. This app was recommended to me by a mom with experience and it is fantastic. It warns you about impending fussy periods and keeps you up-to-date on mental milestones. Having this mom app at my fingertips has taught me a valuable lesson that all moms need to learn: your baby isn’t crying because it hates you and you are terrible, it’s just going through a phase. Wonderfully, this mom app gives you tips on how to help your babe through these leaps. This is the only app I have ever paid for, no lie. My only regret is that I didn’t get it sooner. It is available for both Android and iOS.

Netflix

This may seem like a cop-out when it comes to mom apps, but I spent a lot of time with Netflix in the first few months of motherhood. Three A.M. fussy feedings are maybe not the ideal time to read ‘The Girl on the Train’, but they are perfect for bingeing all seven seasons of Parks and Recreation. Which I did on my phone, while nursing in a rocking chair. Bonus: when your baby is a bit older, you can put them in their bouncy chair in front of BBC nature documentaries, and know that you are doing something good for their brain. And then that tiny infant will be 13 months old and you will pass them your phone with Puffin Rock on it and pray they stay quiet for six minutes. The Netflix app is available for free on Android and iOS, though you do have to pay for the subscription. This article is entirely my own opinion, and I have not been paid by any of these companies to share their products. I hope that sharing my lifehack with mom-kind will ease someone else’s transition in to motherhood, and save their sanity too.