Apps for the New Mom

Last week we welcomed baby #4 into our family. A beautiful baby boy we named William Andrew. He's such a sweet baby and has won over his siblings with his tiny fingers and sweet-smelling head.

Being that this is my fourth time through labour and the newborn stage, I thought I would impart a little wisdom to all the new and soon-to-be-new moms out there. Labour can be very intense and the newborn weeks can have you questioning your sanity from lack of sleep.

I use 2 apps to help me through these two very stressful and confusing life experiences.

Pregnancy & Labour

I was 30mins away from the hospital!

I downloaded the Sprout Pregnancy app when I got pregnant with my first son. Its 3D ultrasound renderings of your baby's weekly growth are informative and fun to explore. And the weight and kick counters are helpful to keep track of your's and baby's health. But what really sold me on the app was the contraction timer! With our first two babies (pre-iPhone) we used a watch and a piece of paper. Not that easy to use as you're racing to the hospital in the middle of the night. Not to mention we really didn't know how to time them. The app takes all the guess work out of timing. It times the length of the contraction as well as the time in between with the tap of a finger. It also tells you the average length for each event so you can easily make the call if it's time to head to the hospital or not. There's a free version of the app but it holds a limited number of contraction timings and kick counting sessions, I suggest springing for the full app ($3.99).

The Newborn Weeks

My little guy LOVES to eat...

After you deliver your precious bundle you enter into the bliss that is the newborn weeks. All you want to do is snuggle your baby and take 1000s of pictures of them sleeping. Eventually your own lack of sleep creeps up and you start to forget things. Like what day it is, which side you last breastfed on and how many times you were actually up with the baby in the middle of the night! Luckily the Total Baby app can help you with remembering things when your brain fails you. Use it to track when baby sleeps, their diaper changes, feedings (both breast and bottle) and bath times. It even keeps track of pumped breast milk expiration times based on how you've stored it. This app has saved me more than once when answering doctor's questions and when trying to remember how long the bottle of breast milk in the fridge has been there. At only $4.99 this app is a must-have whether this is your first or fourth baby.

Good luck with your new little miracle!

The "Bucket List" Bucket List

Ever since that damn Jack Nicholson movie came out, I read about people adding stuff to, or scratching items off their various "bucket lists". Travel Bucket Lists, Food Bucket Lists, LIFE Bucket Lists, it's never ending.

I do not have a bucket list. Of any kind. I'm starting to wonder what's wrong with me. Why don't I know what I want by now? Why can't I set some goals for myself other than the daily "To Do" List I make every day (and rarely finish). Sure there are places I'd love to go, like Paris and Rome; and a couple things I'd like to try, like placing a huge bet in Vegas on 1 roll of the dice just to see what happens; but I don't think I'd consider my life a failure if I don't accomplish these things.

The only real things I ever wanted to accomplish I've already done. Got a college degree, experienced some success in my career, married the man of my dreams and had children. My life is a 'fait accompli' and I'm only 34. Everything else at this point is just..gravy. 

So do I need a bucket list? Have I set the bar too low? Or should I consider myself lucky that I long for nothing and am content in the now? 

Maybe my only bucket list item should be to decide if I really need a bucket list at all.