When it comes to Apps for parents, there are so many available that it can be overwhelming. You probably don’t have the time or energy to try them all.
If you are looking for an app that is available for iPhone and Android for newborns, then check out Huckleberry.
This post was NOT sponsored or affiliated with the product and was written on my own to help parents out.
Huckleberry keeps track of those Nerdy statistics
Functionality
Let’s talk functionality – the most important part of the app. New parents can be overwhelmed by the amount of information out there and advice from parents, family, and friends.
- When do you feed your baby?
- How often should you feed them?
- When did we last feed them?
- Are we feeding them enough? Oh, “crap” – we totally forgot to change their diapers.
- Are they gaining enough weight?
As a new parent myself, I had these same concerns – and continue to with my 2 week old.
Huckleberry helps to track:
- Sleep and naps
- Feedings (breast, bottle, solids)
- Diaper changes
- Breast Pumping
- Growth
- Rx
- Temperature
- and more – for free.
For my wife and I, the most important thing that the app needed to do was sync between our phones and be up to date with the latest tracking.
When you start an activity such as start a breastfeeding timer, it reflects on both devices in realtime. This is very handy because you do not want to make a mistake for your baby due to an app bug or functionality issue such as double-feeding because your app didn’t update. These real-time changes are reflected in all of the tracked categories.
As newborns have somewhat of an inconsistent sleep and nap schedule, I have not really inputted much sleep data. Many Reddit users are satisfied with the sleep tracking and the Premium subscription offers even more valuable sleep data and recommendations to give you – the parent, and your baby optimal sleep. We are looking forward to using this feature as our kiddo grows older.
Feeding and Breastfeeding
When you open the app, the Feeding section shows the baby’s last feeding. Very handy. When it is time to feed your baby, e.g. every 2-3 hours, mom (or dad) starts the feeding timer (if you are breastfeeding). You can time each breast (left / right/ both). When finished, stop the timer and hit save. This type of app is only as useful as the data you input and stay on top of.
Guaranteed, you will forget to start a feeding timer or start it late. No problem, the app allows you to adjust the time, edit, or input an entry later! That’s all there is to it. There is a Notes section for you to input anything you want for your benefit related to feeding. Oh, and the app tracks the last breast you fed your baby from too so you won’t have to remember.
Diaper Changes
OT’s may get excited about diaper changes, I know I did – until there were too many to keep track of. Thanks to the app, diaper changes are manageable. Your pediatrician will expect your newborn to have a gradual increase in poo’s and pee’s. Parents of newborns are likely to be sleep-deprived and Huckleberry allows you to quickly load up the app to track your baby’s output without too much brain processing demand. You can be as general or as specific as you want down to output volume, color, consistency, etc. I don’t get into all that and just log the time and type (pee, poo, or both) for now.
Statistics
When you first look at the statistics in the apps, you will be presented with a daily Calendar view. It will likely not make any sense at first and seem overwhelming. This view is very powerful as it shows everything (all the ADLs) day to day on one screen and is color coded according to sleep, feedings, output, etc. One nifty feature is you can filter what is shown on this screen to make more sense or be less busy on the screen.
The List view shows the specifics and is more like an activity log, similar to your Facebook or twitter feed e.g. “baby was breastfed foe 30m at x-y time”; “baby had a small pee at x time”. Very useful for parents and for parents to show their pediatricians.
When you input enough data, the summary view can be very helpful and shows things such as:
- Avg daily sleep
- Avg feedings/day
- Avg bottles/day
- Avg time between feedings
- Avg diapers/day
- and pretty much everything you need and want to know.
So you are inputting all of this data about your baby, what about privacy?
Privacy Policy
https://huckleberrycare.com/privacy-policy
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When you register for one of our Products, we ask you for and collect your name, e-mail address, and password for your Account.
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Information that we will ask for about your child used strictly and confidentially to provide the sleep improvement services are:
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Your child’s name.
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Your child’s age and birthdate.
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Your child’s gender.
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The time zone where your child resides.
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Your child’s daily activities including but not limited to:
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Your child’s sleep patterns and how he or she falls asleep.
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How your child is cared for during the day.
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Scheduling information such as when your child eats dinner, when the child gets ready for bed and when the child is first put down to sleep.
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Your child’s eating habits.
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Information that you voluntarily provide to us about your child.
Any and all information about your child will only be used in the context of providing services through the Products and will be held in the strictest confidence.
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