You'll remember every diaper change, feeding, nap and milestone — plus connect with other parents and trusted pros.
By Marisa LaScala and Rachel Rothman Published: Jul 7, 2021 Save Article
We've been independently researching and testing products for over 120 years. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more about our review process.
It's one of those clichés that's actually true: Those early, infant days of parenthood go by in a blur. When you're in that postpartum period and you're trying to adjust to life with a new baby, there's so much going home — plus a lack of sleep, a plethora of crying and possibly surging hormones — that it can be hard to keep on top of everything. But backup can be just a finger-flick away. If you're looking to keep track of your baby's diapers, feeds and sleep; connect with other new parents; find lullabies (or white noise) and share photos with friends and families, you can do it all with a well-stocked arsenal of naps. (Which also means you can stay up-to-date while rocking or feeding the baby — multiasking!)
The Good Housekeeping Institute's Little Lab sought out a suite of the best baby apps for new parents. What makes for a good baby app? In general, testers valued the ability to personalize and tailor the app experience to their own situation as much as possible. For tracking apps, the ability to sync data logged from multiple caregivers was also key. And while many apps offered premium features for extra money, a majority of testers found the price wasn't worth the added value. Testers evaluated apps based on ease of use, performance, robustness of features and functionality, and these best baby apps rose to the top.
The Bump
With The Bump's app, information relevant to your pregnancy arrives every day, along with community and expert advice. Plus, it has all those fun features, like "how big is baby" size comparisons, baby name inspiration and a place to take week-by-week photos of your growing baby. (Note: While The Bump rose to the top of the list, our testers also gave high marks to the What to Expect and BabyCenter apps, if you're looking for close runners-up.) Cost: Free
Glow Baby
When you're a new parent, you want to capture all that data: feedings, diaper changes, solid food, naps, sleep and more. The Glow Baby app lets you and a partner log that info, and then gives you personalized summaries and interactive growth charts. You can also connect to the rest of the Glow community to ask all those "is this normal?" questions you have. The app is free, but paying a premium fee ($30 to $80) unlocks extra features, like the ability to sync data across multiple caregivers. (Testers also gave high marks to Sprout Baby, Baby Connect and Baby Tracker, though Glow Baby was the clear favorite.) Cost: Free
BabySparks
Okay, so what do you do with your baby all day? BabySparks offers tips for parent-child activities tailored to your baby's age and stage, for all babies between the ages of 0 to 3. You'll also get information on what's going on in baby's brain during these activities, and you can keep track of developmental milestones. Cost: Free
