I recently got to implement all my hard-won knowledge from having one child, by spawning another. Hurrah! Now, this post won’t go into raptures about how exceptional she is (take it as read), but a key part of the anxiety around a newborn baby is the lack of certainty over what they’re doing. You lack the feedback older infants give you, and yet you’re very keen they feed, sleep etc ‘normally’.
This is, in fact, an area one can automate. With both children, we’ve used this app. I can’t claim to have done extensive market analysis to ensure it’s the best, but with a 4.8 star review, it would appear to confirm my subjective opinion as “very good” (I’m not planning on creating an app review blog anytime soon). Essentially you can track every facet of an infant’s life: feed lengths, nappies, sleep… You can then work out averages, see patterns through charts, and also get prompts as to when one might typically expect a baby to feed next.
Key benefits are a certainty. The continual ‘churn’ of caring for an infant means one loses objectivity. Have they really not slept for longer than an hour for days, or does it just feel like it? It helps in the interactions with the healthcare professionals and allows for objective measurement of the developmental stages. On a practical level – you always have your phone with you, meaning info is easy to capture (WhatsApp and Instagram being the nursing mother’s salvation).
How does this play out in practice? Well, I can tell you that my daughter has averaged 8 nappies, 5 bowel ‘events’ and 12 feeds a day, and is tracking the 70th percentile for growth… What’s that, enough data already?
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