17 Best Baby Apps Every New Parent Needs (From a Mom)

Last Updated on September 21, 2022

Are you about to expect your new bundle of joy? Unfortunately, there’s no manual to teach you how to care for a newborn, but the best baby apps can make it so much easier.

Whether you’re a new parent or a seasoned one, being prepared will help minimize the stress during those sleepless months. One of those ways to be prepared is to download the best baby apps before their arrival. This will save you the stress of finding these apps at two in the morning when you’re hardly functioning.

Having had two babies in the last two years, and about 15 babies in my immediate friend circles, I have the skinny on the most loved baby tracker app. So, without further ado, here are the best baby apps for 2022 broken down by categories.

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What are the best baby apps for new parents in 2022?

Daily Activity Tracking Apps

When you’re in the newborn stage, you’d be surprised just HOW much you have to track. From feeding, sleeping, and diapers, you need to keep an eye on all of it during those first critical months.

That’s where baby tracking apps come in to make your life easier.

1. Sprout: Baby Tracker

This is a great app to document your babies feeding, diapers, sleeping, health, and medications. It’s really the gold standard for baby tracking apps.

I also LOVE the activity tracker, which lets you document tummy times and bath times.

The medical section is fantastic, they really thought of everything from medications, health (symptoms, temperatures), growth, immunizations, and more. You can even add in doctor visits or doctor appointments which makes your life easier when your trying to recall events. Or for when you have a second or third child and forgot what happened when a similar thing happened to your first (believe me, the details get blurry over time!).

Unfortunately, this app is not free, but totally worth the cost in my mind. There are different subscription options to this app with a seven day trial. The “Short Term Care” is $6.99/3 months. The “Extended Care” is their most popular subscription at $9.99/year. Or, if you would like, you can make a one time payment of $29.99 and have the app for life.

2. Baby Tracker – Newborn App

This app is clearly a crowd pleaser (157k+ reviews CAN’T be wrong).

You can track feeding (formula, breastfeeding, expressed, other), diaper changes, and sleeping all in one place.

They also have some unique features of being able to put in some “other” things to track like temperature, medications, and growth.

The free version gives you access to track your little ones daily activities, but there’s also a pro version for a one time $4.99 that removes the ads.

3. Glow Baby: Newborn Tracker Log

The Glow Baby app also has some amazing reviews from moms.

Like the other apps we reviewed, it lets you track pumping, sleeping, feeding, diapers, activity, and even adds in solids for when they get a bit older. The growth charts are pretty neat too.

But what’s unique about this one, is there is a community behind it where you can ask questions within the app. But you’ll pay for it. This is a free app, but you may need to upgrade in order to access syncing with multiple caregivers, etc. it’s $29.99/3 months, $47.99/year, or $79.99/lifetime.

Tired of disconnecting and moving your baby monitor when you’re on vacation or visiting a friends house? The Cloud Baby Monitor solves that problem! So many of us have a spare iPad, tablet, or computer that we don’t use all the time. Simply connect the app to two devices, and you have a FANTASTIC baby monitor.

As a new mom myself, I have had a baby monitor that (to be honest) was awful. This gives you video and audio monitor with Apple quality. It also gives you noise and video alerts for you to intervene if needed. Other moms have raved about this one, I just wish I knew about it sooner. It would have been a lifesaver to check on my new baby when she was napping in the other room.

Best Baby Feeding Tracking Apps

When you have a newborn and are trying to survive on three hours of sleep, it’s hard to remember when you last fed your baby. I used my “note” feature on my phone to track when I last fed my kids, and let me tell you, it was a mess. Don’t do this.

If you don’t like the feeding features of one of the apps above, or just need one to track your feeding schedules, one of these below should do the trick.

1. Baby Feed Timer, Breastfeeding

This app is particularly great for breastfeeding, with over 18,000 reviews.

It’s an intuitive app with an easy way to document breastfeeding (left and right sides), bottles, and also includes some other features like sleep and diapers.

There’s options for alerts, but my personal favorite in the night time mode. Nothing is more aggravating than waking up your sleeping newborn with a bright screen. You can also sync it to your iPad or watch.

Overall, it’s a great user-friendly app to track your feeds without a ton of bells and whistles. It offers a free 7 day trial, and then the full version is a one time price tag of $8.99.

2. Pump Log

If you are exclusively pumping, this app is a MUST. First, you track how much your pumping by inputting the start/stop time and document how much you pumped.

This app then goes a step further by have a calculator to determine when you can stop pumping to meet your goals on how long you want to feed your baby.

It gives you trends on how much your pumping overall, that way you can intervene sooner if you find something could be contributing to your milk supply dropping. AND you can set alerts to remind you to pump.

Now, there is a free version that allows you 50 “records” or session inputs, or just pay $9.99 ONE TIME for the app, it is NOT a subscription service, which I love.

Best Milestone Apps

These apps are designed to help you track baby’s milestones, which ultimately helps you keep track of their mental development.

1. The Wonder Weeks

The Wonder Weeks App was ranked in the top 10 best paid app of 2018, 2019, and 2020 and has won multiple mom awards, and it’s clear why. Parents love this app which helps you keep track of your baby’s development.

This app is based on decades of research in what they refer to as “baby leaps”. From their research, they have found that babies have 10 leaps in their mental development, and they will give you the signs to look out for, describe the leap stage your baby is in, the skills they are learning, and the time they are going to take the next leap based on their due date.

It’s a one time price of $4.99, but worth every penny. I used Wonder Weeks for my son, and when he was going through a weird stage, this app helped direct me to the reasons why and how I could help him.

2. BabySparks – Development App

Now this development app is fantastic, and is great for new parents. Created by child development experts, this app offers you thousands of activities to do with your children from newborn to 3 years of age. The activities are fun, educational, and grows with them as they become toddlers.

If you’re a first time parent, there are parenting classes for you too! Potty training, nap time, boundaries, there’s a wealth of information in this app.

There are two subscriptions, with the basic giving you access to all the activities, articles, and lessons. The premium subscription gives you access to the live and on-demand lessons. Basic subscriptions are $4.99/month, $29.99/year and for premium you’ll pay $19.99/month, $119.99/year.

3. What to Expect: Pregnancy & Baby Tracker WTE

If you’re pregnant and approaching your due date, odds are that you already have this pregnancy app downloaded to track your pregnancy journey. But guess what? They also have great information for the first year as well. Especially for new parents, it can be so helpful to know what to expect.

You’ll find the “First Year” tips, baby feeding tracker, and their product reviews. Just like you had while pregnant, there’s a large community to ask questions and gain advice while navigating those first steps. Best of all, the app is free!

Best Baby Photo Apps

Once your little one is here, you’re going to document every second of it.

My photos went from a few thousand a year to tens of thousands and that’s not an exaggeration. I think each one of the monthly markers photoshoots took a few hundred photos to capture that perfect baby smile. There are so many apps that helps parents with effects, but I’ve narrowed them down for all the new parents out there.

1. Baby Story: Pregnancy Pictures

This is an extremely popular baby photo editor app. Included are 15 filters, 400+ artworks that allow you to add those adorable touches, and lots of frame choices. I love the “studio” backdrops that allow you to switch out the background. You can actually start this one early during pregnancy, and then use it to capture your child’s growth.

There is a free limited version, but if you want access to all of the features it will cost you $4.99/month.

2. Precious – Baby Photo Art

This is another very popular photo baby editor app. Like the Baby Story app, it allows you to capture your babies milestones and development in cute ways. There is artwork, creative backgrounds, and time lapse videos. Just take some photos while your baby is playing and you can doll it up. You really can’t go wrong with this one.

This app also has a free version to use, and if you want full access to all of the artwork, it will cost $4.99/month.

4. Qeepsake

Not only do you want a photo app to design for a post on social media, but having a physical photobook is wonderful. Give one to your grandma at Christmas and I promise, there will be tears.

Now last year, I attempted this for 2020 manually using a different photo app, and let me tell you, the process was AWFUL and painful. It took two months to go through the 15,000 photos I took of my kids that year.

In comes Qeepsake which does it FOR you. How it works, is Qeepsake sends you text messages asking you a question that you reply to. Send your photos as you go.

Then, at the end of the year, voila! A personalized photo book is made for you effortlessly.

There are multiple subscription options. The lite version asks you one question per week and access to the journal for free. The plus subscription is $3.99 a month, asks up to two questions per day and includes a 30 page book. The premium subscription includes up to four questions per day, 100 page book, and more options for $7.99 a month.

Best Baby Medical Apps

Now, when it comes to medical advice, you should always consult your pediatrician. But for general advice, here are some great options for you.

1. WebMD Baby

This app contains physician-approved health information. This is a great resource for parents when you’re kid doesn’t feel well, but not quite sure what the next steps are. I can’t tell you why, but your kid will always get sick when it’s the middle of the night or the weekend when a medical professional is not quickly available. It also has the ability to check feeding, sleep, and growth like the other apps we have discussed.

2. Owlet Baby App

Now, I wasn’t sure whether to include this or not as the Owlet production has been on hold. But this app gave me a great peace of mind with my littles when track your baby’s heart rate and oxygen levels overnight.

I’m not sure if they will be coming back, but their app is still available and also syncs with their camera.

Best Sound Machine Apps

I highly recommend a sound machine to all new parents, but sometimes there comes a point where you’re out and about and either a) forgot it or b) didn’t charge it. This is where these sound machine app’s come in handy when you need a little extra white noise.

1. Spotify

If you already have this downloaded, then check out some of the white noise options. There are plenty of sound effects to choose from such as the ocean, soft music, and lullabies that your little one can listen to.

2. White Noise Deep Sleep Sounds

This app has over 93K reviews and featured in New York Times, so you know it’s good. They have curated sounds that specifically help your baby fall asleep. I’m not going to lie, when me and my husband are on vacation and are missing our bathroom fan noise, we turn this one on too. There is a free version, but it only plays 8 hours, but I find this is plenty. It’s not enough for a full nights sleep, but I wouldn’t leave my phone for 12 hours in my babies room anyways. The full version is $49.99 per year.

And there you have it!

Those are my 16 recommended baby apps for new parents. If you’re expecting or already have a little one, this is truly a very exciting time. An app helps make these times just a little bit easier and hopefully with a little less stress.

What is a baby tracker app?

Baby apps are applications on your smart phone that serve various functions and allow you to access useful information about your baby at the touch of a button.

When you’re up with a baby in the middle of the night, the last thing you want to do is turn the light on and write with some pen and paper the time of your middle of the night feed or awakening. Instead you can track your baby’s development and feedings on an easy-to-use app.

That’s where the best baby apps come in. They allow you to easily track feeds, sleep, and diapers. You can also monitor your baby’s growth, motor skills, and learning. Having all the information you need about your little one at your fingertips makes life so much easier.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

What is a good first time mom app?

There’s an app for everything these days!

When it comes to babies, there are many baby tracker apps available. What’s great is many apps you can share with your loved ones so multiple can check in.

The type you will want the most is an app that allows you to track feedings, sleep, diapers, and milestones.

Is there an app to take care of a newborn?

For newborns, you will particularly want a feeding app, whether that’s breastfeeding, formula, or a pumping scheduler.