An app for everything?

Since bubba was about 2 months old I have religiously kept track of his every feed, every sleep, every nappy change. Well not quite all, but most. I didn't set out to try and keep a record of this for reasons of posterity - it was simply an unintended by-product.

As a sleep deprived and naturally scatty mummy I was struggling to remember when bubba last fed, last had a nappy change, or which side he fed (without copping a feel!). Being up every 2-3hrs the days and nights just merged into one big baby-filled blur. Not that that's a bad thing mind, I just didn't know whether I was coming or going. I felt like my life was out of my control.

day...? night...? hours spent staring at our little bundle of joy

Spending too much time on my phone while bubba was feeding or napping I figured someone cleverer than me must've come up with something to help me get organised. Or at least help me remember what I was doing. A search on Google Play later and I found the Feed Baby app. And it changed my life. And yes, before you ask, I am that sad.

At the click of a button I could record when he fed, for how long, which side, even expressing was covered. It kindly produced little graphs for me, showing how many hours a day he fed or slept, intervals and durations.

touch screen controls for feeding and sleeping

easy to read graphs

Somehow this made me feel in control of things, even though bubba was sleeping and feeding on demand. I could see little patterns, and trends, and I could see that there was some semblance of order to our chaotic life.

trapped under a sleeping baby...

Admittedly I don't use it so much now bubba is nearly one, as he generally feeds and naps less. But in those early days when I could hardly tell night from day, I gained more understanding and began to predict how our days and nights might pan out.

one of many post-feed naps...

What it doesn't tell you on the accompanying spiel is the advantage that can be gained from 'proving' that you've been up 5 times during the night, so it was definitely not your turn to get up again/change nappy/wash nappies/do anything other than collapse in a heap. You can also bore people to tears with the wealth of baby-related data that you have now amassed. And one further benefit - no more random 3am ebay purchases - and subsequent hiding of parcels each time the postman called...



Did you use anything to help organise yourself? Feeding bracelet? Pin on your clothes? Good old fashioned pen and paper? Or did you get by with chilling out and going with the flow?! Would love to know your tips for other mummies...

Night fluff

I must admit I was scared. It seemed like in impossible challenge. Super-wetter V. night nappy. I was sure that the nappy couldn't rise to such a challenge. I dithered. I asked questions then did nothing, forgot what was said, then asked again. The lovely ladies at Cloth Bum Mums finally gave me confidence to buy a much discussed night nappy. We had heard good reviews of Wee Notions Night Nappies so it was time to put it to the test.

We bought a gorgeous nappy, with soft brown minky outer and pale blue minky inner. The pear design on the front is retro and super cute, fitting for our little fruit addict. Hubby was impressed by its lovely softness- perfect for keeping little one cosy at night. He was, however, flummoxed by side snaps. What is it with men and poppers?! (respect for all those daddies that can manage, we are still at aplix only stage still after 10 months!)

We used a fleece liner instead of the paper ones we use in the day, and prayed for no poo. Prayers about poo are not something I envisaged as part of parenthood! After lots of fluffy Facebook advice we ordered some gorgeous fleece longies from Mama Moomy, so soft and cosy - just right for these chillier Autumn nights. He looked snug as a bug, though with clashing pyjamas as I hadn't stopped to consider a pyjama top to match. Hey ho, he was in his sleeping bag anyway.

I was ridiculously anxious to see if our plan worked. Bubba was a tiny bit damp -but only the same as when he is changed in the day. The nappy was wet but not soaked, and the moisture had been drawn away from his skin. Both longies and sleeping bag survived unscathed.
We are now coming up for our first week of fluffy night times and I'm already loving the thought of letting the disposables gather dust in a corner.

I can't wait to order more lovely fluff as a reward either- all suggestions of what to try next warmly welcomed! So we were chuffed to bits that the nappy could handle our Olympic wee-er. If only our poo prayers had been answered too!