Your life is about to change forever. You’re expecting a baby and you can’t wait. It’s a scary time, though. One where you want to know everything possible about what to expect, as well as how to deal with all kinds of scenarios you’d never even considered before.
We’ve rounded up 10 ideal apps for helping you and your baby get the most out of life.
1. My Pregnancy & Baby Today Daily Calendar (Free) 
The BabyCenter website is an immensely popular portal for new and expectant parents. The app is similarly comprehensive. You can use it to keep track of the due date, see what to expect during each new week of pregnancy and even time contractions. Once the baby arrives, the app turns into a daily parenting guide for getting you through the first year.
2. Baby Monitor 3G ($3.99) 
There are plenty of gadgets for monitoring your baby while they sleep, but Baby Monitor 3G saves the hassle of buying a specific tool for the purpose. It’s a monitor for your phone, tablet, or PC, allowing you to hear every noise, stream live video, and even soothe your child remotely. It’s also useful if you’re traveling for work and simply don’t want to miss out on those special moments.
3. Baby Feed Timer ($4.99) 
Tracking breastfeeding can be awkward. Similarly, timing feeds is far from straightforward when you’re sleep deprived. Baby Feed Timer does all the sums for you. It’ll track when to feed your baby, for how long, and it’ll remind you when one is due. It’ll also keep an eye on your baby’s progress, allowing you to spot trends quickly.
4. My Baby’s Beat ($4.99) 
Want to be able to hear your baby’s heartbeat whenever you want? My Baby’s Beat lets you listen to the sounds while your baby is in the uterus. You can record it before sharing with others, all via the iPhone’s microphone. It’s best used in the last couple of months of pregnancy but it’s sure to be satisfying.
5. Sound Sleeper ($4.99) 
Sound Sleeper is a white noise machine, offering high-quality sounds that will send your baby to sleep. It’s also an app that will listen out for your baby’s cries, automatically playing soothing sounds to try to ease them back to sleep. A sleep tracking mode means you can analyze your child’s sleeping patterns too, providing you with insight into how things are progressing.
6. Sleep Baby Sleep (Free)
Want something simpler than Sound Sleeper? Sleep Baby Sleep is a free solution, offering 6 different noises— fan, hairdryer, vacuum cleaner, clothes dryer, running water and womb noises. A simple matter of hitting start or stop, it should give you the edge in helping your baby sleep soundly.
7. Baby’s Firsts (Free) 
It’s great to see your baby progress and achieve so many firsts in the early moments of their life. Baby’s Firsts makes it simple to track them. You can easily capture their developmental milestones, and photograph them throughout the first year of their life. Over 300 prompts are available to inspire you to capture their best moments, before easily sharing them with loved ones.
8. HiMama Parent (Free) 
HiMama Parent works in a similar way to Baby’s Firsts but continues throughout your child’s life. Due to its extensive sharing features, it’s also great for receiving real-time photo and video updates from a caregiver, meaning if you’re at work, you don’t have to miss out. With its milestone checklists, it’s great for seeing how your child is doing.
9. Baby Connect ($4.99) 
Baby Connect is an all-in-one tracking app for your child. You can use it to record feeding times, nursing, naps, diaper changes, pumping, and even your baby’s mood. It’s easy to share such information with others via its syncing feature making it ideal for those with babysitters or nannies. Everyone will always know how the baby’s been most recently, making comparisons easy.
10. Baby’s Playful Hands ($0.99)
Your infant is going to be attracted to your iPad or iPhone like a moth to a flame. It’s just a fact of life. Baby’s Playful Hands gives them an app to play with. Each time, your baby touches the screen, colorful stars leap from their fingers, with different audio and visual feedback depending on the instrument being played at the time. It’s sure to beguile them.