Download This

These apps can make a new parent’s life a bit easier.

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Being a new parent can be overwhelming. Don’t forget to take some time to focus on yourself. There are a lot of apps out there that can make life a little bit easier. Here are the top apps for new parents, and they’re all free, so download an app — or three! 

Cozi Family Organizer

Available at: Amazon Appstore, Apple Appstore, Google Play

One of the keys to a happy relationship with your partner after the baby has arrived is clear communication about who’s supposed to do what and when. Step 1: Get Cozi Family Organizer. This app has a shared calendar where you and your partner can see each other’s calendars and a shared shopping list where you can see when things to buy are added or crossed off the list in real time. You can also use the app to send automatic reminders to each other, make to-do lists, and organize receipts in a common place. 

Ink Cards

Available at: Apple Appstore, Google Play

If there’s one thing you can always use more of as a new parent, it’s time. How about downloading an app that lets you transform what you’re doing anyway (like taking lots of pictures of your baby) into something you know you really should be doing (like sending greeting cards to family and friends)? Ink Cards lets you do that. The app makes it easy to turn the best pictures of your baby into high-quality print greeting cards, whether you need to send out thank-you notes, holiday greetings, or cards for any other occasion.

SitOrSquat 

Available at: Apple Appstore, Google Play

When you’re out and about with your baby, it’s so frustrating when you can’t find a clean public restroom with a changing table. SitOrSquat is a location-based app that helps you find just that wherever you are. The app has a user-generated list of more than 100,000 public restrooms throughout the U.S., and it tells you how long it’ll take you to get to the nearest one. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to post pictures and rate the restrooms as either “Sit” (good) or “Squat” (bad). 

Smiling Mind

Available at: Apple Appstore, Google Play

As a new parent, one of the things you’ll crave the most is a  quiet moment to just relax, and Smiling Mind helps with that. This app has hundreds of guided meditations that help you tune everything out and focus on your breathing while visualizing calming images. The cool thing about this app is that it also has meditations for children ages 7 and up, as well as mediations that parents can do together with kids. As your child grows up, you can do the meditations together.

Wahoo 7 Minute Workout 

Available at: Apple Appstore, Google Play

Let’s be honest: No matter how incredibly enjoyable it is, being a new parent is physically exhausting. Finding the time to exercise can be difficult, but we all have seven minutes a day to spare. Wahoo 7 Minute Workout is one of the most popular short-interval fitness apps available. The routine is divided into 12 high-intensity exercises that last for 30 seconds, with 10-second rest intervals. The exercises train your chest, abs, arms and legs through bodyweight training, push-ups, sit-ups, and squats. You don’t need any equipment, so you can do the exercises wherever and whenever.

Winnie

Available at: Apple Appstor, Google Play

Sometimes what you crave more than anything else is just to connect with other new parents and get their advice on what to do in certain situations. When you get that urge, download Winnie. Known as the Yelp for parents, this app lets you interact with a large network of other parents to ask questions. The app also has a large directory of baby-friendly restaurants, parks, and shopping centers. 

Tanni Haas, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Communication Arts, Sciences, and Disorders at theCity University of New York – Brooklyn College.