Modern moms are using technology to help them get back to the basics. Here are tech tricks that are making baby care easier and, in some cases, cheaper too.
Private pumping place
When Priya Nembhard was breast-feeding her youngest, Liam, she had one problem: Where to pump when she left the house? “I had a lot of difficulty finding clean places,” she says. “And there were no resources online.”
Nembhard, who now lives in New York, and a mom friend came up with MomsPumpHere.com, which uses your smartphone’s or tablet’s GPS to determine the closest location where a mom can pump or nurse in private. Log on to the website to find more than 200 locations in major U.S. cities. You can also add your favorite pumping spots to the database.
Baby monitoring apps
Forget the video monitoring systems. Just download an app, and your device’s camera will transmit your baby’s image to a second device, or let you listen in to make sure baby is sound asleep. Try:
Best Baby Monitor. Lets you monitor by video and speak to baby with a second device. Sends an alert call if a sleeping baby wakes. Plays lullabies. $3.99 on iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.
iSitter. Monitors audio in real time and camera image every 30 seconds with two devices. Sounds alarm if parent’s device is disconnected. Free for iPhone, iPod touch or iPad; upgrade to $2.99 version to get rid of ads.
Baby Monitor. Put your iPhone by sleeping baby and when the app detects noise, it calls you so you can listen in. $4.99 on iPhone.
SIDS prevention device
According to the Centers for Disease Control, around 4,000 infants die each year for no obvious reason. About half of those deaths are due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) when a child is asleep. For parents who want extra security, try Snuza Hero, a device that clips onto baby’s diaper to monitor movement at night, which sells for $102. If there is no movement for 15 seconds, the monitor vibrates gently to rouse the baby. If no movement is detected after five more seconds, an alarm sounds.
