From The Beginning: The BabyTech You Need In The Journey To Having Kids
Whether you’re a new parent or not, the journey to having children can be as amazing as it is challenging. From the time you’re considering bringing a little one into the world to being a postpartum parent, everyone could use a little help every once in a while.
Whether it’s trying to get your baby to sleep, finding a suitable nanny, working out the best places to shop all-things-babycare or dealing with your postpartum mental and physical health, we’re sure you’ll have a lot on your plate!
That’s why we’ve put together a list of some of the very best BabyTech sites and apps so you can support yourself, as well as you’re little one.
Postpartum Plan
Postpartum Plan is an award-winning, holistic online membership for new parents. Rather than focusing on the baby, the app focuses on supporting parents mentally and physically post-birth.
It brings together an experienced team of postpartum experts that all new parents should have access to; women’s health physio, yoga and breath-work instructor, nutritionist, postpartum doula and more. It was inspired by the founder’s traumatic first birth which left her with PTSD, diastasis recti, insomnia, and postpartum anxiety which highlighted the obvious lack of support available to her during this critical period.
Each member of the program has access to a personal dashboard with content to help new parents recover, heal and feel supported. There are 5 core pillars; mindset, reflection, recovery, movement and nutrition. In addition, each user also has access to the Postpartum Village, where users gain access to weekly live sessions with experts as well as a Private Facebook Group to meet other parents.
Postpartum Plan now partners with corporate companies such as Hertility and law firm Fieldfisher to offer the plan as a workplace benefit to employees on parental leave. The company has also been recently endorsed by celebrity Doctor, Zoe Williams who used the Postpartum Plan after the birth of her first baby.
Baby2Sleep
Baby2Sleep has been supporting parents since 2017 to be better educated on the topic of baby and child sleep, and to help them navigate the first 6 years of parenting feeling prepared, empowered, and confident.
When we live in a time-poor, tech-rich society, we must consider how to reach the majority of people with evidence-based information without them feeling overwhelmed by the internet, and books left closed at the end of chapter 1.
Nicole Ratcliffe, founder of Baby2Sleep has created self-paced online learning to fit into the busy lifestyle of today’s parents. Teaching them about baby and child sleep and development from before the baby arrives, through to their child turning 6 years old through short videos or audio files. This means they can fit their learning into their life as a busy on-the-go parent who listens on the move, through to the new parent sitting down with their partner and new baby watching and learning at their own pace.
Nicole doesn’t believe people need to be dictated to but educated to help them make informed decisions that feel right for them and their families, without judgement.
“I felt empowered by Nicole’s videos, she makes me feel like ‘I’ve got this, I can do this, and everything is going to be OK.’” – Sophie (expectant parent).
Babysits
Babysits is a platform connecting parents with childcare providers across the UK (and globally in 80+ countries). The company was launched in 2008 by Peter van Soldt, when he noticed family members and close friends struggling to find suitable care for their children. Babysits’ mission is to empower communities around childcare and give parents a place where they can easily filter on their childcare needs, whether they want a bilingual nanny, a flexible babysitter for weekends, or a babysitter with experience working with children with special needs.
On Babysits, parents can search for childcare providers in their area – based on address, city, or postcode. They can filter by the characteristics that matter most to them, for example, DBS checked (or equivalent criminal record check in other countries), years of experience or experience with specific ages of children, type of childcare provider, ID verified, first aid certification and more. They can read reviews and references other families have left for babysitters.
When they’ve found the right fit for their family, they can contact babysitters, nannies and childminders, coordinate details and book babysitting appointments directly via the platform.
Babbu
Babbu is the award-winning app set to revolutionise parenting for the under 5’s, making Early Years education accessible for all. Science tells us that a child’s experiences from conception to the first five years shape their next fifty. However, millions of children are denied access to structured learning and development opportunities in their Early Years due to growing issues of affordability, flexibility and availability within the formal childcare sector, a problem exacerbated by the pandemic and the current global financial situation.
Shockingly, nearly half of all UK children are not school-ready by age five, with reports of children unable to say their name, hold a pencil and still in nappies. Babbu is the app every parent of a small child needs on their phone. The world’s first Montessori-endorsed platform arms parents with a simple development and education programme which can be done in easy, bitesize sessions to help a child reach their full potential before beginning primary school.
Babbu’s online nursery is designed to give each child the best possible start in life. For a monthly subscription fee, the online nursery integrates daily Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) activities in an AI-personalised ‘curriculum’ for each child, alongside an extensive community of experts offering parents and guardians advice to help support their child’s development in those crucial first few years. It is jam-packed with helpful hints, lessons, tricks, podcasts, activities, songs, stories and advice to help empower parents and children, maximising capabilities whatever the life context. It also supports the parent’s physical and emotional well-being whilst delivering the best child development theories and teaching philosophies to life, from just 15 minutes a day.
Glow Dreaming
Glow Dreaming is the creation of one desperate mum who struggled with her daughter’s inability to fall asleep. The device combines light therapy, aromatherapy, pink noise and a humidifier, which work together to relax and calm children and help them fall asleep. And they also have an app that helps you use the device.
Most parents will know the stress of having a baby or child that won’t sleep – it can be an extremely emotionally and physically draining time for the whole family. However, a new 5-in-1 sleep aid that helps babies and children to nod off in a matter of minutes is now being hailed as a ‘godsend’ by weary parents. Within months of launching the product had sold out and has now been snapped up by more than 200,000 families in Australia and across the world.
Glow Dreaming is a 5-in-1 sleep aid that is scientifically engineered for sleep. It is the creation of one desperate parent who struggled with their daughter’s inability to fall asleep. The device combines light therapy, aromatherapy, pink noise and a humidifier, which work together to relax and calm babies and children and help them fall asleep.
Glow Dreaming uses the following techniques to help babies and children sleep: NASA LED Sleep Light, Pink Noise, Aromatherapy, Humidifier, and Sleep Support.
bndle
bndle is the UK’s first AI-powered marketplace that connects modern families with independent children’s brands and experts. Launched in 2022, the site features more than 130 brands and over 6,000 curated products aimed at families with babies and young children.
bndle is an intuitive AI-driven platform that delivers personalised product offerings and expert advice to help parents at every milestone. Their unique technology means customers will experience a highly sophisticated and personalised journey. With an intuitive smart filter that preempts what customers need and delivers relevant products and services at every life stage, parents will no longer need to spend hours browsing multiple sites. In addition, bndle has partnered with a range of parenting experts to support families across some of the most highly searched parenting conundrums and subjects, with hypnobirthing, breastfeeding, sleeping and weaning at the top of the list.
bndle was founded by husband and wife, Vish and Lucy Burgul, who, after becoming first-time parents in 2020, was overwhelmed by the cluttered and confusing baby products market. They built a solution to make buying kids’ products simple, intuitive and stress-free, so parents can focus on the moments that matter.
What To Expect
The What to Expect mobile app, available on Android and iOS is an essential tool for parents with a trusted legacy behind the ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’ brand. Centred on your due date or your baby’s birthday, you receive customized information about your baby’s development, along with expert articles, useful tips, helpful tools, engaging videos, and much more. The app also recently integrated a collaboration with Disney Baby, seeing a whimsical update come to its beloved baby size comparison tool that includes classic elements from the Disney and Pixar universes for parents to visualize the size of their growing baby.
In addition to the app itself, the What to Expect community of users maintains a vibrant space for parents to interact with other parents looking for advice, support, and more.
BabyCenter
The BabyCenter app offers a robust set of trackers and tools, including a very popular baby name finder to explore baby names of interest and discover new ones. BabyCenter has been reporting on baby name trends for 19 years now and the tool allows for easy access to those insights.
The app allows you to transform your weekly bump pictures of your growing belly into a cherished time-lapse video keepsake. And when your baby is born, you can organize photos of your baby’s “firsts” and funny moments all in one place to save memories as they grow up.
When it comes to useful tools, you receive well-timed expert sleep advice for your little one(s), feeding, activities, and more. The BabyCenter app is free and available on Android and iOS.