The benefits of a baby journal

(version FR ici)

Is it really necessary to record the time of a baby's feeding or diaper change? Isn't using an app to keep track of this a bit too much? All parents before us have managed without, haven't they? We are often asked these questions, so we took some time to answer them here.

Tiredness and repetition blur everything

Expecting parents are often warned about the lack of sleep awaiting them. What they're more rarely told is that baby care is quite repetitive: feeding, sleeping, changing, feeding, sleeping, changing, etc. A few days after birth, all these moments tend to mix and blur into a single mass of events. It's becoming difficult to remember the time this or that was done, whether it was today or yesterday.

Some of the parents will adapt and make their way into this swirl. Everything will flow naturally, routines will fall into place and their baby will start growing quietly. For them, a baby journal will not be necessary after the very first few days.

For others, the baby's arrival can be more unsettling. Their contexts and personalities may explain why: less tolerance to sleep deprivation, no relatives to take over from time to time, or simply a less confident nature. The baby may also be going through a more delicate period where paying attention to nutrition and other care is important. Under these conditions, it's quite natural to be stressed and feel overwhelmed at times.

A baby journal will be useful in these circumstances. Recording nursings, diaper changes and maybe sleeps offers an overview of the current day at any time, and helps to anticipate what's next. At home or with an early childhood professional, these notes can help to understand the baby's habits and find solutions to situations that may arise.

Keeping it for later

In addition to the day-to-day help it provides, some parents see a baby journal as a keepsake. A notebook, marked by time and handling, provides a material link to that time of life that an app probably won’t provide. On the other hand, it is less practical to use on a daily basis, when you're struggling with diapers and bottles. Lost notebook, misplaced pencil, busy hands, darkness: there are recurring situations where notebooks are not ideal.

Comes handy

An app has some advantages over a notebook. A smartphone is often at hand, so you can record activities on the moment, before getting distracted and forget to do so. Le Baby has been designed to be used with one hand: the buttons are very accessible and allow you to adjust quantities or times very easily. When the app is launched in obscurity, a very dark theme is automatically displayed to avoid dazzling and disturbing those who are sleeping.

They eat data for breakfast

For "quantified self" aficionados, keeping a baby journal is a natural extension of their habits. They can keep track of how many diapers have been thrown away this month, or how long it's been between cares.

And for those most comfortable with "data", Le Baby offers the ability to export all the data in an open format, simple to store or process by other applications. Anything is possible, even knitting a blanket with your child's sleep rhythm! And only you have access to your data: we don't want it and have made sure we can't access it.

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As you can see, newborn tracking is very useful for many parents, and an app is more convenient to use than paper and pencil if you already have a smartphone. Building the best baby tracker app is the mission we've given ourselves with Le Baby, which has already won over thousands of users.