There are some wonderful pregnancy apps available for children and new mums. We have selected a few to help you gain the most from this magical time:

For the children…..

Inkstrumental – You can create your own band from a range of sounds and characters.

Taking Carl – This provides endless entertainment as you can tickle, pinch and poke Carl to make him repeat everything that you say in a hilarious voice.

ABC Wildlife – This is more of an educational app which provides interesting facts about animals with lots of videos to watch too.

Jack and the Beanstalk Interactive Book – This is the classic story where you can read along with the text and there are lots of additional activate and games to play.

For the Mums…..

Baby ESP – You can record all of the information that you want to remember about your baby. This log book allows you to note sleeping patterns, eating and medicines being taken etc.

Baby Monitor & Alarm – This logs your baby’s sleep pattern and attempts to soothe baby when he cries.

Relax with Andrew Johnson – Hypnotherapist Andrew Johnson eases your stress levels by guiding you through exercises.

New womb song classes are all the rage to boost language skills and to help mums to be develop a closer bond with the child. Mums can learn how to sing in the classes and learn a range of songs and lullabies. The songs are very simple and from all over the world. New mums to be find the whole experience relaxing and quite uplifting.

A 58 year old mother Carole Hobson from Kent had IVF treatment which led to her giving birth to twins. Matthew and Freida were born by emergency Caesarean on Christmas Eve making Carole one of the oldest mothers of twins in the country. The twins each weighed 3lb 3oz when they were born nine weeks prematurely at Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham. Carole said the babies were conceived after she travelled to India for a fifth course of IVF treatment. Mother and babies are doing very well.

At first it is hard to tell if your baby is too hot or too cold. They may have too many layers or too few on for the weather outside or for room temperature. Here a few helpful hints to guide you:
If you are feeling too hot or too cold then your baby is likely to be experiencing the same.  You should add or remove layers accordingly.
Your baby should always have one more layer of clothing than you are wearing.
You can check baby by putting your fingers down the back of baby’s neck and make sure baby is warm but not sweaty.
Before long you will easily be adding a blanket when baby is chilly and taking a layer off when baby’s cheeks are a little flush!

 

For those parents that cannot decide what to call their baby, there are lots of apps offering different kinds of baby names. There are apps which provide 10,000 baby names and others with 50,000 Baby names and there is bound to be an app to meet the needs of the pickiest parents. Once the new baby is born there are lots of apps to help new parents order each day and each week’s events. Parents can record the baby’s growth, feeding patterns, immunisations and developmental milestones.

 

Sisters Nikki and Emma Rotheram were both brought into Liverpool Women’s Hospital on the same day and had babies Libby and Luke in rooms next to each other, just hours apart. Nikki was due on the 14th and Emma on the 17^th February. Luke weighed in at 7lb 10oz and Libby at 6lb 10oz.  The sisters said that the whole family is so happy and their mum spent all her time running between the two rooms in the hospital. Both babies are doing really well and the parents are looking forward to having all their important birthdays together in the future. The chances of two sisters having their babies on the same day, in rooms next to each other, is very rare.

Matt Rigby and partner Lowry Dairsley have three children and all were born at exactly 7:43. The couple’s first child, Ella was born in October 2005 at exactly 7:43 am. The next baby, Evie was born on the Boxing Day of 2007 at exactly 7:43 pm. Harrison was born at exactly 7:43 on 20th Jan 2011. After the second child came on 7:43 like the first one, Matt got a tattoo with the words “Seven Forty Three� on his arms. Lowry said that during the labour she realised that it was 7:41 and when the baby finally came out the clock struck 7:43.

When Emma Smith went into labour with her fourth child her husband Leroy soon realised that there was not enough time to get to the hospital. The 29 year old decided to use his BlackBerry to find step by step instructions online on how to deliver a baby. Leroy followed the detailed guide and Emma safely gave birth to a baby girl weighing 6lb 11oz. Very soon after the baby was delivered the midwife arrived to cut the umbilical cord.

Studies show that babies learn better through play. Research shows play also helps babies learn to communicate faster. Talking to Your Baby will help them recognize your mouth movements and help their communication skills. Singing also helps to develop baby’s cognitive skills and could actually help them develop into a happier child. Parents are encouraged to use their imagination and be creative when playing with their babies. Use sounds, colour and various textures to stimulate your baby’s senses.

 

Tests and research that has been recently carried out suggests that it is safer to bath your baby in plain water for the first month. When your baby is born, the top layer of their skin is extremely thin and absorbent. Therefore it is extremely sensitive to germs and chemicals. During the first month, your baby’s skin matures and they will develop their own natural protective barrier. Experts suggest using natural and organic on your baby’s skin which are free from preservatives, perfume and colours.