Grow With Me App

Grow With Me

2016 Update: I believe that this application has been discontinued.

The lovely people from Grow With Me have given Canadian Moms (and myself), the chance to try out their baby iPhone application. Simply from searching it in the App Store, I had already read positive reviews about the application from other parents who are already using it. This is absolutely divine for me from the get-go.

Why?

Well, I’m a hardcore iPhone lover and can wholeheartedly say that I use it for everything. Looking up businesses, shopping, blogging, social networking, and you bet I am always on the hunt for the PERFECT baby app. I excitedly started downloading the app and launched it as soon as it finished downloading.

The app itself is brilliant, I’m keen to detail, and I’m already loving the layout itself. It’s direct and very user-friendly, right from the welcome home screen. To some, appearance isn’t important, while I admit that some apps aren’t aesthetically pleasing but are useful, I tend to let the appearance go. Yet, I do appreciate an app that pays attention to detail and gives my iPhone a run for its retinal display. Grow With Me is already impressing me as soon as I opened it.

I clicked on the “My Children” tab and started setting up my two little girls. I do know that this is a baby app, and my eldest daughter does not fit into that category anymore (sad face). But, I figured I would add it to keep track of the things that are still applicable, such as immunizations, doctor’s appointments, medications, contacts, and illnesses. In just a few clicks, I had entered their information and added an avatar for each of them.

Quick and Simple

Now, focusing on my little Mimi, who just turned 8 months this week, I began to enter her growth since birth. This to me is an essential tool that provides peace of mind. To know exactly how my child is growing (which percentile) and at what rate is extremely important to me, and to have it all at hand is even better. The only thing that I couldn’t figure out was how to add oz. to the weights. I’ve also entered all the important contacts such as our family doctor, the girl’s pediatrician, our pharmacy, and their optometrist to name a few.

Considering Michaela’s age, her eating, and sleeping patterns are pretty much established now. She sleeps through the night (I’m lucky enough to have her sleep from about 2–3 weeks old), has normal wet diapers and BM’s, nurses on demand and eats solid foods as well. I have been using it to track how many veggies and fruits she is eating and her intake during the day.

I really wish that Grow With Me app had released sooner because it would have been so much help during the first few months. For any new mom or even veteran moms, no matter how many times you’ve had children, we still worry. I know that I was worried if she was having enough wet diapers and how often she was breastfeeding. Being able to track diapers, feeding and sleeping patterns is extremely beneficial for mothers who are sleep-deprived themselves. It’s easy to often forget how many diapers, and worse to have them forming a pyramid on the changing table to count. Not a good look or smell for that matter. I can also export all this information as PDF or CSV files for back-up.

Birth Announcements

Another awesome feature is the ability to make digital and virtual birth announcements right from the app and send it to friends and family right from your phone. They have various, super cute templates to announce the birth of your little one. Again, I wish I would have had this app 8 months ago. I would have taken advantage of this feature the most because the first few weeks are so hectic and busy with a newborn. I made one up just for fun and sent it to Hubby. It was so cute, and it literally took me less than 5 minutes to make and send.

One of the many great features I’ve discovered while using this Grow With Me App is the appointment feature. I’ve recently had an appointment to get the girls’ eyes checked, and I entered it into the app, it notified me of what the appointment was and when it was. Which was a lifesaver because I’ve had quite a hectic week and I had set up a notification for the day before. It had completely slipped my mind and because of the app, I set my alarm to wake up the next day to take the girls to the appointment.

Grows with Baby

Luckily, I haven’t had to use this feature of the app just yet, as my girls haven’t been sick. Michaela hasn’t been sick since birth, so I’ve been lucky in that aspect. I’m sure sometime down the road the need may arise, but it is a tool to mark down baby’s temperature, especially if it’s one that persists. So, if there are ever trips to the ER you’re not struggling to remember what baby’s temp was, you know just by opening this app.

All in all, I highly recommend this app for new moms and dads. I can positively say that it will aid them during those tough and difficult first few days home and for the months to follow. For veteran moms and dads, this app will help in keeping track of your baby’s growth and their activities of daily living. I will continue using this app for my baby and literally watch her grow in real life and, as well, through a great digital device tracking her every growth. You don’t have to be a smartphone enthusiast to run this app. It is very simple to use, and I’m sure you will enjoy it as much as I have.

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Grow With Me App has many great features, perhaps in later upgrades, I’d love to see a milestone feature with the ability to track normal milestones and the ability to customize your own. To be able to add a date and a picture would be great, as well as what milestones (though every baby is different) to expect according to the age of your baby. It would really give the user something to look forward to every time they open the app and make it a much more fulfilling application to document not only growth but, all their milestones while they are growing.

Make sure to follow me at @whispersinspire on IG for more adventures.

Do you use apps to track your children’s growth?

Til then, good luck & cheers m’deres!