A Crash Course in All Things Infant — and Baby Care Tips For New Moms

Ready, Set, Baby! will have you ready-ish for baby!

Expecting your first child is really overwhelming. Not only are you dealing with your body being taken over by another human, but you’re trying to prepare for taking care of that human. You’re taking childbirth and breastfeeding classes and having meltdowns in Babies R Us because what if you buy the wrong swaddling blanket?

When my daughter was born, I hadn’t been around a newborn in five years. And for some moms, the first baby they’ve ever held is their own. If you have no experience or no recent experience with babies, the thought of the needs of a newborn can be a little intimidating. So if you’re looking for a way to ease your baby anxiety, there’s an app for that.

Ready, Set, Baby! is a fully interactive book to help moms and dads navigate that first year with their little one. I digitally flipped through it, and it’s chock full of information about infants, with baby-care tips galore and instructional videos that will show you everything from different breastfeeding holds to how to bathe a newborn. For a first-time mom — or a mom who needs an infant refresher — it’s wonderful. Chapters are conveniently broken up by topics such as Car Seats, Breastfeeding and Pumping, Formula, Soothing and Swaddling, and more, so you can navigate easily to the topic you need.

How hot should the water be? Ready, Set, Baby! answers that question.

It’s super relatable and covers those questions new moms think about, like what will those first minutes with the baby be like? Will breastfeeding be hard? What on earth will baby poop look like (yep, there are pictures!)? How do you bathe a baby — and how often? The book comes across like your best friend who just had a baby — not some baby expert telling you what to do. With pictures and videos, it’s as hands-on as an app can be. With links to products that you might find helpful to a searchable glossary, it’s a new-mom friendly app that will help you out.

It’s available for many of your digital devices like the iPad, Nook and Kindle, among others, and it’ll save you from flipping through a book while you rock your newborn. For just $4.99, it’ll also save you a lot of time spent with Google.

Did you have any apps that you loved when it comes to pregnancy and babies? —Erin