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Contraction Master is an application that offers an easy way to time labour pains, with expectant mothers simply tapping to start and stop the timer. The information is stored and can even be packaged up and sent by email to a waiting doctor or midwife.
The Baby Namer app is a modern equivalent to the baby name books bought by many expectant mothers for decades past. It gives information on the meaning of names, their popularity over the last century or so and how they will go with the surname the baby will take.
Baby Log is an application that lets a tired, new mother keep track of her baby's activities, from eating and sleeping to baths and even custom categories of the mother's choosing. Data can be exported, allowing mums to view the week's activity in one go, and providinga good way of spotting emerging patterns and setting up solid routines. A more specific Breast Feeding Friend application is also available, helping mothers keep track of the length of each feed and helping them remember which side the baby is due to feed next.
The Babyphone app converts an iPhone into a baby monitor. Parents enter their phone number and position the phone next to their sleeping baby. The moment the baby wakes, the app will call to alert the parent. Threshold and microphone sensitivity is used to set off the alarm, and parents canadjust the time between the baby waking and the call being made.
A complimentary app maybe is the Sleepy Baby app, which offers a selection of 'white noise' sounds to recreate the atmosphere of the womb and help babies get to sleep.
Another rich vein are games for the very young. The Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom iPhone game app uses motion sensor technology that responds as parents turn, tilt and play with the app. An easy-to-play adventure game, it lets children slant the iPhone to direct Dora through a winding rainbow slide. The aim is to recover hidden crystals. Children can also explore their colouring creativity with the Dora colouring book. Other simple games applications available for download include Blowfish and Look Baby!
The iWriteWords iPhone app is a drag and draw game to help preschool children to learn letters. Each letter successfully traced by a child is saved and can be used later to reinforce what a child has already learnt.
By Tom Jackson
