And I’m not talking about that app that lets your little ones “color” all over your iPhone screen with the touch of their finger. What I am talking about is Baby Brain, a new iPhone app that helps parents of newborns track feedings, diaper changes and even sleep schedules.

You thought light sabers were cool… try having someone - or something - remember the last time you nursed your baby or how long her last stretch of sleep was so you don’t have to. This is a really great option for sleep-deprived parents who have a hard time remembering to shower! Baby Brain, like most iPhone apps, is easy to use; simply tap and track. You can quickly see when your baby’s last bottle was and just how much she ate. Baby Brain keeps logs, which you can easily view even months down the road.

What I love best about this app is it makes those newborn check-ups a lot less stressful for new parents. All the info the doctor needs is literally at your fingertips. You can even email reports to your doctors and caregivers. And get this, it has a breastfeeding timer that runs while you hop online or catch your latest TiVo’d show!

You can purchase the Baby Brain iPhone app for $5 from the iPhone store or directly from iTunes. I’m game for anything that helps keep a new parent sane, and at $5 it’s a sound investment in today’s economy! - Emily H.

I love my SIGG water bottle and use it all the time. I especially love that it’s more environmentally friendly than the case of bottled water I occasionally buy at the store. And until recently I had no idea there was a stainless steel option for the all-important, ever-present sippy cup!

Though definitely more of an investment than your traditional - and often unhealthy, environmentally unfriendly - sippy cup, Klean Kanteen’s Kid Kanteen Classic Sippy is made from BPA- and toxin-free stainless steel. It comes with a specially designed adapter that works with Avent’s sippy cup spout, which is also BPA-free. Unlike some sippy cups the Kid Kanteen will never leach chemicals, toxins or strange flavors into your baby’s drink.

The 12-oz. design is perfect for smaller hands and the large mouth not only makes cleaning easier (though it is dishwasher safe) but also means you can slip in ice cubes without too much effort. Now that’s one thing I can’t say about my SIGG! The Kid Kanteen is 100% reusable and recyclable and comes in six different colors along with brushed stainless. You can purchase Klean Kanteen’s Kid Kanteen Classic Sippy for about $15 from Amazon.com.

Z Recommends recently did a Sippy and Straw Cup showdown, and gave the Klean Kanteen a positive review. You can find links to all three tiers of their baby and toddler sippy cup rankings here. - Emily H.

I have made baby food for all of my children. As I was preparing to get started with my newest eater, I found an interesting product through One Step Ahead called Stay-Fresh Baby Food Containers. Marketed as an easy way to take homemade baby food on the go, I decided to give them a try.

Product Description

The Stay-Fresh Baby Food Containers are a set of 12 two-ounce cups, each with a screw cap to keep food inside. The cup is marked with one- and two-ounce fill lines for ease in filling. The cups come with a stacking tray to which they attach to keep things organized in the freezer - the tray holds six cups, and then the cups securely stack on top of each other.

The Verdict

So how do these cups work? So far, I have been very pleased. The cups are really easy to fill because the ounce markings let me know I am serving the baby the right amount. The caps are easy to screw on to the cups, and they stay closed, even in the diaper bag (which I have heard can be a problem with other single-serving storage products). They stack easily, and the tray and cups fit well into the freezer door, which makes my freezer organization much easier.

Besides freezing baby food, these small containers have been perfect for mixing up the baby's first cereal with formula. Because it has the ounce markings, it is very easy to just mix up a small amount of formula for the cereal without dirtying a whole bottle.


When we have been out and about, the containers have worked well. As I mentioned above, the caps stayed on, and I have not had any leaking. The lid even stayed on through an unintentional drop test onto a restaurant’s tile floor. When we are going out for the day, I have been able to grab a cup of sweet potatoes or avocado from the freezer, throw it in the diaper bag, and it is thawed by lunch. So easy!

One of the reasons that I am so excited about this product is that I will be able to continue using the cups long after the baby is done with baby food. They will be great for transporting snacks, holding salad dressing or hummus for lunches, and more. I just love when baby product purchases work well beyond the baby years.

Stay-Fresh Baby Food Containers sell for $9.95 through One Step Ahead.

Are you looking for other storage containers for baby food? Emily did a great overview of some products to help make baby food cubes for home use. - Sara I.

Yes, I read What to Expect When You’re Expecting while pregnant with all four children. While I think it's a great resource (I loved the other What to Expect books as well), sometimes it’s nice to break from the norm and try something new.

Pea in a Pod: Your Complete Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth & Beyond is a fairly new book on the pregnancy shelf, but it is worthy of note.

Author Linda Goldberg, a childbirth educator and lactation consultant, has packed Pea in a Pod with a wealth of information you find in any pregnancy book - from birth plans and nutrition guides to detailed sections on labor and delivery. But Goldberg also covers alternative techniques like acupressure, visualization, and touch relaxation, and offers fun info such as the Navajo concept of a birth circle. Along with chapters on newborn care and breastfeeding you'll find a balanced discussion of co-sleeping and bed sharing, plus helpful hints for the father-to-be. (Trust me, they need them!) Pea in a Pod also has more than 300 photos, illustrations and graphics, a glossary, trimester checklists and resource guide.

You can purchase Pea in a Pod: Your Complete Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth & Beyond for $12 from Amazon.com. - Emily H.

I have never made the switch to glass bottles for a couple reasons. One, I only have one child still drinking from a bottle (she’s actually past due for a sippy cup); and two, those glass bottles are heavy and hard for little fingers to grip. So even though they are a safer alternative to the probably not BPA-free bottles in my cupboard, I never made the change. Perhaps if Evenflo had come out with the Classic Cozy glass bottle with Cozy insulator, I’d have made the switch.

The Classic Cozy glass bottle itself is BPA-free and comes with a custom-flow silicone nipple. But what I really love about this bottle is the soft, colorful Cozy Insulator, or sleeve, that comes with it. The sleeve is made from slip-resistant TPE material and improves impact resistance so that bottle is as safe for baby, if not safer, than a plastic one. The sleeve also has raised finger holds for easy gripping and easy on/off loops.

Those loops are probably my favorite feature because they let you easily see how much liquid is in the bottle. I did try Silikids’ Siliskin bottle but it was a bit difficult to get a full silicone sleeve on and off; plus it made it a little harder to see inside the bottle. I love the Cozy Insulator because it seems much easier to use.

You can purchase the new Evenflo Classic Cozy glass bottle with Cozy insulator in a 3-pack of 4-oz. or 8-oz. bottles. You can also purchase the Cozy insulator separately in six fun colors. You can pick up the 4-oz. bottle 3-pack for $10 from Amazon.com. - Emily H.