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Monday 11 March

DayOne: A fantastic baby book app, even if your baby isn't a baby anymore

Now that I've discovered this amazing new journaling app, I know plenty of parents can make up for lost time without going out of their way. In fact, it might be the very best baby book app I've found.

DayOne Baby Book App on Cool Mom Tech

 

I pretty much ditched the baby book after my oldest daughter turned six months, and now, four kids later, the only record I have is on my personal blog, which is scattered with photos and stories, but not the everyday bits that I'd love to have kept.

The DayOne app saves the day. It's one of the easiest and most intuitive journaling apps for Apple mobile gadgets and computers I've ever seen, allowing you to snap photos and add tidbits about absolutely anything, all of which you can then tag and search for easily.

DayOne App on Cool Mom Tech

Once you download the app to your iPhone or laptop, you simply click the camera to take a photo or click the "+" to stick with text. You then type your entry, add location if you choose, and add a category. Once you hit done, you've officially created a searchable entry that can be found in myriad ways: By searching keywords, tags, starred entries, photos or even just by clicking on the month-view calendar.

The app even records the weather that day, a cool little detail I just love. And you can customize the appearance, the font and the size too. 

DayOne App on Cool Mom Tech

Truly, if you spend just one minute with this app you'll see all the possibilities. For me, I've got tags for each of my four kids, as well as birthdays, travel, activities, and school. And while it's fun to be able to flip through them all right on the app, I think the icing on the cake is that you can export all your entries to a PDF by tag--which means printing individual books for each child whenever you want.

And before you gawk at the $4.99 price, keep in mind that this is way cheaper than a paper journal, or if you're like me, the shelves full of baby books and moleskines I've bought and never kept up with. In fact, it's a downright bargain. -Kristen

You can download DayOne for iPhone and iPad at iTunes.com. You'll need to pay separately if you want it on your Mac computer as well.

{Thanks Molly!}

Find More: Apps apps and more apps, Apps for iOS, Parents' Lifesavers

I love this app! I was using another journal app and switched to Day One when my son turned one.

I write a detailed post about my son each month (eating, sleeping, new words) as well as short entries throughout the month about milestones and fun new things. I love that it syncs between my laptop and iPad. And it's so fun to read back through earlier entries. Highly recommend it to all parents!

Do you know of anything similar for Android phones?

I looked at the website and I'm confused. The version for the Mac is $9.99 and mentions something about being for the iPhone as well. But I can't tell if I need to buy both? Or if I buy the one for the Mac, does that cover the iPhone, too?

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