1. The Official Disneyland App

Cost: Free

This is honestly my favorite app. It connects to your Disneyland account, so when you get photos with a character or at a landmark, you just scan the card they give you and it automatically adds the photos to your account. It makes it much easier to purchase photos later! (Note: They are expensive!) Also, the Disneyland app has wait times for everything, from gift shops to rides. It's great for figuring out official wait times, what's broken down, and where crowds are congregating.

2. MouseWait

Cost: Free

MouseWait is another wait time app, but what I specifically like about it is that it shows the capacity level. I don't know exactly how they calculate this, but it shows at what percentage capacity the park is at. In the off-season, the numbers are anywhere from 10-40%, which is really low and manageable. In the summer, anything over 85% is going to mean crowded walkways and long lines. Danny and I like to go in the morning, then leave once it starts to hit 70%+, then return at night when it's dropped back to 65%ish.

3. Hidden Mickeys: Disneyland

Cost: $5.99

It's not all planning! Hidden Mickeys is a great app for identifying and collecting Hidden Mickeys. Hidden Mickeys are not really my thing that I enjoy collecting, but I do love finding them spontaneously. This app is a lot of fun though, especially if you're a Disney fanatic who wants to find every single one on your trip!

4. Maps

Cost: Free

"Michelle," you whisper, "That's an app that comes on everyone's iPhone." Yes, and? It's the best. If you have Maps and an iPhone, you can share your location for a single day with everyone you know. That means if, say, you and your husband decide to split up while you change a diaper and he grabs FastPasses, you don't play a super fun game of hide-and-seek in a super crowded part of Main Street USA. My husband and I did this to make our lives easier; we shared locations each day in Disneyland so we could find each other if we got separated. It works like a charm!

5. A Color Story

Cost: Free

A Color Story is my favorite photo editing app. It's perfect for fixing up those quick photos you take in the park because you can save pre-set directions depending on how a photo looks. At the end of each day, I would lie in bed at the hotel with ice on my shins (I am old) and edit photos. Because that's what I do.

In the weeks after I had Forrest, my life would have fallen apart if I didn't use apps to help me remember things, get Forrest to sleep, or generally pull my life back together into some semblance of normalcy. I went through my phone and picked out the apps I used the most in the first 6 months of Forrest's life. These apps saved my sanity, helped me remember details that otherwise would have just... slipped away, and ultimately, kept me company on those long, lonely days spent holding Forrest as he napped.

1. SoundSleeper

SoundSleeper is a white noise app. That's it. That's all it does. And it is invaluable. I would pay for this app, except I didn't have to, because these wonderful people give it to you FREE. There are about 10 different noises to choose from (Forrest's favorite is Mountain Stream, it still knocks him out within 5-10 minutes). They play for 30 minutes and then fade out, but you can always extend the time back to 30 minutes near the end. I have played the Mountain Stream noise at least 900 times since Forrest was born. That's like 450 hours of white noise.

2. The Wonder Weeks App

This is an app that actually has no real use except to read and go, "oh my god, ok, it's normal, he's fine." I actually forget it exists until Forrest starts turning into the meanest little gremlin on the planet. Wonder Weeks are proposed weeks (they're actually groups of weeks, like 4-5 at a time) that coincide with major periods of neurodevelopment. Recently, Forrest started throwing temper tantrums, only wanting to eat certain foods, and generally being a MAJOR hand full. I opened up the Wonder Weeks App and realized, oh, he's smack dab in the middle of a wonder week--which is why he is so cranky. This app is great for reminding yourself that the fussiness will go away. Eventually.

3. Sprout Baby

Because of Forrest's preterm birth, I had to keep meticulous track of his feeding and pooping. Really. At first I used a notebook, but that required a lot of energy. Eventually, I downloaded Sprout Baby and, yes, I ended up paying the $4.99 upgrade on it. You can use Sprout Baby to keep track of bottle feeding (ounces, when, and what was fed, formula or breastmilk), to keep track of breast feeding (which side, how long), and to keep track of diapers. It sounds dumb now, but these are questions that pediatricians expect you to answer and keeping track of diaper output is incredibly important in the first six months. Sprout Baby was the easiest to use app of all the ones I tried (and yes, I tried a ton). It also had a pump log, which, if you end up pumping, saves you a massive headache because you can see your output for each day in a handy-dandy graph.

4. Waterlogged

The number one rule of breastfeeding and/or pumping is that you have to stay hydrated. When you start getting even a little dehydrated, your supply goes way down. Waterlogged sends reminders of when you should drink some good ol' H20 and allows you to set a goal. (As a heads up, nursing mothers need 140+ ounces of water a day. Really.)

5. Cartwheel

If you're a mom in the United States, you probably go to Target at least once a week. In the early days, we always needed something: more bottles, more pacifiers, diapers, wipes, a hat... Cartwheel saved us tons of money each trip because we could scan everything we were buying and see if there was a coupon for it. It's super easy to use and saves you money--what's not to love?

Do you have any apps that new moms need to try? Share with me on Twitter!