Prams, scans and mobile apps

It has been a while since I have written a Spark blog post and one reason for this is that Baby Crawshaw is on the way next month – so rather than sitting in front of a laptop writing, spare moments have been taken up checking out the specs on the latest Bugaboo pram!

As a first time dad it’s the usual case of being both excited and scared at the same time, but I have also been fascinated by how advanced some of the technology has become when it comes to monitoring the wellbeing of your baby.  It amazes me that if you go back 30-40 years it was pretty much a case of stethoscope and a bit of ‘prodding’ to see if your baby was OK.  Whereas today with an ultra scan you can see your baby on screen, measure their size and monitor their blood flow, etc. And for those people with a bit of loose change you can even now get 3D scans, so you can see how much the baby takes after their mother or father.

The gadgetry doesn’t stop there.  Just from taking a look at my wife Gill’s phone you can see that there are now hundreds of different pregnancy apps to guide you through the whole 9 months.  Indeed who would have thought 10 years ago there would be a mobile phone app to monitor contractions!

Then when it comes to baby monitors there are a lot more than just a basic walkie-talkie these days.  Indeed, today’s baby monitors can display video and detect movement and no doubt play lullabies if you can find the right setting.

So while we take technology for granted these days it is worth remembering that for many parents technology can go a long way to giving them peace of mind when it comes to the whole baby experience.