How do grandparents and minders stay in the loop with a new baby?
The handover problem, why texting the day never quite works and the three ways Lullagram keeps granny and the minder up to speed.
In short
A good handover answers five questions: when was the last feed and which side, how much went down, when was the last nap, when was the last nappy and is anything unusual going on. Lullagram answers them three ways: a handover summary of the last 8 hours on one screen, today's summary shared straight to WhatsApp and carer access for a regular minder or granny who wants to log the day herself.
- The handover summary shows the last 8 hours of feeds, naps and nappies on one screen.
- Today's summary shares to WhatsApp, so granny needs no app and no account.
- Carer access lets a regular minder log straight into your tracker, and you see it live.
- Carer access never shows your pregnancy, fertility or private notes.
- The baby tracker is free for 7 days, then 4.99 euro a month for the whole household.
Every parent knows the doorstep recital. Granny has her coat off, the baby is already reaching for her, and you are halfway out the door going "last bottle was at eleven, no wait, half ten, she took most of it, she'll want a nap around one, there's a nappy bag under the..." and then you sit into the car certain you forgot something. The baby is in great hands. The information is not.
Why is handing a baby over so hard to get right?
Because the information that matters is precise and recent, and your memory after a short night is neither. A small baby runs on a loop of feeds, naps and nappies, and whoever takes over needs to know exactly where in the loop you are. What time was the last feed? If you are breastfeeding, which side did she finish on? How long has he been awake, and when will he fight the next nap? When was the last dirty nappy?
Get those right and the afternoon runs itself. Get them wrong and granny spends two hours wondering why the baby is roaring at a bottle he had an hour ago.
What goes wrong with texting the day?
Texting is what most of us do, and it half works. The trouble is that a WhatsApp thread is a conversation, not a record. The feed time is forty messages up, between a photo and a voice note. You type "down for a nap" one-handed in the dark and never send it. Your partner reads the message, granny does not, and now two people have two different versions of the day.
And someone has to write it all. The person minding the baby ends up doing two jobs: the minding, and the live commentary on the minding. By the third handover of the week, the commentary is the first thing to go.
What should a baby handover note cover?
Whether it is an app, a notebook or a sticky note on the kettle, a handover that works covers five things:
- The last feed: what time, and which side if breastfeeding, or how much of the bottle went down.
- Sleep: when the last nap started and ended, so the next one can be read from how long the baby has been awake.
- Nappies: when the last one was changed and what was in it.
- Anything unusual: a dose of medicine given, a tooth on the way, a cranky morning.
- The plan: roughly when the next feed and nap are due, and where the soother lives.
That is the whole job. The only question is whether you want to write it out every time, or have it written already.
How does the Lullagram handover summary work?
If you log feeds, naps and nappies in Lullagram as you go, the handover writes itself. The handover summary shows the last 8 hours on one screen: every feed with its time and side, every nap, every nappy, every note. Whoever is taking the baby reads it in half a minute.
It works between parents too. Lullagram is built for two phones from the start: both parents log, both see everything live, and the evening handover between mum and dad stops being a memory test. Parents doing newborn shifts tell us this is the feature that sold them.
Can I send the day to granny on WhatsApp?
Yes. Lullagram turns today's logs into a tidy summary you can share straight to WhatsApp. Granny needs no app, no account and no password: she gets the day at a glance, feeds and naps and nappies in order, in a message she can read at the kitchen table.
It goes the other way too. If you are out and granny has the baby, a parent can send her the morning's summary before she starts, so she knows exactly where the day stands.
What if granny or a minder has the baby every week?
For a regular arrangement, give them carer access. A grandparent or childminder with carer access logs feeds, naps and nappies straight into your own Lullagram tracker while they mind the baby, and you see it live on your phone at work. No end-of-day download, no "how was she?", because you already know.
Carer access shows baby logs only. It never shows your pregnancy, fertility or private notes, and you can switch it off at any time. If a paid childminder minds your baby, there is a childminder plan built for exactly this, at 4.99 euro a month with the first 30 days free. For how a creche day fits in, see what happened at creche today.
Frequently asked questions
What should a baby handover note cover?
The time of the last feed and, if breastfeeding, which side; how much of a bottle went down; when the last nap started and ended; the last nappy and what was in it; and anything unusual, like a new tooth on the way or a dose of medicine given.
How does the Lullagram handover summary work?
It shows the last 8 hours on one screen: feeds with times and sides, naps, nappies and notes. Whoever is taking the baby reads it in half a minute instead of hearing it on the doorstep.
Can I send the baby's day to a grandparent on WhatsApp?
Yes. Lullagram turns today's logs into a tidy summary you can share straight to WhatsApp, so a grandparent sees the day at a glance without needing the app or an account.
What if a grandparent minds the baby every week?
Give them carer access. They log feeds, naps and nappies straight into your own tracker and you see it live. It shows baby logs only, never your private sections, and you can switch it off at any time.
I've used the app since my now 3 month old was born and it's honestly brilliant. Very handy when me and my husband were doing handovers, no one needed to be woken up or questioned! Great resource for the public health nurse when we had concerns about feeding etc, it was all recorded in the app. It's also really refreshing to have an app like this geared towards parents in Ireland.