Being a parent is hard, no doubt about it. Taking care of yourself, especially now that you are a parent can seem like a difficult task when so many demands are made on you every minute of the day.

The truth is, self-care can look like lots of different things and can be done when you have 10 minutes before the baby wakes up, or just a couple minutes while you put your feet up, or the moments before you drift off to sleep at night. It can’t, and doesn’t always have to be, a day at the spa that we WISH we could schedule more often.

Today, postpartum doula and EmDo Co-Owner, Suzanne Lee, shares that quest to find those enjoyable self care avenues which you can do quickly and which help make for a lighter part of the day (even if you’re a busy new parent!).

In that journey, she’s discovered a few really great apps that might make a difference for you, even if you’re squeezing in these fun moments between the more trying, stressful times:

Smule - In Suzanne’s words, “Seriously, this choir girl loves a good duet. Now with Smule, my dream of singing This is Me with Keala Settle is now a reality!” There you have it… go make your vocal dreams come true.
YouTube - Okay, we get it… its not a NEW app. But, have you really looked at YouTube? Its not all Cats vs Cucumbers videos. There are lots of interesting people sharing their corner of the world with the rest of us. Suzanne’s current crush is Pasta Grannies. (AKA: Her new winter hobby)
Calm - This is a meditation and mindfulness app that has a lot of features to help you through a lot of situations. You can drift off to sleep listening to rain or other different white noise sounds, go through a variety of meditations, masterclasses, or have a book read to you (even in ASMR) while you go to sleep. Its heavenly.
Best Fiends - Ok, so you can tell she has an 8 year old? This is a hot new game that is highly addictive and a fun way to relieve a bit of stress while you wait at the DMV, or in the pediatrician’s waiting room.
Forest- Forest incentivizes us to put down our devices by allowing us to grow virtual trees. Open the Forest app, plant a tree and time it for however long a break you want to take (5, 25, 45 minutes, maybe?). Set it for that and do your non-device tasks. When you come back to your device you will have a full grown tree. Interrupt it before the time is up, and you are now a tree killer. Each tree you grow you collect points and badges as well.

What fun, new apps have you discovered that help you add in a few, easy moments of self-care as a new parent?