Designing a Feeding Tracker for Parents Whose Hands Are Already Full
Breastfeeding logs are only useful if they get recorded, and the moment you most need to record them is when you are holding a baby, half-asleep, in the dark. NurtureLog is an offline-first Android app I designed around that single constraint: you should be able to run the whole feeding timer by voice.
- Role
- Product design, UX, voice UX, app build
- Platform
- Android (Flutter)
- Audience
- Breastfeeding mothers & night-feed partners
- Focus
- Voice UI, one-handed use, offline
Voice commands the app understands
- “Hey Dori, start left feeding”
- “Switch side”
- “Pause feeding”
- “Resume”
- “Stop feeding”
- “Log a wet diaper”
- “Baby is sleeping”
The Problem
1. Tracking needs both hands, and you have none free
Starting a timer, choosing left or right, pausing when the baby unlatches and stopping at the end are all taps on a screen. While feeding, a parent is usually holding the baby with one arm and supporting with the other.
2. Side tracking is easy to forget
Which side did the last feed start on? After several broken nights nobody remembers, yet it is the first thing a parent wants to know at the next feed.
3. Night-time UX is hostile
Bright screens, small touch targets and menus buried two levels deep do not work at 3 AM. Every extra step is a reason to skip the log.
Who It's For
- Breastfeeding mothers
Need to log duration and side without putting the baby down.
- Night-feed partners
Share the load and need to see what happened at the last feed.
- Parents of twins
Track more than one baby without mixing up logs.
Key Design Decisions
Voice as the primary input, not a bonus
The parser maps natural phrases to explicit intents: start feeding (left, right or both), switch side, pause, resume and stop. Related intents cover bottle feeds, diapers, sleep and pumping. Treating voice as a first-class path meant designing the whole feeding flow as a small state machine that voice and touch can both drive.
A wake word, so the phone doesn’t need to be touched
The assistant, Dori, responds to “Hey Dori” and is built to work even when the app is closed. The aim is that a parent never has to unlock the phone mid-feed.
Offline recognition for privacy and reliability
Voice recognition runs on the device and data stays in local storage. There is no dependency on a connection at night and no baby audio sent to the cloud.
Remember the last side
The timer remembers which side was used last, so the app answers the question a tired parent is actually asking instead of making them recall it.
Designed across Don Norman’s three levels
Visceral: a calm purple and pink palette with a dark theme for night use. Behavioural: one-handed layouts, large controls, clear feedback and spoken confirmations. Reflective: history, charts and optional AI observations that help parents see patterns.
The Hands-Free Feeding Flow
- 1
Say “Hey Dori, start left feeding”
The timer starts on the left side with spoken feedback.
- 2
Say “Pause” if the baby unlatches
The timer holds without losing the session.
- 3
Say “Switch side”
The session moves to the other side and keeps one continuous feed.
- 4
Say “Stop feeding”
The session is saved to the log with duration and sides.
- 5
Review later in the timeline
History, daily and weekly charts show patterns across feeds, diapers, sleep and growth.
Outcome
- A published Android app on Google Play (com.uxmate.nurturelog) with a free, offline-first model.
- The whole feeding timer (start, pause, resume, switch side, stop) can be run by voice.
- Extended to bottle feeds, diapers, sleep, growth tracking, multi-baby profiles and reminders.
- Privacy by design: data stays on the device and voice recognition runs offline.
I have not included install counts or retention figures here; they change often and I would rather link to the live Play Store listing.
FAQ
What is NurtureLog?
NurtureLog is a free Android baby tracker for breastfeeding, bottle feeds, diapers, sleep and growth, with a hands-free voice assistant called Dori.
Which voice commands control the feeding timer?
Start feeding (left, right or both), switch side, pause, resume and stop. Voice also covers bottle feeds, diapers, sleep and pumping.
Does NurtureLog work without internet?
Yes. The app is offline-first and voice recognition runs on the device.
Who designed NurtureLog?
Abhijeet Sarswat, a senior UI/UX designer and the founder of UX Mate, which publishes the app.