Five apps for the new Mom or Dad

Nothing compares to cradling your first newborn baby in your arms. It's a memorable moment you'll never forget. Though holding a newborn never grows tiring (trust me I know), there are other parts of parenting such as nursing and colic that can be a challenge. Here are five iOS apps to help you navigate the sometimes rocky, but always rewarding time of being a new Mom or Dad:

Baby Shusher ($4.99)

Baby Shusher is an app to help calm your fussy baby. It uses a quiet shushing sound that mimics the sound of the womb. There's a timer that lets you "shush" for up to 8 hours and an equalizer that adjusts the volume according to your baby's cries. The latest version of the app adds in support for forums so you can share your experiences with other moms. Baby Shusher requires iOS 4.2 or later and is compatible with the iPhone, 4G iPod Touch (NOT 2G or 3G iPod Touch) and iPad.

Baby Geek ($0.99)

Raising a newborn is a science. You have to watch its weight, count its diapers and keep track of its sleep. Once your child begins to grow, you'll want to record milestones both for medical reasons and posterity sake. To help with this technical part of child rearing, you'll want to check out Baby Geek. Baby Geek is a logging and analysis app custom-made for tracking babies up to age 3. Besides tracking your baby, Baby Geek also has a syncing option so you can share important baby information. There's also an email option so you can send the stats to your doctor or another caregiver. Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requires iOS 3.1.3 or later.

Baby Monitor and Alarm ($2.99)

Baby Monitor and Alarm lets you use two iOS devices as a baby monitoring system. You leave one device in the room and carry around the other so you can hear your baby while it sleeps. The app also plays soothing music from your iTunes library. You can even record your own voice and have it play back while your infant falls asleep. When the baby begins to stir, an alert function will call you on any phone number. It's great for home use, even better for when you're traveling. Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requires iOS 3.1 or later.

Skrappy Digital Scrapbook ($2.99)

Skrappy is a digital scrapbooking app for the iPad. It'll let you take those cute baby pictures and turn them into a keepsake. It's a full-fledged scrapbooking app with support for images, videos, clip art, backgrounds and more. If you want to take pictures of your baby, make them cute and share them with the grandparents, this is the app do it. Compatible with iPad. Requires iOS 4.2 or later.

Diapers.com Free (Free)

Unless you go the cloth route, diapers are a fact of life for every parent of a newborn. And, boy, are they expensive which is why it's so nice to have the diapers.com app on your iOS device. The app is a mobile interface for the diaper.com website which offers diapers at a discount. You can place new orders and track existing orders right from your phone. It also has a scanning feature so you can do some comparison shopping if you find yourself hunting down wipes at your local Target or Wal-Mart. Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requires iOS 3.1 or later.