Hanging Out

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Yesterday I took part in my first Google+ On Air Hangout, where I enjoyed the enthusiasm and thoughtful questions from the winners of our Facebook Rafflecopter contest, "Win a Hangout with Nancy." The awesome Lara Audelo, author of one of my favorite books, The Virtual Breastfeeding Culture, moderated the event and kept its pace lively. The 19-minute Hangout is now available for viewing on my YouTube channel.

During our Hangout, whose purpose was to answer questions about the Breastfeeding Solutions app, we discussed:

  • Why the App Store gave Breastfeeding Solutions a rating of 17+ (I’m sure you can guess), and how that age restriction might affect the app’s availability to younger mothers

  • What motivated me to develop the app

  • How best to contact me with suggested changes or improvements

  • Why some of the app’s buttons are pink and others are aqua

  • The importance of submitting positive reviews to Google Play and the App Store to encourage more mothers to download and use the app

It has been two weeks since the app became available for Apple and Android devices, and the response has been gratifying. More than 550 people worldwide have downloaded it, nearly 400 from the U.S., 57 from Canada, 45 from the U.K., and 33 from Ireland, as well as some in Australia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Israel, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Singapore, Taiwan, Hungary, Germany, Estonia, and New Zealand. Thank you all!

My hope is that breastfeeding supporters will add the app to their own devices and show it to mothers. If you’d like to know more, take a look at a step-by-step demonstration of how the app works on my Pinterest page. That page also includes a jpg of a newly designed flyer you can share with mothers (download its pdf here). Until the end of the year, to make downloading the app easier for you, I’ve reduced its price by nearly 30% to $4.99 USD.

The Breastfeeding Solutions app is not intended to replace in-person help and describes how--when needed--mothers can use the www.ilca.org website to find IBCLCs in their local area. But it can be a great first resource, as it covers many of the most common problems and questions and when it's downloaded into a smartphone, it goes with mothers everywhere. Check out the first independent review of the app, which appeared this week on the Breastfeed, Chicago website.

Thank you again to Lara Audelo, and all those who participated in yesterday’s Google+ Hangout On Air: Tova Ovits, Susan Pack, Katy Linda, Ali Kulencamp, Johanna Iwaszkowiec, and Amie Norris. And thanks to all of you who have helped make the Breastfeeding Solutions app such a resounding success! The next step is to get the word out to more mothers. Any help you can give in spreading the word would be greatly appreciated!