I thought building a baby app would be mostly forms and buttons — the kind of stuff I could knock out in a night.
I was wrong.
React Native is mostly like React… until it’s not.
When React Native Got Real
My first bump? A date picker.
I wanted to let parents select their baby’s birthdate. Simple enough, right?
Turns out DateTimePicker on iOS pops up as a modal with invisible “Cancel” and “Done” buttons. Styling it? Not straightforward. Android renders it differently, and accessibility was a whole other thing.
This wasn’t just passing props to a component. This was my "welcome to native development" moment.
What I Built
I paused before reaching for yet another library.
Instead, I built a custom wrapper: DateOfBirthPicker.
- A trigger button styled to fit the rest of the UI
- Platform-specific handling: modal for iOS, inline for Android
- Custom "Done" and "Cancel" buttons
- Min/max dates (to avoid scrolling to the 1990s)
It’s not flashy. But it works — and I understand it inside and out.
Why This Matters
I’m not just building this app for other parents. I’m building it so they don’t have to go through what I did.
Not in the kitchen. Not in the code.
Every hour I spend figuring out invisible buttons or writing character limit logic is an hour another tired parent saves. That feels worth it.
What I’m Building
If you're new here, I’m working on Itty Bitty Bites — a baby recipe generator that works with what’s in your fridge.
No fancy ingredients. No blog-scroll before the actual recipe. Just fast, simple, safe ideas for tiny tummies.
Built with:
- React Native + Expo Router v5 (custom dev client)
- NativeWind (Tailwind in RN)
- Supabase for storage, auth, and baby profiles
What’s Next
Right now I’m focused on:
- Smarter form validation
- Cleaner UI for baby profiles
- One-hand-friendly input for busy parents
The baby’s asleep. The code is compiling. And the mission is still the same:
Build tools for parents that make life just a little easier.
Thanks for reading 🧡
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