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Guide 6 min read · Updated September 19, 2026

Use EchoMom Widgets on iPhone

Add Ask EchoMom for voice help or EchoMom Shortcuts for direct care logs, then keep an active nursing timer reachable from the Lock Screen.

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Before you start

A widget is a small panel on your iPhone's home screen, beside the app icons. A Live Activity is an ongoing update, such as a timer, on the screen you see before unlocking the phone. These are optional conveniences. You can record all your care inside EchoMom without setting them up.

Choose voice help or direct logs

Ask EchoMom opens the agent when you want to say a natural update or ask a question. EchoMom Shortcuts shows the widget quick-log buttons you chose and records supported events directly. If you are exhausted, start with one option that helps with the task you repeat most often instead of filling every screen.

  1. Choose Ask EchoMom when hands-free context matters most.
  2. Choose EchoMom Shortcuts when the same sleep, wake, diaper, or feeding event happens repeatedly.
  3. Use the app itself when you need to review or correct details.

Prepare EchoMom Shortcuts in the app

Before adding the shortcuts widget, tell EchoMom which child and buttons this phone should use. Widget button labels and defaults are customizable. That is separate from the fixed Quick Actions inside the app, which can be shown, hidden, and reordered but not renamed.

The bottom navigation with Settings highlighted
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Tap Settings, the gear icon at the bottom-right. This opens the settings sections; choose the section named in the next instruction.

Settings. Settings opens the app, child, and notification options.

  1. Open Settings > App and select Home-screen widget child.
  2. Open Widget quick-log buttons > Customize buttons.
    Widgets editor with Live preview and New preset highlighted
    Open full screenshot

    Customize buttons opens this Widgets editor. Check the child and button labels in Live preview; use New preset to start a layout for your routine.

    Live preview. This shows the layout you are preparing inside EchoMom, before adding the phone widget.

    New preset. Start a named layout that you can customize and reuse.

  3. Choose up to six buttons and verify each Button label and default.

Add the widget to iPhone

Use the iPhone widget gallery to add the panel you chose. Widget sizes and Lock Screen options vary, so iOS may show more than one Ask EchoMom layout.

  1. Long-press the Home Screen, tap the add control, and search for EchoMom.
  2. Choose Ask EchoMom or EchoMom Shortcuts and select an available size.
  3. Place it where you can reach it during the care moments it is meant to save.

Track nursing with Live Activity

When a nursing session is active, the Live Activity can keep the timer visible on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island on supported iPhones. It can spare you from remembering a 3 a.m. start time, but the feed still belongs to the same timer in EchoMom.

  1. Start Nursing from Quick log and choose a side.
  2. Lock the phone or leave the app.
  3. Use the Live Activity to check or return to the active session when available.

What to remember

  • iPhone does not support Android-style floating buttons.
  • The native widget names are Ask EchoMom and EchoMom Shortcuts.
  • Nursing can appear on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island when your iPhone supports Live Activities.

Care basics and sources

Phone controls can vary by iOS version. Apple explains the current way to add a widget beside your app icons. Apple: How to add and edit widgets on your iPhone.

Notice your baby's hunger and fullness signs. A baby does not need to finish a bottle to match an amount in the app. Follow the feeding advice given for your child. CDC: Signs Your Child Is Hungry or Full.

Words in this guide

nursing
Breastfeeding. EchoMom's nursing timer records time and breast used; it does not measure milk intake.
default
A detail already filled in, such as a bottle amount. Check that it matches what actually happened before saving a record.
widget
A small panel on your phone's home screen, beside the app icons. It shows information or buttons without opening the full app.
Quick Action
The buttons in Quick log, such as Bottle, Diaper, Sleep, and Wake. Each records a kind of care.
agent
EchoMom's AI assistant. You can speak or type to it to ask questions or record care. Check its replies and saved records because it can make mistakes.
Live Activity
An iPhone feature that keeps an ongoing update, such as a nursing timer, visible on the Lock Screen.
Dynamic Island
The area around the camera cutout at the top of some iPhone screens. It can show ongoing information, such as a timer.

When typing is too much

Use your voice to update a care record.

Ask EchoMom to record what happened or find a saved entry. Check the details before relying on a record.

Open EchoMom

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