Between Contractions began as a family project: one clear action, no ads, and less noise during a moment that deserves calm.
The year everything became real
We date this chapter of our family story from January 8, 2026. Alejandra and I are expecting our son, Aarón Molina González, with his arrival planned for around October 19. We are counting the weeks, kicks, appointments, and small preparations from our home in Colombia.
I had already built aaronmgz.com as a warm place where family and friends could wait with us. Between Contractions came from a different part of that same experience: thinking ahead to labor and noticing how many timer apps felt crowded, commercial, or harder to use than the moment allows.
The product rule: remove everything that does not help
The central interaction had to be obvious from across the room: tap when a contraction begins and tap again when it ends. Duration, frequency, and recent history should appear without asking someone to navigate a dashboard while supporting a person in labor.
That is why the timer is free, ad-free, and usable without an account. The browser version stores its history on the current device. The native apps are designed around the same local-first principle, with optional sync clearly separated from the timer itself.
- One large start-and-stop action.
- English and Spanish chosen inside the app.
- Light and dark themes for different rooms and hours.
- A visible reminder that timing guidance is not medical advice.
Why the 5-1-1 pattern is guidance—not a verdict
The app can recognize the familiar pattern of contractions about five minutes apart, lasting about one minute, across roughly one hour. It cannot know someone’s clinical history, care plan, travel time, or whether another urgent symptom is present. The alert is therefore a prompt to follow the plan from the care team, never a diagnosis.
That boundary matters because this project is personal. I am not trying to replace the people caring for our family. I am building a small tool that can keep one simple record clearly when our attention belongs somewhere else.
Built while we wait
Between January and August 2026, the idea grew from a browser timer into native Apple and Android work, widgets, watch companions, bilingual copy, history, and optional partner coordination. The shape expanded, but the promise stayed small: help a family keep time without taking over the moment.
Aarón is still on the way. This article is a retrospective published in August 2026, not an old post moved forward. The dates above describe the real period the story covers.