How do you see a feeding timer without unlocking your iPhone?

Live Activities on iOS 17+ show real-time information on your lock screen. For nursing, a feeding app with this feature displays your current side, elapsed time, and baby's name right on the lock screen — so you can check progress without opening the app or disrupting a session.

What is the Live Activities feature on iPhone?

Live Activities is an iOS feature (available on iOS 17+) that displays real-time updates from apps directly on your lock screen or in the Dynamic Island. Unlike notifications, Live Activities stay visible and update continuously without requiring you to open the app.

Can I see my partner's feeding timer on my lock screen?

If your feeding app supports family sharing and real-time sync, your partner can see live session data as you log it. In Milk & Minutes, when sync is enabled, both partners see the same real-time timer and session information across their devices.

Does the lock screen timer work if the app is closed?

Yes. Live Activities continue to show and update on your lock screen even when the app is closed or backgrounded. The timer updates in real-time, so you don't need to keep the app open to track your session.

Lock Screen Feeding Timer: Track Nursing Sessions Hands-Free

It's 3am. You're in the middle of a nursing session, and your baby is finally settled. You've lost track of time — has it been 8 minutes on this side or 12? Your phone is on the nightstand. You can't unlock it without shifting your arm. And honestly, you don't want to break focus for a second.

This is where a lock screen feeding timer changes the game. With iOS Live Activities, the timer sits right there on your lock screen, updating in real-time, without needing to open an app or interrupt the moment. No unlocking. No fumbling. Just a glance.

For breastfeeding parents juggling timing, side balance, and the mental load of "how much have we fed today," a feeding timer that works without friction is more than a convenience — it's permission to stay present with your baby instead of managing data.

The Problem With In-App Timers

Traditional feeding trackers lock the timer inside the app. To check how long you've been nursing on the current side, you have to:

Unlock your phone (possibly with one hand, possibly awkwardly)
Open the app
Look at the timer
Close everything and refocus on your baby

During a 20-minute session, that friction adds up. And at 3am, when you're exhausted, the last thing you want is friction.

Some parents work around this by opening the app and leaving it on screen — which works, but means the timer is live only while the app is in the foreground. If you set the phone down and pick it up later, you might wonder: is this timer still running? Did I background it without noticing?

Co-parenting adds another layer. Your partner can't see your timer unless they open the same app, check your device, or you tell them. "Did you log the feed?" becomes a question at midnight, even though the session happened 10 minutes ago.

How Live Activities Feeding Timers Work

iOS 17 introduced Live Activities — a feature that lets apps show real-time updates directly on your lock screen. Unlike notifications (which appear and disappear), Live Activities stay visible and update continuously.

For feeding, this looks like:

Lock screen view: Your baby's name, the feed type (nursing, pumping, bottle), current side, and elapsed time — all visible at a glance
Dynamic Island compact view: Feed icon + elapsed timer, tiny and unobtrusive at the top of your screen
Dynamic Island expanded view: When you tap the Dynamic Island, it expands to show child name, left/right accumulated times, current side, and elapsed timer

All of this updates in real-time. No refresh needed. No app required to be open.

And here's the key: you can set the phone down and check the timer whenever you want — without unlocking it.

Why This Matters for Nursing Parents

Multi-tasking Without Interruption

When you're actively nursing, you might be burping your baby, comforting them, or simply getting comfortable. Your hands are full. A lock screen timer means you don't have to choose between your phone and your baby. You can glance at the locked screen and know exactly where you are in the session.

Partner Visibility & Real-Time Sync

In families where both parents take shifts, knowing what's happening in real-time is critical. If a feeding app supports family sync (like Milk & Minutes does with sub-100ms latency), your partner sees the live session as it happens. No guessing. No "did you log that yet?" messages at 2am.

Data Accuracy & Consistency

When tracking is frictionless, it's more consistent. Research consistently shows that parents who track feeding sessions accurately have better confidence in their supply and their baby's intake. A timer that doesn't require you to interrupt the moment you're in leads to more reliable data — which feeds better insights and predictions.

Setting Up a Lock Screen Feeding Timer

If you're using an iPhone with iOS 17+, setting up a lock screen feeding timer is straightforward:

Open your feeding app (make sure it supports Live Activities)
Start a nursing session (select your baby, choose nursing, start the timer)
The Live Activity appears automatically on your lock screen and Dynamic Island
Glance anytime — your lock screen shows the timer updating without you opening the app
Switch sides? When you switch sides, the timer resets for the new side and continues. The lock screen updates automatically.
End the session — tap "End" in the Live Activity or open the app. The session is logged.

The timer persists even if you background the app, close it entirely, or put your phone in do-not-disturb. The Live Activity stays visible because iOS prioritizes it.

Beyond the Timer — What Else Gets Tracked

Once you have consistent session data (side duration, type of feed, time of day), the real power comes from what you can see in your app's insights.

Feeding apps like Milk & Minutes use this session data to identify patterns: when your baby typically feeds, which side might need extra attention, whether your supply seems consistent, and even when the next feed might be expected. Some apps call this "Smart Insights" or "pattern analysis" — it's what happens when data collection stops being about manual effort and becomes about understanding what's actually happening with your feeding.

For combo feeding parents (nursing and pumping simultaneously), a lock screen timer is especially valuable — you can see both sides updating at the same time, which is rare in feeding apps and critical for tracking.

The lock screen timer is the first step. The data it captures is what gives you confidence and clarity.

Is This Feature Available on All Phones?

Live Activities require iOS 17 or later on iPhone 12 Pro or newer (for Dynamic Island support). If you have an older iPhone or use Android, your feeding app may have alternative lock screen widgets or quick-access features, but they won't include the Dynamic Island updates. Check your app's documentation to see what's available for your device.

The Bottom Line

A feeding timer on your lock screen seems like a small thing. But at 3am, when you're in the middle of a session and your brain is fuzzy, having accuracy at a glance — without interrupting — is significant. It's one less thing to hold in your head.

Milk & Minutes displays your baby's name, the elapsed time, current side, and accumulated side durations right on your lock screen and Dynamic Island so you can track with focus still on your baby — not your phone. Combined with family sync, both parents see the live session. Combined with insights, every session feeds a clearer picture of what's happening.

You're tracking this data so you don't have to remember it. A lock screen timer is how you do that with the least friction possible.

References

Apple Developer — Live Activities: https://developer.apple.com/ios/live-activities/
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) — Feeding & Nutrition: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/Pages/default.aspx
La Leche League International — Breastfeeding Basics: https://www.llli.org/breastfeeding-basics/
Milk & Minutes — Baby Feeding Tracker App: Download on the App Store

Ready to track feedings without friction? Download Milk & Minutes on the App Store and see the lock screen timer in action.

App Features

Lock Screen Feeding Timer: Track Nursing Sessions Hands-Free