Bump Bracket
A private baby prediction pool for friends and family, from invite to final reveal.
What it is
Bump Bracket is a private prediction pool for a baby’s arrival. A host creates a pool, shares an invite link, and lets friends and family make their guesses in one place.
The guesses are the things people already talk about at showers and in group chats: arrival date, time, weight, length, sex, name first initial, hair color, eye color, and a message for the family. After the baby arrives, the host enters the real details and reveals the scores.
It is meant for a small circle, not for public contests. That changes the tone of the whole thing. The page needs to feel easy and friendly, but it also needs to keep the pool controlled so random people are not wandering into a family moment.
Why I built it
My wife and I are having our first baby in October 2026. At a baby shower, a friend mentioned that an app where people could guess baby stats would be fun. I tucked that idea away and came back to it later.
It felt like exactly the kind of small project I like: personal, useful for a real event, and specific enough that it did not need to become a giant product. It only had to make one moment more fun.
I also liked that it sat in the same place as a lot of family games. The rules have to make sense immediately. Nobody wants to create an account, read instructions for ten minutes, or ask the host how the thing works while the party is already happening. The app has to explain itself as people use it.
What mattered
The host side matters because the host is probably busy. They need to create the pool, review guesses, share the right link, enter the official result, and reveal scores without babysitting the site all day.
The guest side matters for a different reason. It has to feel quick. A guest should be able to open the link, make a guess, leave a note, and get back to the party. That is why the flow avoids a full account setup.
The scoring also had to be clear enough that people could understand why someone won. A private pool can be playful, but it should not feel random when the results show up.
I also wanted the project to keep the family tone. The optional wish is part of that. The guesses are funny, but the note gives people a place to say something sweet too.
Where it stands
The first real live test is planned for Saturday, June 27, 2026, at our baby shower. People will be able to scan QR codes and enter guesses during the party.
That test will say more than a polished demo ever could. If people understand it without help, if the host flow holds up, and if it gives the party one more fun thing to talk about, then it is doing its job.
After that, the page can get cleaned up around what actually happened. I do not want to pretend it has a big public track record. Right now it is a private family project built for a real family event, and that is enough.