As a father of 3, I completely understand that life can get busy. My wife and I especially know this because we had 3 kids aged two and under (second time was twins), now the eldest is 3 so life is still very busy! That’s why I’m giving my top 5 baby gadgets ideas for parents (and guardians), and I hope that my ideas will give you some time and sleep back in your life.
mamaRoo – Baby Rocker
This baby rocker is fully automated. You place your baby in the rocker, choose the rocking motion type (there’s car swing, tree swing, waving and a few others), motion speed and let your baby drift to sleep. For all 3 of our kids, it took a few days for them to get used to it as they were used to me and my wife holding them. After they got used to it, they would fall asleep on their own (a miracle).
Our eldest child preferred “tree swing” motion which is basically motion going up and down in a U shape at a slow speed. The mamaRoo worked best with “kangaroo” motion which is like spelling an M at max speed for our twins. See picture below for a better idea of motions.
Given that our eldest child liked a slow mellow rocking, and our twins preferred a bouncier fast motion means that there is a strong chance this will work for your baby.
Baby Brezza – Formula Machine
This item is only applicable to babies’ getting formula, if that applies to your baby then the Baby Brezza formula machine is a huge time saver (especially with twins). Before we had this machine, my wife would measure the water for each twin in both bottles, try her best to pour the precise amount of formula in the bottles and sometimes it would make a mess. It was like she was doing some science experiment.
With the Baby Brezza there’s almost no thinking, the water and formula mix automatically, and you’re done. Just something to note, we use Enfamil Gentlease formula. If you plan to purchase this gadget and you use different formula, just check that the mixing consistency will work. For us, the Gentlease formula to water ratio is perfect and our twins never get an upset stomach.
The machine has some controls to customize how the formula dispenses such as the amount of formula (can also adjust between oz and ml) and temperature.
There are some indicators for when formula is running low, filter needs cleaning, and when you need to add more water.
Papablic – Bottle Sterilizer
Before we got the Papablic bottle sterilizer we were having to boil water on the stove to sterilize the twin’s bottles. When they were only a few months old, since they had a lot of bottle feeds, this was a ton of work.
Since I’m concerned about the environment, I do have to mention that this process was bad on the environment since it used a ton of water and gas from our stove. The Papablic uses a fraction of a cup of water and just electricity to power it. Oh yeah, it’s also immensely faster than the stove boil method. After you put the water in and fill it with the bottles and bottle accessories, just turn the timer dial to the desired sterilization length.
While my wife was cleaning out the machine, a part broke. After calling customer support, they asked a couple of questions, and we received the replacement part within 3 days. Their customer service was amazing.
Just one note, we use Dr Brown’s bottles which has a ton of bottle parts to prevent gas for the baby. Since we have twins, we can’t fit both of their stuff at the same time, so we use one cycle for the bottles and another cycle for the accessory parts. This is a huge time saver compared to boiling a pot of water multiple times.
Security Camera – Video Baby Monitor
Okay, this seems weird but just read my logic. I highly encourage a baby monitor, especially a video monitor for smaller babies. Get this, I didn’t buy a baby video monitor, I got a security camera…
I noticed a trend while looking for a baby video monitor; they sometimes needed a handheld screen you carry around, if there was an app then they usually had bad reviews, people often complained about poor WiFi performance, they were overpriced, and they don’t serve much purpose after the baby grows up. Well, a security camera can do everything a baby monitor can, usually support smartphone apps with decent performance, good WiFi signal, sometimes cheaper at better performance than a baby monitor and you can place a memory card inside to use it as a regular security camera after the baby grows up.
The security camera we use is the Amcrest ProHD. It’s got decent video quality and even performs well in pitch black with its night mode.
Smart Speaker/Smart Display
Okay, this item might seem like cheating but remember I have 3 kids aged 3 and under so I can confirm that this works. Having a smart display or smart speaker can sometimes be awesome. I recommend sticking with an Alexa or Google Assistant device.
It can be hard to keep the attention of a baby but when they’re several months old and you ask Google Assistant to tell what sound a cow makes, what sound sheep make and so on, it can work wonders to catch your baby’s and even child’s attention.
Continuously asking to play animal songs can get tedious, so you can ask your smart speaker/display to play some fun kid’s songs.
You can also have your smart assistant play some calming background noise to help sooth your baby to sleep.
Well, I hope any of these ideas help you out and hopefully bring some personal time (and sanity) back to your life.
