5 baby gadgets I don’t regret splurging on

Having a little bundle of joy is fantastic, but it is also life-changing, and time seems to slip away. The moment my baby was placed on my chest was surreal. As soon as the nurses walked away, my doula went home, and we were alone with our baby; I felt lost. I knew I needed help but didn’t know where to get it because we lived far from family. A tiny part of my husband and I also wanted to make sure our little one didn’t get sick from all the visitors, and we wanted to see if we could handle it all by ourselves. My husband loves a good gadget, so we both set out to find things to help us stay sane through the lack of sleep. Here are the gadgets we loved using and helped us hold it together.

1. Baby Brezza Formula Pro Advanced (Bottle Maker)

   Breastfeeding wasn’t sufficient enough for my baby since we were in the hospital. I was trying, and pumping didn’t help much. We decided formula was going to help us get our baby fed. The hospital nurses thought we should breastfeed while using a feeding tube from the bottle of formula to trick our baby into thinking the milk was coming from my breasts. That method didn’t last long because it was time-consuming and annoying to follow up with. We also tried mixing the formula by hand and warming it up with a bottle warmer. Mixing the formula by hand was time-consuming, too, and waiting for the formula to warm up felt like forever.

   I found this formula maker online that would make any size bottle required by mixing dry powdered formula with water at just the right temperature in under 30 seconds. It was a splurge, and cleaning the machine might take some time, and it does need some monthly maintenance, but it was worth it to grab and go, especially at night when we needed to get back to sleep. Those feedings every 2 hours were a killer, and I couldn’t breastfeed every time because I needed breaks every other day to get my complete rest. Having this machine has been a total lifesaver.

2. The Robot Vacuum

   God knows we had no time to vacuum or sweep our floor every day meticulously. Before I even gave birth, my husband sourced a robot vacuum that mopped with water. It was a nice feeling to have the floors nicely swept every day without putting in much effort. Of course, we would have to go back and get the corners and mop with a solution once in a while, but we didn’t have to do the majority of the area anywhere close to what we would have to if we didn’t have the robot vacuum. We can set a time for it to start or request the vacuum to clean in a particular area. We can lock it into a room on a different floor. I thoroughly enjoyed that robot vacuum’s assistance.

3. The Nanit Baby Monitor

   Sleep is important. I wouldn’t have slept a wink without the Nanit Baby Monitor when my baby was a newborn. A Breathing Band comes with it (you have to buy the larger size separately) that you put around the baby’s torso to help monitor your baby’s breathing. If your baby stops breathing during the night, a loud alarm will wake you up so you can check on the baby. Before this baby monitor, I would watch our baby to make sure he was breathing; I would touch him to see if I could feel him breathing before bed, and I would lay awake listening to him breathe or possibly choke. It wasn’t healthy. I felt so much better that something was monitoring me so I could sleep. It also functions like a baby monitor so you can watch and listen to your baby in their crib on your phone. You can play white noise for your baby, turn on a night light, talk to your baby, and monitor your baby when you’re not home (like when your partner is home and you need to go to the store or even a different city/country). The biggest thing I love about the Nanit Baby Monitor is that it tells you the temperature in the room your baby is sleeping in. I’m obsessed with precisely the right temperature so my baby can sleep uninterrupted without being too cold or hot. The Nanit is a splurge, but I don’t regret it.

4. Wet Dry Vacuum Mop

   Okay, so I thought this one was stupid when I watched the commercials of people vacuuming spaghetti in one pass, but I’ve changed my mind, mainly because toddlers are messy eaters. And I think they like to see food go splat on the floor. There are so many different kinds of vacuum mops, and my husband and I are still navigating which one we like best by trying a few options, but let’s say every parent needs one. Now, the thought of vacuuming and mopping in two different steps feels ridiculous to me. You can fill the tank with water and any cleaning solution and dump the mess into your toilet or garbage disposal. There is no need to get out the floor sponge, paper towels, or floor cloths. Some vacuum mops even clean themselves, dry themselves, and get to many hard-to-reach areas. Cleaning can be so much easier with a vacuum mop, and I’m here for it.

5. Google Home / Alexa with Phillips Hue Light Bulbs

   These things go hand in hand. The Google Home, coupled with the Phillips Hue Light Bulbs, lets you not worry about shutting off the lights around your home because you can set it up on a timer to turn them off at night, off or on from your phone, or both. What I loved most was that I would be upstairs, already deep into the sleep routine for my little one, and realize I had forgotten to turn the lights off in the kitchen. If I was so tired that going back downstairs was daunting, I could turn the lights off from my phone or speak aloud to my Google Home or Alexa. My husband is the techie guy, so he set it up, but it was so helpful once it was set up. I especially loved being able to dim the lighting around the house when I needed to carry a sleepy baby with me to get a bottle during the night. The light wasn’t blinding for the baby, but I could see where I was going and then turn all the lights off on demand. That one came in handy.

I thank all of the family, friends, and co-workers who contributed to getting many of these gadgets. They really did contribute to my and my husband‘s mental health. I must say, for those who are pregnant and creating a baby registry, I’d suggest you add these items to the list before the baby shower. At least that way, there’s a chance you don’t have to pay for them yourself :)