11 Pieces Of Tech Every New Parent Should Know About

New parents everywhere are in a visceral struggle to provide their little ones with the best life has to offer (from concerns over screen time to entertainment technology in the bleakest of venues). Culturally, we've all been raised to yearn for a better life for our children, even if our own upbringing was marked by nothing but happiness. No matter what we've been privileged to experience, our children should have — nay, deserve! — better. This remarkable trait of parenthood leads many new parents to explore the flourishing world of baby gadgets. There's so much technology out there, and the baby industry draws inspiration from various fields to deliver amazing products and life-improving functionality. From bottle preparation tools to toys and monitoring gear, there's so much to discover in child care technology.

This abundance of great stuff can also make it tough to sort through the noise. As a new parent myself, searching for quality baby gear is a priority near and dear to my own heart. But not all the gear out there can truly stand the test of time and deliver on its promise to improve your life or the experience your baby gets to marvel at as they grow from tiny infant to a walking, talking toddler (and beyond). These 11 pieces of gear can help set you on the right path as you search for the best in promoting good nutrition, sleep, and more for your little bundle of joy. You might not want or need everything on this list, but knowing where to start when combing through the latest in baby technology can make your search a little less daunting.

The Baby Brezza Bottle Washer Pro is a piece of gear that many new parents will be eager to bring into their kitchen or nursery. This washing tool eliminates the need to diligently scrub every surface of each bottle — and for formula feeders, this can mean up to eight bottles per day at the beginning, maybe even more! Scrubbing bottles is a thankless task, and it's made even more draining by the baby's needs. The new light in your life is perfect in every way, but he or she is bound to wake up more often than you're prepared for and may require care on a demanding schedule. Washing bottles might be the last thing on a new parent's mind, but it's a task that simply has to be done multiple times per day.

We have one of these, and getting it after six or eight weeks of hand washing truly changed the outlook of our day! The washer fits three to four complete bottles and can accommodate other accessories like formula containers. It isn't plumbed in, so you'll need to fill the top tank and drain the bottom between washes, but this also means no specialized knowledge or help is required to get started — just plug it in and watch it go. The washer cleans, sterilizes, and dries bottles on a roughly 90-minute cycle and takes less than a minute to load. This tool is a solid addition to any new parent's arsenal of goodies that make life with a little one more fulfilling and less task-focused.

Another techy tool we use for our baby is the Nuby RapidCool Portable Baby Bottle Maker, which swiftly cools down hot liquids so that a baby bottle can be made and given to your little one in minutes. To prepare a sterilized and safe baby bottle, you'll need boiling hot water to mix with the formula. But this makes the bottle too hot to feed immediately, so it needs time to cool down.

The device resembles a typical Thermos flask. You pour the prepared milk into the flask, twist on the cap, flip it upside down, and wait a few seconds. In no time, the milk cools to a comfortable room temperature that's perfect for your baby's sensitive mouth, as shown by the green indicator on the lid's digital display). Another option (and one we typically use) is the "hot shot" method. Instead of pouring the full bottle into the RapidCool, you pour all but the last 20 or 30 milliliters (around an ounce). This boiling hot water dissolves the formula, and then you pour the remaining water back in, cooling down the concentrated milk. This leaves the bottle a little warm, so giving it about 10 minutes to cool in the air or running it under the tap for a minute or two finishes the job if you're worried about the temperature.

Toys are an area where new parents have a lot to explore. Toys can be simple or packed with features, but the best pair great technology with an intuitive and simplistic design. The SmartNoggin NogginStik is an example of this blend that's done exceedingly well. At heart, it's a simple rattle, but it features some incredible additional functions. The toy is covered in varying textures, giving babies a tactile response that's different with each new grab. The bottom of the rattle includes a mirror, too, giving your child a peek at their own reflection and capturing their attention in a crucial way.

The rattle lights up when it's shaken or tapped, packing in yet another interesting feature that will catch the eye of your little one. The total package is simplistic and small, but with so many features baked into the toy, it's rich with design thought and a perfect option to support your baby's developing brain, play routine, and sense of self.

Potentially the most high-tech piece of baby gear on this list (and certainly the most expensive), the Snoo Smart Sleeper Bassinet is a next-to-me crib that helps settle your baby automatically. The bassinet delivers soft rocking motions and white noise when your baby inevitably stirs in the night. The crib automatically responds when it detects a cry from your little one, launching into gentle rocking and a soft, soothing rumble that mimics the sounds your baby would have heard in the womb. The Snoo is also designed to prevent your baby from rolling over and ships with three sleep sack swaddles that are created with hip safety in mind.

Its controls are managed through an app (with a premium subscription included for nine months when purchased through Amazon), allowing you to set sensitivity, sonic choices, and other specifics. One downside, however, is that the app only works with a single user's phone, so it can't be controlled by both parents on separate devices. Also, given the crib's huge price tag (almost $1,700), it's a technically advanced piece of equipment that claims to add an hour or two of sleep time per night but is really only suitable for the first six months of a baby's life. Working out at almost $300 per month of use (without considering potential future babies), parents considering the Snoo will want to weigh the tradeoffs carefully.

UV sterilization plays a major role in many of the items in a baby's life and surroundings. Sterilizing pacifiers, bottles, and toys is commonplace. However, one area that many parents might overlook is the waste arena. It's a fact: Your baby will make a ton of waste. Diaper changes happen at least as often as you feed them, and sometimes even more frequently. That means you'll be throwing away more than 10 diapers every day — some saturated with pee and others full of solids of varying colors and consistencies (potentially getting all over the place in the process).

With all that waste being produced, and your baby's needs already taking up so much of your time, a solution that keeps the space sanitary can be a huge lifesaver. The Munchkin UV Diaper Pail is easy to use and works with all Munchkin brand refill rings and other compatible equipment. This unit features four LED UV lights that automatically disinfect the inside of the diaper pail every time it's opened (once the lid is closed after use). Depositing a new diaper into the container can introduce bacteria to the space, potentially creating health risks in your baby's nursery. The UV sterilizer kills odor-causing bacteria as well as harmful germs like E. coli, staph, and more.

Baby monitors are some of the most common pieces of technical equipment that new parents invest in. Bringing your new baby home for the first time is a joyful event, but it's also a bit daunting when you realize there's no longer a support system of nurses and doctors to evaluate your child and make sure they're healthy and happy. When you fall asleep, there's no one around to ensure that everything's alright. For this reason, some parents invest in sleep monitors that alert them to potential distress (beyond the baby's own cries).

The trouble with traditional monitors is that they often require the baby to sleep directly on top of them. Your baby will almost certainly kick around throughout the night, lifting themselves up, and perhaps even slowly traversing the inner dimensions of their crib. This leads to a bevy of false alarms as contact with the monitoring pad is interrupted. Parents relying on these kinds of monitors may find themselves woken up more by the monitor than their baby's own noises and needs! 

The Owlet Dream Sock is different. It wraps around the baby's foot, like a sock. The sensor is therefore strapped delicately to your child, allowing for accurate readings of oxygen levels, pulse, breathing, and other tracking metrics. Similar to how a smartwatch can track sleep, the Dream Sock monitors and provides key insights into your baby's sleep and health. Notifications from the connected device also alert parents if something isn't right, reducing the false alarms that are common with other monitors. 

Full disclosure: We bought one but ended up returning it because we just weren't using it.

Bottle preparation doesn't just mean cleaning and sterilizing used bottles for their next go around. Making bottles is its own chore, and many parents opt to prepare multiple feeds at the same time, keeping the reserve bottles in the fridge until they're needed. This brings in another key necessity, though: the bottle warmer. If you're cooling down bottles to store them (experts say up to 24 hours in the fridge), you'll need to heat them back up for feeding time. The Ember Baby Bottle System makes this whole process straightforward and hassle-limited (any repeated task while caring for your little one is going to come with some hassle, after all).

Ember is known for its coffee mugs that keep the contents warm, and the brand has now introduced a range of baby gear that's sure to get new parents excited. Rather than requiring a series of different tools, the Ember bottle system connects directly with its bottle warmer, a wireless option that carries enough charge between plug-ins to warm two bottles (good for a long day out for many families). One-touch warming allows the Ember bottle's contents to reach feeding temperature in five minutes or less. The associated Ember Baby app helps you track your child's feeding schedule, too, making for a fully formulated solution to baby feeds.

All new parents are in for a bit of a surprise. Babies cry — everyone knows that — but there will be times when your little one gets upset for seemingly no reason at all and just can't settle. You'll need to coo them back to sleep while running on fumes, experiencing true delirium as the fire alarm sound of their voice rings in your ears for what seems like an eternity. Not all babies cry a lot, but every baby will cry exceedingly loudly from time to time.

In addition to that fun experience in store for new parents, feeding, burping, and putting the baby to bed in the evening can be a long, slow process. Your baby might need plenty of hugs to drift off to sleep. Parents looking for ways to ease the deafening scream of an upset little one — or to entertain themselves while gently rocking a sleepy baby to bed — will appreciate adding new wireless earbuds to their system. Connecting to wireless headphones is commonplace today, but a good set of earbuds that can drown out noise or provide soft volume for watching something or listening to tunes in the background makes the evening routine a little less cumbersome and jarring, especially with a screamer. The Sony WF-1000XM5 Wireless Earbuds were among our top picks for the best wireless earbud options in 2024. They feature solid noise cancelation and great battery life. The buds are easy to use and provide crystal-clear sound quality.

Babies on the go are often happy little tykes. Getting out of the house and exploring their surroundings can make a baby suddenly sleepy, or it can get them excitedly looking around to take in all the sights and sounds of their wider environment (or a little of both). Either way, you're likely to be carrying plenty of pacifiers when leaving the house. One drops on the ground, and you just reach for the next. But a baby who is starting to get a little fussy might spit out multiple soothers in a short stretch of time, putting you at risk of running out while you're away from the main supply. More importantly, without the tools to clean these spent pacifiers, you might find yourself anxiously heading home, hoping to beat that last spit out.

The Munchkin 59S Mini Portable UV-C Sterilizer changes this scenario for the better. This portable sterilizer allows you to clean and reuse a pacifier that's been dirtied by spit-up or tossed on the ground. Some sterilizers take minutes to do their thing, but this one from Munchkin completes the UV sterilization cycle in just 59 seconds (hence the name)! The device runs on either three AA batteries or USB-C cable power. It can revolutionize this seemingly simple, but incredibly important part of your packing process each time you leave the house. The sterilizer is proven to kill bacteria, including salmonella, RSV, E. coli, staph, and the flu.

A digital thermometer is a must-have tool in any baby kit. However, not all are created with the same level of detail and technical proficiency in mind. Many baby thermometers break or bog down over time, some much faster than others. The iHealth No-Touch Digital Infrared Thermometer is a digital, infrared option that doesn't require you to hold a baby's arm still or get a reading from under their tongue (or elsewhere). In addition to fast readings, this thermometer limits the chances of error caused by a baby fussing over the cold touch or discomfort of a traditional thermometer. 

A fast and accurate temperature reading is crucial for ensuring that your baby stays safe and healthy, and a no-touch option can also be used to screen visitors for any bugs they might inadvertently bring into the house visiting your little one. A thermometer is an essential piece of technology, and this one is a great selection (it's even on sale at Amazon at the moment).

Monitoring your baby isn't just about heart rates and oxygen levels, although the Nanit Pro Baby Monitor delivers on these metrics. In addition to health indicators like your baby's heartbeat, a video baby monitor is a great piece of technology to bring into your home because it allows you to keep an eye on your baby while they're sleeping or even playing in another room. It's such a hot ticket item that Google patent filings have hinted at AI-infused monitoring tools in the future. You're likely to find yourself trying to put the baby down for a nap or settling your little one for the night while hoping to enjoy some downtime or tackle a few household tasks. A video monitor allows you to keep track of how your baby is doing even when you aren't there at your little one's side. 

The Nanit Pro system features temperature and humidity tracking and live video playback in 1080p high definition. It monitors breathing motion without requiring any extra sensor, keeping your baby's sleeping area uncluttered. The monitor sends alerts to your phone and can deliver lullabies or white noise when crying is detected. A two-way audio function also allows you to talk to your baby from anywhere, helping to soothe them back to sleep without needing to enter the room every time they wake up. The system works with an integrated Nanit wall mount or floor stand, providing quality versatility for users looking to integrate the system into their home's overall layout and needs. However, it's worth noting that your Apple Watch can act as a monitor when paired with an old iPhone or tablet, too.