It is no secret that Brad and I are technology fans. We have loved adding technology to our home through smart lights, smart locks, and smart cleaning devices, just to name a few. When Emmett joined our family, we knew that we’d be utilizing baby technology as well.
Over the past three months, we’ve discovered which items get used constantly, so I’m sharing my top three technology items. The first one isn’t technically a “baby item”, but we love using it in the nursery.
Top 3 Must Have Technology Items for Baby
SONOS Speaker
We have installed SONOS speakers in just about every room of our home. When I started thinking about what sort of sound machine to use in the nursery, I decided that we might as well use the SONOS that is already in the room. I created a Spotify playlist that contains one track – white noise. I have this playlist on repeat with cross-fade on, and it basically sounds like a continuous loop of white noise.
In the nursery, we have the speaker sitting on one of the shelves of the changing table. This keeps it out of the way, especially since it is just playing white noise.
Using a SONOS for the white noise machine allows us to also play music in there during awake hours, and combine it with the speakers in other areas of the house. When Emmett was a newborn, sometimes he would nap in a the 4moms Breeze in the playroom. With SONOS, we could have the same white noise soundtrack playing in both rooms.
Hatch Baby Rest+
Before we moved, I had a good portion of our nursery set up. One thing I hadn’t figured out was what I wanted to do for a lamp or nightlight. We had talked about changing the light switch to a dimmer so that we could just turn the light on a bit when needed for late night diaper changes or feedings.
The room where Emmett currently sleeps does have lights on a dimmer; however, the lights still come on pretty bright to start. We started looking into different nightlights, and decided on the Hatch Baby Rest+. There is another version (the Hatch Baby Rest) available at Amazon as well. The main difference between the Rest and the Rest+ is the addition of some smart features, such as a clock, Amazon Alexa integration, WiFi, and a battery backup.
With the app, I can change the color of the light, set times for it to be on/off, and create different scenes for his naptimes. When Emmett gets to be a bit older, the Hatch Baby Rest+ can also be used as an “Ok to wake” light so he knows when it is OK to get out of bed in the morning.
Miku Baby Monitor
The baby monitor was another item that we hadn’t decided on with our old nursery. We had thought about tying it into our security system cameras so we could have remote access, but hadn’t actually set it up. During the drive to Portland, baby monitors was one of the things that I started researching. We wanted one that had remote access so that we could check on him from anywhere, and didn’t have to rely on the signal going through walls since the nursery is in the back of the house.
When I worked with buybuy Baby to learn about their registry, I learned about the different monitors that track breathing. I knew that using a monitor that required me to attach something to Emmett’s body would mean that I was great at using it the first month and then would forget to do it from then on out.
Through my research on the drive, I discovered the Miku baby monitor (also available on Amazon). This monitor will still track his breathing, but it uses artificial intelligence so there are no physical connections required. It also doesn’t require any special outfits to track his breathing, nor does it require a subscription.
Another great aspect of the Miku baby monitor is that since it tracks breathing, it is considered a medical device and money that I have in my FSA account could be used to purchase the monitor. Last year I bought a gazillion Band-Aids and thermal wraps in December to use up my FSA so I was glad that I could put it to use with something necessary this year. (If you’re looking for a way to spend your FSA dollars, check out 100+ FSA eligible items available on Amazon).
Emmett is now 6 months old, and while some favorite items have come and gone in this time, these 3 baby technology items have remained constant. I see us using these technology items for quite a while as Emmett grows.
What technology did you find essential for your kids?
