The best tech gifts for new moms

Consider this my partner’s favorite thing on our baby registry – he likes Hatch’s sound machine-slash-nightlight so much that he started using it before our little one arrived. The sleek-looking device offers a dozen different kinds of white noise (rainfall is my personal favorite) and an adjustable-brightness light with 10 present hues as well as a custom-color option. Being able to dial up even a subtle amount of light is helpful in those first few months when you’re nursing at all hours of the night and need just a little extra visibility. Best of all, the whole setup is controllable from a smartphone, because we all know the new mom in your life isn’t going to want to stumble across the room at 3am in the dark to futz with physical buttons. If you need a more budget-friendly option, I also recommend the $40 Hatch Rest Mini, which we purchased as a travel noise machine (and, you know, because my spouse doesn’t want to give up “his” Hatch once the baby moves to her own room). — Dana Wollman, Former Editor-in-Chief

The only thing harder than having a baby in the winter: having a baby in the summer. If it wasn’t challenging enough that babies can’t wear sunscreen before six months, it’s stressful to take them out in high temps and wonder if they’re overheating. A stroller fan is an inexpensive accessory that could buy some peace of mind. (I also recommend a low-tech solution: bringing a spray bottle.) I won’t recommend the clip-on model I bought because it left scratches on the frame of my new stroller, but if I could do it all over again I would buy something like the AMACOOL Battery Operated Fan, which mounts using flexible legs. This particular model has three speeds and a USB-rechargeable battery that promises a minimum of 2.5 hours of runtime per charge. Because the mounting design is so flexible, your giftee can also use it on a car seat or, when the baby outgrows it, a bike or treadmill. — D.W.

You’re probably not buying someone a stroller unless it was on their registry (and even then that would be almost too generous of a gift), but you might want to consider a stroller organizer. I didn’t even have one on my registry because it didn’t occur to me I’d need one, but it became obvious soon enough that I was missing an easy place to store my phone while pushing the stroller. (My jean pockets are too tight; pushing while wearing a purse can feel unwieldy; and having to fish a bag out of the under-stroller basket gets annoying.) Uppababy’s organizer is made of easy-to-clean neoprene, and its three pockets can fit a variety of things, including a to-go drink, keys, a burp rag and, of course, your smartphone of choice. — D.W.

One of the things I remember most about being a new mom was staring at the willow tree outside my front window. For hours every day, I was pinned to a rocking chair, feeding a human or not moving because that human had finally fallen asleep. Scrolling through my phone was disorientingly unpleasant and I never had two hands free to turn the pages of a book.

E-readers existed at the time, I just didn’t have one. I wish someone had thought to give me the Kobo Clara Colour. It’s compact enough to turn pages with one hand and the adjustable screen is sharp and clear. Plus the addition of color makes book covers and graphic novels look extra appealing. I named it the top pick in our e-reader guide because it’s simply a delight to use (and ebooks cost the same on a Kobo as they do on a Kindle). Don’t get me wrong, that willow tree was beautiful, but I’d have welcomed a trip to the moon. — Amy Skorheim, Senior Reporter

New moms don’t have enough hands to do everything they need to, when it needs to be done. Automating even the smallest task, like turning on and off a light, can be a big help. LIFX’s smart lights make great gifts because they come in all-white or color options, they’re dimmable and they require no connecting bridge or hub. That means your giftee can just screw them into their existing lamps, connect them to WiFi via the mobile app and start using them. They may want to automatically dim the lights in their baby’s room at a certain time, or shift to warmer or cooler light depending on the time of day. They can customize it as much or as little as they want — and if they just can’t be bothered, they can always use Alexa, Siri or Google Assistant voice commands to control these smart lights, too. — Valentina Palladino, Deputy Editor

Many babies, mine included, will only take naps in a moving stroller. This means sometimes your options are to just keep walking, or to push the stroller in place with one hand, even if that’s inside your living room on a cold, dreary day. The Rockit is a rechargeable doo-dad that clips onto your stroller and does the rocking for you, allowing you to reclaim use of both hands while you get other things done – because when else will you be able to tidy up, have a bite to eat or dash off an email if the kid unless the kid is asleep? — D.W.

A tablet might be a new mom’s saving grace when she’s constantly shuffling around the house tending to the needs of a baby. A good stand like the HoverBar Duo can make it easier for her to safely and securely prop up her device without fear of it accidentally being knocked over by a rogue, tiny fist. One of our favorite iPad accessories, the HoverBar Duo has a weighted base, and while it could be knocked over, it would require more force than most infants could muster. It also comes with a clamp attachment so they could hook it to a table or desk if that’s more convenient. Whether they need to use their tablet to read work documents, show off the little bundle of joy to friends and family in a video call, or just binge-watch a show while the kid naps, the HoverBar Duo can give them a stable way to keep their table in view. — V.P.

If the new baby has mom feeling knots, a personal massage “gun” like the Theragun Mini can provide some temporary relief by gently pummeling away her muscle aches. While not the most forceful device of its kind, this triangular massager is effective enough to ease soreness yet small enough to carry around in and outside of the house. We’ve recommended older versions of the Mini in past gift guides; compared to the last one, this third-generation model is similarly compact and supports the same speeds and head attachments, but it lasts a bit longer on a charge. (Therabody rates it at 180 minutes.) Just be warned it’s not exactly quiet. No massage gun is a substitute for proper sleep and nutrition habits, but since those will be in shorter supply for any new mom, it can be a useful tool to have on hand. — Jeff Dunn, Senior Reporter

The new mom in your life will probably appreciate some TV time on your dime when she finally gets the little one to go to sleep – and when the baby inevitably wakes up and needs to be held soon after. Hulu’s app isn’t the cleanest, but the service remains one of the better streaming services for keeping up with recent episodes from primetime TV shows. It has its share of kid-friendly content as well, though you can expand that catalog by pairing the service with Disney+ (and ESPN+) through a Disney Bundle subscription. — J.D.

I’m not sure exactly how many steps I’m earning walking up and downstairs to check on the bottle warmer, but it’s probably a fair percentage of my daily exercise. Baby Brezza makes a Safe + Smart Baby Bottle Warmer that uses Bluetooth to connect the device to your phone. Using the Baby Brezza app you can operate the warmer remotely and get alerts when the bottle is ready. Though the app is pretty minimal, that’s not always a bad thing when you’re bleary-eyed and trying to feed an infant in the early morning hours. Plus, having controls on your phone allows you to turn off the warmer and avoid overheating a bottle. The downside is that the Safe + Smart warmer only holds a single bottle at a time. — Amber Bouman, Former Commerce Writer

While my children are very cute, they also like to chew on my house slippers, eat post-its and lick the touch-and-feel books. So I spend a lot of time cleaning the things that do belong in their mouths like pacifiers and teethers and plastic toys, which invariably end up on the car floor. While most of these things are easy to throw into boiling water, it can be worth the time saved to let a sanitizer do the job. The Wabi Baby sanitizer is something that I received as a gift, and it’s served me well. It takes up a fair amount of counter space but it’s relatively quiet; it fits a wide variety of bottles, dinnerware and accessories; and it can run a drying cycle after the steam sanitation session.

The display shows how much longer the process will run, it’s fairly simple to operate and it automatically remembers your last session so you can select it again easily. However, you can only use distilled water which can admittedly be a pain. Also, you have to be careful about where you put the Wabi; it requires a drainage mat for excess water. — A.B.

If your giftee is breastfeeding or pumping, a smart breast pump from Elvie or Willow is going to be a huge time saver. These wearable pumps let Mom keep on schedule while keeping her hands free to do any of the 40 other things she’s got on her plate. The pump, power supply and container are all contained in the egg-shaped device, which pairs to an app using Bluetooth. They’re a bit cumbersome to wear, but comfortable to use, and it beats being tethered to a wall unit, though the results are not always as consistent.

Though both products are similar in design and functionality, there are some differences between them. The Willow pump can be used with reusable containers or disposable bags, while the Elvie only has the container option. The Elvie pump is quieter and more discreet, while the Willow pump offers a spill-proof system that can be used even while upside down. (I tested this myself and it works.) They can be purchased in a set or two, or as an individual pump. — A.B.