1st Time Parent, Advice on Tech

DJN on 30/05/2022 - 09:38
Last edited 30/05/2022 - 09:49 by 1 other user

Hi ya,

Having a child this year and was looking for the "must-haves" and needed some advice.

  1. Baby monitor, I have been looking at the Nanit Pro and the Cubo AI.
    People have told me to spend the money its worth it and others have said to buy a $100 bunning camera that will suffice.
    Any advice, I mainly want to log in to my phone from anywhere and view the feed, maybe even family overseas if possible.

  2. Baby Seats, Are the $700 + seats for a newborn just as good as the $300? every forum has a differing opinion.

  3. Any other cool gadgets or tools that will make my life easier with a newborn?

Thanks in advance

Toys & Kids

Comments

  • kaleidoscope on 30/05/2022 - 09:47

    Congratulations.

    Baby monitor, I have been looking at the Nanit Pro and the Cubo AI. People have told me to spend the money its worth it and others have said to buy a $100 bunning camera that will suffice. Any advice, I mainly want to log in to my phone from anywhere and view the feed, maybe even family overseas if possible.

    Unless the baby is going to be in a completely separate room I did not find this very important.

    Baby Seats, Are the $700 + seats for a newborn just as good as the $300? every forum has a differing opinion.

    I used a capsule and pram combo from joie. It's very good and comfortable. Got it when it was discounted

    Any other cool gadgets or tools that will make my life easier with a newborn?

    Since it is going to be winter, get one of the room temperature scales and few sleeping bags to keep the little one in and they'll sleep really well.
    Forehead thermometer.

    • DJN on 30/05/2022 - 09:52

      Thank you and thank you

  • 87percent on 30/05/2022 - 09:49
    +1

    i found baby monitors to be a constant distraction. New parents are always watching it wondering if their baby is ok

    • DJN on 30/05/2022 - 09:53

      good advice, thanks

  • teacherer on 30/05/2022 - 09:49

    Baby monitor, I have been looking at the Nanit Pro and the Cubo AI.
    People have told me to spend the money its worth it and others have said to buy a $100 bunning camera that will suffice.
    Any advice, I mainly want to log in to my phone from anywhere and view the feed, maybe even family overseas if possible.

    We got a middle of the road vtech one, it's been all we've ever needed, except the app is clunky as hell. We use it to see if she is just whinging or standing up and needs her nappy changed. Also to see if she is just whinging in her sleep or is actually properly awake.

    Baby Seats, Are the $700 + seats for a newborn just as good as the $300? every forum has a differing opinion.

    We own both a $150 mothers choice shine from target and a $600 britax one. Apart from isofix (slightly easier to remove and install), I don't see much of a difference. We got the nicer one for the car she is in more often. The build quality and materials feel nicer in the britax but the mothers choice feels fine.

    Any other cool gadgets or tools that will make my life easier with a newborn?

    We've tried to keep it simple. We've invested most of our money not in gadgets but physical things for her like climbing blocks and outdoor equipment at about 10m old.

    I agree that sleep sacks would be great over winter, keeping in mind that blankets are not safe sleep.

    • DJN on 30/05/2022 - 09:54

      great thanks.

  • joeyg4343 on 30/05/2022 - 09:57

    Have a baby shower and then start marking things of your checklist. You'll want a bassinet, car seat and pram all new.

    I knew some parents and just asked if they had any stuff that they were finished with and now have too many toys and books.

    A lot of new parents get in the mindset of wanting everything new which can be expensive. If you have access to a few work, friend and family networks you will find people are happy to get rid of their baby stuff on the condition it is going to a good home. We have already passed on a fair bit of our newborn stuff.

  • djsweet on 30/05/2022 - 09:57

    For a baby monitor we used a wifi security camera. Has all the same features, cheaper, and can be repurposed later. Ours is a Ring, but there are loads of others.

    Car seats. Used a capsule for 1st six months that is compatible with the pram. After that got a Britax Graphene. The expensive Britax seats are way better than cheaper alternatives. The buckling and padding is way easier to navigate, disassemble and clean. They are easy to get in and out of the car if needed. The Infasecure we have is a nightmare.

    In terms of “cool gadgets” we have a non contact thermometer ($200ish). Very handy. Also a room thermometer so you know how to dress the baby for bed. Electric steriliser is pretty handy, although not really necessary. We never had one, but I’ve heard those self swinging baby rockers are good.

    Best to buy what you need when you need it. Don’t go buying $$$$ worth of stuff before you need it because you’re never going to use 80% of it.

  • SF3 on 30/05/2022 - 09:58
    +2

    Any other cool gadgets or tools that will make my life easier with a newborn?

    Get enough sleep, no tech will fix.

  • Rilo 117 on 30/05/2022 - 10:07
    +1

    Digital Thermometer, pref a forehead one, as sometimes trying to calmly take the temp via the ear can be crazy with kids. This is my go to baby gift for new parents as you tend to forget.

    • dustyash on 13/06/2022 - 16:11

      Hi @Rilo, which digital thermometer did you go with … I am thinking to get one. Infrared thermometers are baby safe?

      • Rilo 117 on 14/06/2022 - 06:44

        @dustyash

        Something like this; https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/91497/braun-touchles…

        Recommended for infants, children and adults. They're fairly accurate when compared to the ear one, always within 0.5°C of each other, and you don't need to buy those ear cover slip things.

        • dustyash on 14/06/2022 - 07:57
          +1

          Thanks mate.

          Going to start a new life soon. All these helps in setting us up for a smooth"-er" road ahead …

  • bawawaw on 30/05/2022 - 10:19
    +1

    one of the simple 'gadget' but must have for us.. https://frida.com/products/nosefrida

    • giantxtc2joshua on 30/05/2022 - 12:08
      +1

      Can vouch for the Snoo, its a bit pricey but if you want a better sleep experience for everyone its really great. the downside is that you only use it until they are about 6 months, so it cost a lot for a product that your only going to be using for the next 6 months. Re-sale value is high so you can sell it afterwards.

      • Baa on 30/05/2022 - 23:29

        I use a eufy spaceview for my camera.

        Another plus for the snoo, we bought ours secondhand and have been getting almost full night from just under 3 months.

        I was pretty sceptical for the first 6 weeks but has steadily improved.

        We also have a baby breza and would recommend for bottle fed babies, bottle at perfect temp and ready to feed in seconds.

  • pacer4000 on 30/05/2022 - 10:57

    Hi OP, congrats,

    • Since 2020 we've used the Kodak Cherish C225 baby monitor at home. It allows viewing with the little monitor and also via phone app, even when out of
      the house (our in-laws sometimes watch from their place). The camera is good with tilt, pan and zoom (I have it hanging on the wall above the cot),
      monitor part is a bit small and clunky but does the job and is handy to have when you are using your phone for other things. We paid $270 in 2020.

      For travelling we have a cheap Kogan baby monitor which works with phone app only, it's got a bendy tail which is pretty useful. Kogan

      They both have decent resolution and can tell you the temperature in the babies room.

    • For a car seat I personally think ISO-fix is a must if your car is compatible, much easier to install and doesn't start to loosen over time.
      I also believe this is one of the things to spend big on. Use this website to compare safety ratings https://www.childcarseats.com.au/.
      We have the Britax Safe-n-Sound Platinum Pro, paid $600 on sale, does newborn to 4 years old and at the time was one of the highest rated across the age range.

    • For other gadgets we had a bottle warmer that was excellent. Everyone's situation is different, but if baby is having bottles (of breast milk or formula) then I'd look at getting one of these: Jiffi Botle Warmer
      Sure, you can warm the milk in a jug of hot water, but that's messy and inconsistent. With the Jiffi you just screw the bottle on top and press the button and it warms the milk to a preset temperature then will keep it at that temp for around 30min if needed (although best to use straight away).

      We also had a bottle steam steriliser that would sterilise and then dry the bottles (ours was Minbie brand but doesn't look like you can purchase seperately from a kit anymore).

    Good luck!

  • John Kimble on 30/05/2022 - 10:59

    Never owned one, but if you are into tech and rolling in it, you can try an owlet smart sock…seems to get good reviews…OTT if you ask me.

    A flashing light and music mirror for the baby car seat was a life saver for us.

    Eg BENBAT Magical Unicorn Night and Day Car Mirror, Pink https://amzn.asia/d/8UuymBv

    BENBAT Forest Fun Night and Day Car Mirror, Blue https://amzn.asia/d/ftElbhP

    There are cheaper ones that don't have any lights or music though. ~$20

  • cauilfield on 30/05/2022 - 11:02

    1) https://www.mirabellagenio.com.au/product-range/mirabella-be… after trying 3 or 4 different monitors we have settled on this one.

    2) Britax Safe n Sound FTW

    • oscargamer on 30/05/2022 - 12:16
      +1

      As a parent of two, and a pragmatist……

      1) Useless. All these cameras are sold to placate worrying parents. They do nothing if the baby stops breathing or it's heart stops. Either buy a proper heart and breathing monitor, or save you money.

      2) As already said above https://www.childcarseats.com.au

      NEVER SHARE A BED WITH YOUR INFANT. NEVER. EVER. Be very careful if breast feeding in bed. Very common to fall asleep. Much better in a chair. As awful as it sounds, better that bub falls from your arms onto the floor, than crushed by your body……Not trying to scare. Just being informative (I hope)

  • DJN on 30/05/2022 - 11:44

    Thank you all for the advice.

  • [Deactivated] on 30/05/2022 - 12:41
    +2

    85" TV and noice cancelling headphones.

  • singlemalt72 on 30/05/2022 - 13:05
    +1

    The whole capsule/carseat debate is ongoing, personally I used the Safe n Sound unity capsules with two different prams with the required adapters - the Unity was my choice because it does 12 months plus for most kids (we made 18 months for two kids). I liked it for the ability to move sleeping child easily from pram to car to house, but to some people this isn't so important.
    Worth considering what type of car you have, had to invest in a small folding step so my <5 foot wife could get it in and out of our vehicles (Triton and Elgrand).

    Baby monitors are great if you have a big house, or work in a basement office or garage/yard a lot, we got the ibaby M7 which worked well. Also liked the music/white noise/story features it has. As has been said, you can get fixated on "is baby breathing" but you get over that phase and it really helps in a large property.

    As for baby seats, wait for a baby bunting sale and get the Accord AP on special (known as the Adore AP through other sellers), I think I paid $240 on sale - it is simple to use, very safe, highly rated and will do the now recommended rear-facing to 2.5 years old, then forward to 4 years. Isofix is good for fast changes, but don't make a great amount of difference (if any) in crash testing.

    Digital thermometer is a must, and get a baby manicure kit at the same time, you will be CONSTANTLY cutting back nails, they usually come with a bulb aspirator which can be handy when the baby is full of mucus (a lot of the time). Also for health, a humidifier - makes a big difference when choked up with a snotty cold/flu.

    As far as other tech I can't think of much - a room temperature monitor is good, our baby monitor has it built in and can alarm if it changes, if breast feeding then the best pump by far is the Spectra, we bought the portable 9 Plus, and a bottle warmer to go with it. A microwave steriliser and some bottles, we found the Philips Avent bottles to be great

    Other than that invest in good baby wraps/swaddles and then sleeping bags as they get older. Hunt them down on your local facebook marketplace if you want to save a few bucks, you can usually get a bulk lit at fraction of the cost - same goes for baby clothes, kids grow so fast you will find you buy too many clothes and they will wear some things once or twice or not at all before they are too big, buy bulk lots of marketplace as they grow.

    Oh, and as has been said - never share a bed unless you have a rated type of co-sleeper - mums will want to breast feed in bed when tired (and they all are) so you need to make it safe.

    Othertech we considered.
    Baby wipe warmer - waste of time
    Baby scales (some nappy change tables have them built-in) - Kitchen scales did the job fine
    Baby rocker - wish I had known about these earlier, could have been so good - 4Mums mammaRoo4 (look it up)
    One touch milk bottle machine - Honestly, how hard is it to put powder in a bottle?

    Not really tech, but a rocking chair is also a good investment, once again, nothing fancy, we grabbed a cheap on on marketplace, made a big difference.

  • itsmehuey on 30/05/2022 - 14:10

    1) cubo ai. Been using it since our newborn turned 3 months old and we started transitioning her into her crib in her own room. Has been amazing with the free Cubo.ai premium statistics to be able to see how well your baby is sleeping and can view the live footage from anywhere with a data connection. Cubo vs Nanit pro, it was a dead easy decision for us because the cubo was more value for money with the bundle. Especially when we bought it on sale.

    2) for baby seats we went with a compact convertible because our car (at the time our daughter was born) was a small Mercedes CLA (coupe shape sedan) so back seat room was limited. Britax Graphene Luxe from BBunting - also on sale and has been working well even after transition to front facing. Very sturdy and comfortable cushioning. Takes up barely any room now in our new car (Mercedes GLA - compact SUV)

    3) make sure you have a thermometer, sound machine (for white noise), and booger sucker. I also found although not tech, the UBBI diaper pale was a life and NOSE saver as it traps all the terrible odours inside the bin when closed. When opened it’s disgusting lol. Better option than Tommee tipee that require you to use their refillable cartridges and can use any plastic bag. I also have Phillips hue smart light strips under our daughters crib which can create a dim lighting at night when our daughter is asleep and we need to come in to check on her. One more thing I’d recommend is a steriliser +dryer combo. Saves so much time from during the bottle/teets/pumping parts manually or over night especially when you need something quick. My wife swears by the steriliser we got.

  • Benoffie on 30/05/2022 - 15:48

    Baby monitors are a waste. Unless bubs is in another area of the house, which realistically, doesn't happen.

    Don't over think the car seat. Needs to fit car, swivel base if possible and convert from bubs to toddler. That's it.

    Anything else? Only thing I'd ever buy again would be a vibrating bouncer. Get a good one. They sleep and eat in it. Best of all, they're strapped in and stuck while you're cooking and cleaning.

    Best. Invention. Ever.

    • smurftastic on 30/05/2022 - 16:14

      Don't over think the car seat. Needs to fit car, swivel base if possible and convert from bubs to toddler. That's it.

      My opinion was all these seats had to pass the Australian standards/regulations to be sold here so don't fuss too much about the safety aspect. As long as you are buying new from a reputable store.

      Most other things we bought second hand from the 2nd baby markets, specifically the one that used to be in Lane Cove. I got heaps of clothes, toys etc for dirt cheap and, by the looks of them, hardly ever used.

  • monkeydo on 31/05/2022 - 16:08
    +1

    I will agree with many parents here the baby monitors are a waste at home. You will realize soon you and your partner will keep an eye and an ear on the bub like hawks. When we go visit other friends and they need to nap (and can nap away from you on someone else's bed in another room) I found apps that I can link my phone and my wife's phone together so one of ours can become the camera and the other the monitor. That way we can be with friends in another room cos chatting can get distracting (in a good way cos you'll feel sane).
    -Do not get wipe warmers. You will get the baby used to warm wipes right away that when they are not available (park, shopping, car) it will shock the baby. We all wipe cold it's normal.

    -Baby seats. We hired one to move the baby from hospital to home and that was it. After, we looked for something we felt we needed,knowing how it feels to be with a baby. Don't go out purchasing everything that is available on a catalog. So much money wasted. We bought an expensive bugaboo set. My baby never liked the basinnet so that was a waste, and although the pram was useful until much older, it is now seating in the garage not being able to resell it because everyone else in this planet also bought a bugaboo set and can not resell it. That being said, consider a good second hand one. Plenty of really good bugaboos in great/new condition for a fraction of the prize.

    -Thermometer a must. There's some that can measure room temp and with a button change to measure a person's. We got ours overseas when we realized we needed one on a trip.

    -Get Netflix, Stan, whatever you both fancy membership. Your wife specially will be roaming the house very often and will need distractions from time to time for sanity or background sleep/nap noise. Same goes for you. Many nights I've been up carrying the baby at 3am getting it to sleep while wife sleeps and me having to just keep the baby in arms so it doesn't wake up so best I could do was sit on the sofa and watch tv with baby in arms. (not so many good things on tv at 3am 8 years ago)

    Aside from tech if I may..
    -Get a membership to the Australian Breast feeding association. My wife is a breast feeding councilor and 80% of the time the calls are not about breastfeeding but just a mother having a few minutes to talk to someone just to share, or cry over the phone to another mother because they are the only ones that understand how hard it is. And the support is immense. She received so much help that she decided to pay it forward. Dad's aren't available all the time so just consider it.

    You'll do great

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