Tech for the hovering parent
For so-called helicopter parents, no amount of baby data is enough. Here are some tools perfect for the helicoptering lifestyle.
A tool that also happens to be fashionably cute, the Mimo baby monitor connects to a onesie that collects data such as your baby's body position, sleep activity, skin temperature and breathing rate. It also streams live audio and connects to your smart device through the Cloud.
The Milkscreen test
Just because you're a new mom doesn't mean you can't have a life. Or, at least, enjoy a glass of merlot and unwind. So you never, ever have to worry about the alcohol content of your breast milk, UpSpring Baby has the Milkscreen test, which is basically a breathalyzer for breast milk.
Owlet Smart Sock
No, that's not just an adorable baby sock. Well, OK, the Owlet smart sock is pretty cute, but it's also so much more than decorative. Allowing parents to monitor baby vitals such as heart rate and oxygen level with Bluetooth connectivity, it should appeal to parents who want to always know exactly what is going on with their baby's health.
Yada Digital Tiny Traveler Baby Monitor
For parents who just can't let their children out of their sight, the Yada Digital Tiny Traveler Baby Monitor may be for you. A wireless camera, it allows parents in the front seat to keep an eye on the young ones in the back: perfect for those long family road trips to Disneyworld.
Dartz's L'Enfante Terrible carseat
How about a gold-plated, bullet-proof, fully customizable car seat for babies? Named the L'Enfante Terrible, it's the ultimate in luxurious car safety for the little ones, especially when there's no pesky spending limit involved.
Pixie Scientific's smart diaper
Still in development, the Pixie Scientific smart diaper is designed to allow a parent, with a simple phone scan on the diaper, to detect UTIs, dehydration or developing kidney problems. Man, we never thought a diaper could be so high-tech.
Bellybuds
Ensuring your kid has the best development doesn't have to start after birth. For instance, Bellybuds (video) are adhesive speakers that not only pipe music into the womb, but also play the recorded voices of your friends and family.
BlueMaestro's Pacif-i, the smart pacifier
This is definitely not your grandma's pacifier. The Pacifi-i can keep babies from crying, measure their temperature and connect to an app where you can enter in data such as medication. It also has a built-in tracker so you don't lose it.
Philips Avent uGrow Smart Baby Monitor
The uGrow Smart Baby Monitor lets parents stream real-time video and audio of their baby through their phone. Additionally, Philips' baby monitor delivers notifications about differences in the room temperature and humidity and parents can activate a calming nightlight to soothe children.
Sproutling baby monitor
Wearable tech isn't just for the adults. Sproutling has developed a smart baby monitor wearable that measures babies' vitals while they're sleeping. The charging dock also keeps track of the conditions of the room it's in. Talk about having peace of mind that's just a tiny wearable away.
Slow Control Baby Gigl smart bottle
Technically, the Baby Gigl bottle isn't the smart tech. The holder is. By putting putting the bottle into the holder (video), parents can track the amount of liquid a baby is swallowing, and how much is air. The device then sends data to an app that keeps track of exactly how often and how much a baby is fed over time. Better yet, powering it takes only triple-A batteries.
BabyPlus
BabyPlus (video) takes fetal development even further. Touting itself as education that begins in the womb, the adhesive plastic disk creates a prenatal curriculum for your child through different patterns of sound. Talk about shaping your future Einstein early.
Cry Translator app
Ever wanted to know exactly what a baby means with every scream, cry and whimper? Well, there is literally an app for that. Downloadable for iOS users, the app "translates" babies' cries into what they're feeling (such as if the baby is hungry, tired or needs comfort).
MamaRoo bouncing bassinet
Inspired by the "bouncing" motion mothers make when they comfort a crying baby, the MamaRoo bassinet will literally rock itself -- or rather, bounce. With various different, comforting motions to select, it also has (among other features) a soothing heartbeat sound, Bluetooth connectivity and smartphone-based control. So you don't even need to be in the room to rock the baby anymore.
Lumify
Philips has also been active in the area of prenatal care. It's recently developed Lumify, which is a portable ultrasound sensor that sends high-quality video of the developing fetus to a tablet or smartphone. The tech is aimed at health care professionals, but we can imagine scores of already-doting parents using this to populate their Facebook timelines with real-time updates on their unborn.
4moms Origami power-folding stroller
For busy parents of babies and toddlers everywhere, the best feature of this stroller isn't the LCD screen dashboard with features like a speedometer and thermometer. Nor is it the cell-phone charger, or the pathway lights that allow you to take night-time strolls with ease. It's the fact that, with the push of a button, it FOLDS AND UNFOLDS ITSELF.