Technology

These are the only 3 gadgets I bought when I became a dad — and one’s less than $30

AnyFans 2025-09-17

By Nick Pino

These are the only 3 gadgets I bought when I became a dad — and one's less than $30

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This $25 shusher that puts babies out in under five minutes

HOMEBEST Portable White Noise Machine: was $31.99 now $25.58
You can’t beat the price on this white noise machine. For under $30, you’re getting a portable player that you can take anywhere that comes with a 52-hour battery. Sound quality is mid, but it puts my daughter to sleep in under five minutes every time I turn it on.

In a few years’ time, I’m sure my daughter will become an audiophile like her old man, but for the first few months of her life, audio quality isn’t her biggest concern.

That’s good because this $25 portable noise machine isn’t the world’s best-sounding speaker. However, it’s got a 52-hour battery life and can play lullabies, white noise, and a shusher that could put my baby to sleep in under five minutes.
In terms of design, it’s light and small; it’s a little bigger than a deck of cards and weighs less than half a pound. It recharges via USB-C (it comes with a cable in the box if you don’t have one on-hand) and you can set the built-in timer for up to 8 hours if you want it to run overnight.
It’s become such an essential tool in my life that I even bought a second one for my mom’s house when my daughter’s over there.

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This formula mixer that’s basically a Keurig for babies

Baby Brezza Advanced Formula Dispenser Machine: $229.97
This Baby Brezza formula dispenser mixes and pre-warms formula so you don’t have to make it by hand. It works with any size bottle and any powdered formula. If you hate the bottle-heating process, this will save you tons of time over the next year.

The last thing you want to do as a new parent is to sit by your kitchen sink at 3 o’clock in the morning waiting for the tap to heat up so you can warm a bottle. I did that, and I hated every second of it. Every minute waiting was one less minute I could sleep.
To claw back those extra minutes, I bought a Baby Brezza Advanced Formula Dispenser that essentially functions like a Keurig. You pour your formula into the top of the machine, set how many ounces of liquid you want dispensed, set the temperature you want and hit run. In less than 15 seconds, you have a lukewarm bottle of formula ready to go.
That said, there is a small caveat here that my baby’s nutritionist wants to share — if your little one has very specific calorie requirements like mine does, then you might still need to add the formula to the Baby Brezza’s warm water yourself. That’s because, while you can program a specific calorie count for each bottle (like 24-, 27- or 30-calories per ounce) there’s no guarantee that you’ll get exactly that amount each time. I found it to be pretty accurate, but sometimes powder build-up around the dispenser reduced the amount of formula that made it into the final mix.

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If your kid isn’t a super preemie and is a pretty good gainer, I doubt you’ll have the same issue I had, but I definitely wanted to put that warning out there before you spend $230 on it.
This baby camera and smart sock that tracks heart and respiratory rate

Owlet Dream Duo (3rd Gen): was $379.99 now $299.99
There’s no device that gave me more peace of mind than the Owlet Dream Duo. Technically a two-in-one baby monitor and smart sensor, the Dream Duo keeps an eye on your baby’s vitals and alerts you if there’s any major change in their breathing or heartrate. If SIDS scares you as much as it did me, this is worth every penny.

If you don’t treat yourself to the Baby Brezza, you should 100% buy the Owlet Dream Duo that combines an FDA-cleared smart baby monitor with an HD video camera.
My biggest fear when I first brought my daughter home from the hospital was SIDS, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. SIDS can happen for a number of reasons, and it’s most likely to occur in the first few months after birth. Preemies have a higher risk than regular birth-weight babies, so I was especially concerned about her.
The Owlet Dream Duo’s sensor really helped me sleep at night without worrying about my daughter. It tracks oxygen saturation levels and heart rate, and beeps if it ever detects a sudden drop in either of them. The base station has a temperature sensor built-in and additionally measures humidity and noise level.
The 2K HD camera isn’t one of the best baby monitors, but its awesome app integration means that your phone will double as a baby monitor that you can take anywhere.
A word of warning from a battle-tested parent here: The sensor isn’t 100% waterproof. It’s water-resistant, but if your daughter happens to, I don’t know…projectile vomit her entire bottle of formula onto the sensor and it stays there overnight, you might return in the morning to a busted sensor. (Ask me how I know.) Still, I have to give props to Owlet for allowing me to exchange the sensor for a new one a few months after the initial purchase.
Don’t get me wrong $300 is a pricey investment when you’re a new parent, but being able to sleep knowing that my daughter was breathing regularly was worth every penny.
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Managing Editor, TV and AV

Nick Pino heads up the TV and AV verticals at Tom’s Guide and covers everything from OLED TVs to the latest wireless headphones. He was formerly the Senior Editor, TV and AV at TechRadar (Tom’s Guide’s sister site) and has previously written for GamesRadar, Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer and other outlets over the last decade. Not sure which TV you should buy? Drop him an email or tweet him on Twitter and he can help you out.

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