i love babies (especially my babies!), and I love gear, but I don’t really like Baby Gear (TM). Especially if your friend is becoming a parent for the first time, many baby items are specifically designed to activate the paranoia trigger in their lizard brain. It’s cute, and what if your baby really needs it?? “Yes, a wipe warmer!” they think, only to find it in their closet years later.
But raising a new baby comes with a lot of logistical problems, like stuffy noses and sleepless nights. If you’re giving a gift to a new parent, these are some of our favorite innovative solutions to make the gross, grueling parts of parenting just a little bit easier. Members of our Gear Team have tried them all. And yes, some of them are quite cute.
If you’re shopping for older kids, check out our guides to the best voice toys or best distance learning tools.
Updated for November 2023: We’ve updated this guide with new picks, including the FridaBaby Electric Nose Aspirator, Aura Carver Digital Photo Frame, Beis Diaper Pack, and more.
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Jeffrey Van Camp and Nena Farrell contributed to this guide.