Black businessman with son in baby carrier texting on cell phone
The average middle-income family will spend an estimated $12,000 during baby’s first year, the USDA estimated in 2010. The average baby delivery alone can cost upwards of $11,000. So what’s a few hundred (or thousand) more dollars on some baby tech to ensure you know everything that happens from conception to contraction?
Since it's never too soon to digitize your offspring, CES, the consumer tech show which launched Tuesday in Las Vegas, has an array of gadgets for want-to-be and expecting parents.
Proov
First comes love, then comes the struggle of figuring out when is the best time to conceive. After years of struggling to carry a pregnancy to term, Dr. Amy Beckley took matters into her own hands and began tracking her hormone levels and realized a lack of progesterone was the issue. A prescription for the hormone, continued tracking of her ovulation and the pharmacologist found success and MFB Fertility. The fertility startup created the Proov at-home ovulation test that costs a fraction of the price and pain of IVF treatment.
Price: The Proov packets are available for $39.99 (7 test strips), $89.99 (21 test strips) and $69.99 (34 test strips + access to the Pearl fertility tracking app).
US-IT-CES
Is it a cramp? A contraction? Is it time? Bloomlife is a wearable detection device that sticks to the belly to monitor contractions. Complete with an app that assesses the frequency, duration and patterns of contractions, expected parents and healthcare providers are able to stay on top of things in anticipation of the big day.
Price: Bloomlife is available to rent for $20/week plus shipping.
Adults are obsessed with their sleep or lack thereof. We download meditation apps, invest in white noise machines and reach for the bottle of melatonin at night. So if you’re looking to obsess over your infant’s sleep habits, super babycam company Nanit has you covered. With a camera dangling where a crib mobile normally would, Nanit Sleep System offers parents a live stream of their bundle of joy napping along with insights on their sleep patterns.
Price: The Nanit Sleep System costs $379, which includes the Nanit Plus Camera, multi-stand (for travel) and wall mount or the floor stand for $70 extra and a 1-year subscription to Nanit Insights to track your baby’s sleep patterns.
Child + Youth
With no real paid maternity leave in the U.S., a quarter of mothers return to the workforce just 10 days after giving birth and have to ensure that milk is available to the newborn at all times. With breast milk considered the healthier and cheaper option, many working and nonworking moms turn to breast pumps. The downside for moms is most pumps look and feel like the vacuum machines used to milk cows. Enter Elvie, a tubeless, portable breast pump made to fit inside a bra that collects 5 ounces of milk. The Elvie Pump also connects to your phone, ’cause why not track your milk?
Price: U.S. mothers have to join the wait list for the pump, but Elvie retails in the U.K. for £229 for a single pump and £429 for a double pump.
With the joy and responsibility of becoming a parent comes the second-guessing if you’re doing it right. Overactive instincts are naturally inherited with parenthood, especially when it comes to a child’s health. Tyto cuts out excessive and unnecessary doctor visits with an at-home exam kit similar to those found in a pediatrician’s office. Available through health insurance, Tyto takes on telemedicine, bringing the doctor’s office home with a digital otoscope, stethoscope, tongue depressor and basal thermometer, to determine whether a high temperature is just another case of the common cold or worth a trip to the hospital.
Price: Tyto is available through your provider or health insurance.
