I’m a working mother of two young children. One is 8 months old and one is 8 months old. The other child is a 3 year old. My husband also works full time and has no family nearby who can provide additional support. Some days I feel as if this is my greatest accomplishment. That means stringing together coherent sentences and meeting professional deadlines while managing to feed, clothe, bathe, and maintain the lives of both of us, as well as ourselves. Before my second child was born, I worried about how I would manage life with multiple children.
I’m in it and am still baffled as to why this happens. Our mornings aren’t a complete mess per se, but most days I’m standing on the kitchen counter whipping up breakfast while doing at least two other tasks. My daughter is always running between two rooms, using her superpowers to defeat monsters, while my son is shrieking from the activity center, slamming plastic pieces together like a wrestling superfan. That’s not exactly Zen. Sometimes we need an extra hand, and often that help comes in the form of smart devices.
The proliferation of smart home devices throughout the home is becoming increasingly the norm. The smart home market is expected to be valued at $79 billion in 2022 and grow at a compound annual growth rate of 27% through 2030, according to a report from market research firm Grand View Research. This is 27% higher than in 2030. Year over year, this pace will be driven by artificial intelligence and more hands-free experiences, Grandview said.
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Skylight/CNET
Among my right hand machines, the Skylight is one that benefits the whole family. Not only is it beautifully designed so it will look great no matter where you display it, it’s also incredibly easy to set up (a must) and has tons of organizational features.
My husband and I seamlessly synced our calendars so we were all on the same page for work meetings, appointments, kids’ doctor’s appointments, and more. My kids aren’t old enough to use the chore feature, but I like that this is an option they can use later. But what I’m most excited about is the grocery list feature. Do you know how many times I left home without a paper shopping list? Or how many times have you texted your husband, “Please send me a photo of your grocery list?”
Plus, when I’m not using the calendar, the frame acts as a digital photo album where my husband and I can upload photos and play them as a slideshow. Needless to say, this is my 3 year old’s favorite feature. If it hooks her and makes her happy, we’ve all won.
Baby Blazer/CNET
Now, with a 3-year-old in school and an 8-month-old in daycare, there’s a lot of packing to do, laundry to do, and breakfast to prepare first thing in the morning. If you want to get your daughter to school within the allotted 15-minute drop-off time, you’ll have to make a fuss.
Baby Brezza suddenly appeared here, like a personal bottle-making assistant. I still breastfeed my son, but I take him to daycare with a bottle of milk. We like that this device has three different temperature settings and can fill bottles up to 10 ounces. The memory feature saves the last used settings, which is helpful if my husband is making the bottles and not me. While I’m unloading the dishwasher or packing up my son’s bag for the day (diapers, wipes, crib sheet), I press the button on the Baby Brezza and the bottle is ready. This is a simple solution, but when every minute counts, every minute counts.
Snoo/CNET
When I was pregnant with my first child, I didn’t think I needed a Snoo. “People have been sleeping without the aid of automatic bassinets for thousands of years,” I like to quipped at the key to childless pretentiousness. A friend said, “You might get 30 minutes to an hour more sleep!” I was unimpressed by her passionate claims and didn’t think it was a big deal. Then I had a child and realized how difficult it was. As a parent, an extra 30 or 60 minutes of sleep can be downright intoxicating.
Snoo responds to your baby and will make louder noises and movements when your baby whimpers. However, these settings are somewhat customizable. This is useful because babies don’t need a one-size-fits-all solution. My daughter responded easily to the highest settings, but my son couldn’t stand the shaking at levels 2 and above (up to level 5).
It is true that some babies sleep just fine without an automatic cage. However, Snoos make noises and shake, so there is no need for humans to do this. This smart sleeper saved my sanity and helped me get some extra sleep in the early days of my life with kids.
Pampered Chef/CNET
I know what you’re thinking: A blender? Really? But this is no ordinary blender. I also cook. No more using multiple pots or blenders (immersion or standalone) to make soup. You can use a blender with just one pot. Guys, this is a game changer for me.
I’m very careful about what I feed my kids, but I’ve never been one to make my own baby food. However, with this blender, you just throw a bunch of chopped sweet potatoes into the blender, set it, and forget about it. There’s also a grind setting that’s perfect for making homemade nut butters. Additionally, there are settings for making homemade jams, sauces, smoothies, and alternative milks.
A few notes: The cooking temperature is up to 220 degrees, but I didn’t find this to be an issue. Blender bowls are not dishwasher safe, which is usually a negative point for busy parents, but there is a heated wash setting to take care of that. Also, just because it cooks doesn’t necessarily mean it’s fast. There’s an element of patience required, and like most blenders, the blending can be a bit loud, so consider when and where you’ll use it if you have children who are sensitive to sounds like mine. you may need to. But overall, I found this new addition to be very useful when I need to multitask (which I always do).
Hatch/CNET
I loved my daughter’s Hatch Rest so much that my husband bought me the adult version of the Restore after we moved her into her own room. You can customize not only the tone and brightness of the light and the length of your bedtime, but also the volume and sleep sounds such as white noise and nature sounds. My son also has a hatch. So, there are three Hatch sound machines in the house, all installed on the top floor of the house, making it sound like the ocean. that’s great.
Not only does our hutch help us all sleep better, but we also use the hutch in my daughter’s room to signal when it’s time to wake up. At 7 a.m., the light is programmed to turn green to let her know it’s safe to leave the room. This gives my husband and I plenty of time in the morning to wake up, make coffee, and prepare breakfast (and maybe even read the news!) before putting on our parent hats. When her imagination started to run wild and sleeping in the dark was no longer an option, her husband programmed her hutch to the color of her choice, effectively acting as her customized nightlight. I did. We can control all of this from an app on our phones, which we often do if we want to make the white noise just a little louder.
Canary/CNET
Video security systems are perfect for people who want to keep an eye on their home while they’re away. I like the peace of mind of knowing I’ll be notified if something goes wrong. But one thing I didn’t expect to need was wanting to put eyeballs on parts of the house when I was actually there. Now that I have a toddler, there are times when it’s just me and the kids, and I’m not always in the same area of the house as my 3-year-old. For example, if she’s playing downstairs and I’m upstairs nursing the baby, I like being able to check the camera.
If you need to call your girlfriend or husband, you can also make two-way calls. It’s easy to install, has a sleek design, and features night vision, temperature, humidity, and air quality monitoring.
GE/CNET
Now that I’ve installed GE Cync smart bulbs in some of my lamps, I can use an app to dim the lights from the comfort of my couch and feel very sophisticated, but also maybe a little lazy. I love lighting and believe that 90% of the atmosphere in a home comes from the right lighting. The bulbs connect via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, come in a variety of shapes, and are optionally available in a rainbow of colors. Plus, my daughter loves that she can turn her room bright pink every night before bed.
But what really impressed me was the smart plug. These and smart light bulbs offer hands-free voice control, allow pre-set schedules to turn your device on or off at specified times, and offer remote control via an app. can.
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A little smart home technology can go a long way
Becoming a mother of two children means I’ve lost even more brain cells. And unfortunately, I wasn’t given the power to magically be in two places at the same time. Relying on technology provides an unparalleled level of convenience and provides valuable peace of mind for busy parents.
