Dads/moms: what are a few things/gadgets/supplies a first-time parent may want? What are things that are trendy but dumb/unneeded? Any and all feedback appreciated!

@snazzyq For a baby monitor use a HomeKit compatible camera because it’s easy to access home and away. Plus you can look at recordings (to check things and also to save cute moments) and if you use some thing like the Aqara G2H, it can work out a lot cheaper than a dedicated one.

I know many people including my friend at MacStories @devondundee who swear by Mango Baby for a tracking app.

I’m sure you have them but have AirPods Pro or similar noise cancelling headphones to hand all the time. When they’re screaming and you need to comfort them, having the headphones in will make it easy to do it for long periods.

Soft toys are nice but you only need 4/5 max even up until 3 years old as they don’t care. If people want to give gifts ask for books. You can never have too many.

Try and avoid showing them TV until 2 and they’ll be far more engaged in the world around them.

@jonathanreed @snazzyq @devondundee what a delightfully great and true summary. I have a 2 year old and I sign off on all this. I did buy a fancy Nanit baby camera but wish I had gone HomeKit route instead. Mango Baby is great though after nursing/formula stopped I haven’t opened it for more than logging length and weights.

Last part: critically true. I compare my kid to a lot of others and not about tooting my horn - I just see that they watch tv all the time, and are different.

@jonathangulbrandsen @snazzyq @devondundee Yeah, for sure. She does watch TV sometimes but it’s always stuff we watch together and she talks to us about it. It’s very intentional.