Babycare TENS
Babycare Elle TENS 2
The labour TENS to beat: a simple boost button, a genuinely useful contraction timer, and you can hire it.
Best for Anyone who wants the most complete labour TENS, whether hiring for one birth or buying to keep.
The sticker chart
Tech Dad Gold Stars
The short answer to "which one should I get?" in every category (21 of them). A Gold Star is the one I'd buy. A Value Star gets you most of the way for less. A Splurge Star is worth it if the budget stretches. Stars are earned on the scorecard, never bought.
Pregnancy
Labour TENS Machines
TensCare
TensCare Perfect mamaTENS
Three programmes, a boost button and 60 intensity levels for roughly the price of a hire.
Best for Anyone who would rather own a basic labour TENS than rent one.
Babycare TENS
Babycare Elle TENS Plus
Labour TENS, everyday TENS and pelvic floor stimulator in one box, at a price.
Best for Buyers who want one device for labour, postnatal aches and, later on, pelvic floor stimulation.
Best for Late planners who want a simple unit via Click & Collect rather than waiting for a delivery or hire.
Pelvic Floor Trainers
Perifit
Perifit Care+
The most engaging biofeedback trainer, with a smaller probe and a genuinely useful trial period.
Best for Postnatal parents cleared at their check who want feedback on technique and a reason to keep going.
TensCare
TensCare itouch Sure
The cheapest credible way to try pelvic floor stimulation, if a physio suggests it.
Best for Anyone advised to try electrical stimulation who doesn't want to spend £150 or more.
Kegel8
Kegel8 Ultra 20 V2
The most complete stimulation trainer, with physio-designed programmes including postnatal recovery.
Best for Postnatal parents who struggle to feel or find their pelvic floor, ideally with a physio's blessing.
Sleep & Monitoring
Video Baby Monitors
eufy
eufy Baby Monitor E21
A sharp 4K camera, a proper parent screen and no subscription. The one I'd buy.
Best for Most families who want a bedside screen at home plus the option of checking in on their phone.
Best for Anyone on a budget who wants to see as well as hear, without Wi-Fi or apps.
Best for Data-minded parents who want detailed sleep analytics and breathing motion monitoring from an overhead camera.
Best for Parents who want a clear picture and no internet connection at all, including families adding a camera for a second child.
Best for Parents who want a big, easy-to-read screen with the option of checking in on their phone.
Wearable Baby Monitors
Owlet
Owlet Dream Sock
The most complete smart sock on sale in the UK, with proper medical certification behind its readings.
Best for Parents who want pulse and oxygen readings with alerts on a base station and their phone, and who trust themselves not to watch the numbers all night.
Snuza
Snuza Hero MD
A certified medical device that does one job well, for about a third of the price of a smart sock.
Best for Parents who room-share and want a simple, medically certified breathing movement alarm with no app, no Wi-Fi and nothing to charge.
Owlet
Owlet Dream Duo
The Dream Sock plus a sharp 2K camera in one app: the full kit, at a full-kit price.
Best for Parents who want a smart sock and a Wi-Fi video monitor anyway, and like having everything in one app.
Nanit
Nanit Breathing Wear
No sensors, no batteries, just patterned cotton, as long as you already have the camera to read it.
Best for Nanit Pro owners who want breathing-motion alerts without putting any electronics on their baby.
Breathing & Movement Monitors
Nanny
Nanny BM-03
The most thoughtfully designed breathing monitor on sale, with Class IIb certification and clever safeguards.
Best for Parents who room-share and want the most capable certified under-mattress breathing monitor, with no Wi-Fi or camera.
Babysense
Babysense 7
Two certified sensor pads for under £90: the cheapest sensible way into a proper breathing monitor.
Best for Parents who room-share and want a certified, no-frills breathing monitor with full-cot coverage at a low price.
Angelcare
Angelcare AC25-1
A certified movement pad and a video monitor in one, with the alarm on the parent unit where you'll hear it.
Best for Parents who want a movement pad and a non-Wi-Fi video monitor in one box, with the alarm in their hand rather than in the nursery.
Babysense
Babysense True Sleep
A certified two-pad breathing monitor plus a non-Wi-Fi video monitor, for little more than the pads alone.
Best for Parents who want both a certified breathing monitor and a simple video monitor without paying Angelcare prices.
Audio Baby Monitors
Best for Most families who want a reliable, private audio monitor with the useful extras.
Best for Anyone who just wants to hear their baby clearly, or a cheap spare for the grandparents.
Smart Cribs & Bassinets
Graco
Graco Eluma Nest
The sensible smart crib: cry-triggered rocking and white noise, built to the UK crib standard, for about a seventh of the price of a SNOO.
Best for Parents who like the idea of a crib that rocks and shushes on its own, but don't want to spend four figures on it.
Happiest Baby
Happiest Baby SNOO Smart Sleeper
The most sophisticated responsive bassinet you can buy, with a price, a swaddle system and a subscription to match.
Best for Parents with the budget (or a rental plan) who want the most refined all-night rocking and white noise, and are happy with its clip-in sack.
Baby Swings & Rockers
Maxi-Cosi
Maxi-Cosi Cassia Electric Swing
A light, rotating swing that starts swaying on its own when your baby gets fussy, and runs on batteries when there's no socket.
Best for Most parents who want a proper electric swing that's light enough to carry between rooms and smart enough to react to fussing.
Graco
Graco Baby Delight Swing
A no-frills, battery-powered swing that folds flat, for about the price of a takeaway.
Best for Parents on a tight budget, or anyone wanting a cheap second swing for the grandparents' house.
UPPAbaby
UPPAbaby Mamaroo Smart Swing
Still the swing that moves most like a parent, now sold under the UPPAbaby name, and still priced like it knows it.
Best for Parents who want the most natural-feeling motion and like the idea of adjusting it from their phone or a smart speaker.
White Noise Machines & Sleep Aids
Hatch
Hatch Baby Sound Machine & Night Light
The Hatch Rest's successor, and the most complete nursery sound machine and night light here, controlled from your phone.
Best for Parents who want a sound machine and night light they can adjust from the landing, and that grows into toddler routines later.
Yogasleep
Yogasleep Hushh 2
A tough, rechargeable pocket machine with a night light and a 34-hour battery, and the best value here.
Best for Parents who want one machine for the nursery, the pram and trips away, for not much money.
Sweet Dreamers
Ewan the Dream Sheep Deluxe
The UK's favourite cuddly soother, now rechargeable, with a cry sensor that restarts the sound when your baby stirs.
Best for Parents who want a soother that switches itself back on when their baby cries, and doubles as a travel companion.
Feeding
Wearable Breast Pumps
Best for Parents who want a genuinely wire-free pump that is quick to clean and doesn't need an app.
Best for Anyone who wants a capable wire-free pump without spending £200 or more.
Best for Frequent wearable users who want the best-reviewed performer and don't mind paying for it.
Best for Regular pumpers who want strong suction and the best chance of a good fit straight out of the box.
Best for Parents who need to pump as quietly and discreetly as possible, for example in meetings.
Electric Breast Pumps
Best for Frequent or exclusive pumpers who want strong, adjustable suction and a battery for cord-free sessions.
Medela
Medela Freestyle Mini Classic Double
Pocket-sized, simple and cheap to run: the sensible double for most people.
Best for Parents who express once or twice a day and want a light, simple double pump.
Best for Frequent pumpers whose two sides respond differently, or who want strong suction in a portable package.
Lola & Lykke
Lola & Lykke Smart Electric Breast Pump
A neat, tube-free single pump that's ideal for occasional expressing.
Best for Parents who express now and then and want something compact that can pump straight into a storage bag.
Formula Prep Machines
Tommee Tippee
Tommee Tippee PerfectPrep
The simplest way to a hot-shot bottle at 3am, as long as you keep up with filters and cleaning.
Best for Parents formula feeding most or all feeds who want speed without abandoning the 70C principle.
Babymoov
Babymoov Milky Now
Essentially a very good baby kettle: the most NHS-like method here, but you still cool the bottle.
Best for Parents who want to follow the kettle method closely but hate waiting for the kettle.
Best for Households formula feeding exclusively who want to take scooping, and miscounting, out of the routine.
Tommee Tippee
Tommee Tippee PrepGo UV Portable Formula Feed Maker
Not a machine as such, but a clever flask that cools a freshly made feed fast.
Best for Making a fresh, properly made feed away from home without a long wait for it to cool.
Bottle Sterilisers
Tommee Tippee
Tommee Tippee QuickDry Steriliser
Steam-sterilised and dry in 26 minutes, at a sensible price.
Best for Bottle-feeding households who want dry, ready-to-use bottles without paying Baby Brezza prices.
Philips Avent
Philips Avent Bottle Steriliser Advanced
A quick, no-nonsense steam steriliser that does the essential job for less.
Best for Anyone who wants fast, reliable steam sterilising and is happy to let bottles air-dry.
Baby Brezza
Baby Brezza SuperQuick Steriliser Dryer
Sterilised and dry in ten minutes, with room for eight bottles and pump parts.
Best for Exclusive bottle feeders and pumping parents who run the steriliser several times a day.
Bottle Warmers
Philips Avent
Philips Avent 2-in-1 Warmer & Steriliser Premium
Smart, gentle water-bath warming, with a small steriliser built in.
Best for Most parents warming expressed milk or ready-made formula at home.
Tommee Tippee
Tommee Tippee Electric Baby Bottle Warmer
Simple, gentle and cheap, with a 60-minute safety cut-off.
Best for Parents who want an affordable, no-fuss home warmer.
Baby Brezza
Baby Brezza SuperFast Portable Bottle Warmer
The quickest portable warmer here, with a live temperature readout.
Best for Pumping parents who feed expressed milk on the go every day.
Baby Brezza
Baby Brezza Bottle & Breastmilk Warmer
Separate gentle and quick modes, with presets for volume, temperature and bottle type.
Best for Parents warming lots of expressed milk, including from frozen bags.
Health
Baby Thermometers
Braun
Braun ThermoScan 7+ (IRT6525)
The ear thermometer to beat: fast, well validated and properly thought through for night-time checks.
Best for Parents of babies over 4 weeks and toddlers who want quick, reliable readings without a battle.
Braun
Braun Age Precision Digital Stick (PRT2000)
The humble underarm stick does exactly what the NHS asks, and Braun adds useful age-based colour coding.
Best for Every family with a newborn, and anyone who wants the method NICE and the NHS actually recommend.
Braun
Braun ThermoScan 7+ connect (IRT6575)
The ThermoScan 7+ with a Bluetooth app, handy when you need to track a fever over several days.
Best for Parents juggling more than one child, or anyone who wants a timed log of readings to hand when they call 111.
Braun
Braun Sensian 7 No Touch + Touch (BNT400)
The best of the forehead bunch and great for checking a sleeping toddler, but not a replacement for an underarm or ear reading.
Best for Quick, silent checks on a sleeping child, with a stick or ear thermometer on hand to confirm.
Nasal Aspirators
Fridababy
Fridababy NoseFrida The SnotSucker
Cheap, silent and brilliantly controllable: the aspirator parents keep recommending to each other.
Best for Anyone who wants the most control over suction for the least money.
Snufflebabe
Snufflebabe Nasal Aspirator
The high-street alternative to the NoseFrida, with washable filters and no ongoing costs.
Best for Parents who like the mouth-powered approach but don't want to keep buying filters.
Humidifiers & Air Purifiers
Levoit
Levoit Core 300S Smart Air Purifier
Quiet, properly specified and sensibly priced: the purifier I'd put in a nursery.
Best for Families near busy roads, with pets or with hay fever in the house who want cleaner air at night.
Levoit
Levoit Dual 150 Ultrasonic Humidifier
A quiet cool-mist humidifier with a humidistat and a top-fill tank, for around £50.
Best for Parents whose nursery genuinely reads dry on a hygrometer.
Shark
Shark BreatheClear Compact with NeverChange6 (HP062UK)
Clever sensors and no filters to buy for years, though its cleaning power is modest for the money.
Best for Parents who want a set-and-forget purifier for a small nursery and hate buying filters.
Babymoov
Babymoov Hygro Plus 3-in-1 Humidifier
Designed for nurseries, with a built-in hygrometer that keeps humidity in a sensible range.
Best for Parents who want a humidifier that measures and regulates the room's humidity for them.
Toddler
Kids' Audio Players
Best for Families with a three to eight-year-old who want the biggest library, lots of free listening, and a night light and clock in one.
Best for Travel, car journeys and families who want the Yoto library without paying for the big player.
Yoto
Yoto Player (4th Gen)
The Yoto to buy if you want it to last, though nobody has lived with one yet.
Best for New Yoto buyers happy to pay £30 more for the Green Button, double the storage and a replaceable battery.
Best for Children from 12 months who want something they can grab, drop and work on their own.
Best for Families who want zero set-up and no connected tech in the bedroom, and children who love long audiobooks.
Toddler Sleep Clocks
Best for Most families with a toddler who needs a simple visual rule for bedtime and getting up.
Best for Toddlers who respond better to a friendly face than to colours alone, and families who want battery power or a flexible nap timer.
Best for Families who travel a lot, or want a clock that survives being knocked off the bedside table.
Kids' Tablets
Best for Three to seven-year-olds who need a tablet for journeys, calls and a little supervised play.
Best for Pre-schoolers who watch a lot of video on journeys, or siblings who will share one tablet.
Best for Six to 12-year-olds who want a less babyish tablet but still need firm boundaries.
Best for Families who already use Google's Family Link and want a bigger screen and more storage for the money.
Kids' Headphones
Best for Parents of three to six-year-olds who want the lowest possible limit, with a cable backup for long trips.
Best for Three to eight-year-olds who need an everyday pair for tablets, Yotos and car journeys.
Best for A first pair for a small three or four-year-old who gets swamped by bigger headphones.
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