Parenting can be a joy, but it's also pretty hard — so hard that you sometimes end up parking your kid in front of the TV or an iPad just so you can catch a break. But technology can be more than a distraction for your kid. There are a lot of products out that fall under this mysterious "baby tech" category, and they're aimed at helping you, the parent, relieve some of the stresses of parenthood.

self-warming baby bottles, high-tech baby monitors, and "smart" onesies

Self-warming baby bottles, high-tech baby monitors, and "smart" onesies are all designed to meet your parenting needs. But do they actually help? To find out more about baby tech, we enlisted the help of Cool Mom Tech's Liz Gumbinner, MoMath president Glen Whitney, and The Verge's own Ben Popper. Oh and we asked Ben Popper's kids to help us test some of these products out.

By the way, Top Shelf is back! This is the second episode in a four-part series that will explore how technology is changing our lives. You can check out the first episode of this season right here; it's about digital comics!