10 Reasons You Need a Fitbit as a Mom (That Have Nothing To Do with Fitness!)

Inside: Thinking about getting a Fitbit for mom life adventures and challenges? You absolutely should, and honestly the step count is really just a bonus to these other reasons.

Shortly after becoming a mom for the second time, I got a Fitbit to help me get in shape. It’s not like the Fitbit went outside and ran for me, but it is a helpful little gadget that reminds you to keep moving and sets up some healthy competition with yourself.

Then one day I lost my Fitbit and was very sad. So sad that I wrote an achingly beautiful love letter to my missing Fitbit to capture the deep pain I felt in my heart. What I realized though is that while I missed my little wrist cheerleader for fitness purposes, many of the reasons I needed a Fitbit in my life as a mom had absolutely 100% nothing to do with exercise.

Why a Fitbit for Mom Life Makes Perfect Sense

Looking for a gift for a mom in your life or for yourself? Consider a Fitbit because it is way more functional than I could have predicted, and it could easily be named one of these other things below and be equally worth the money.

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Late Night Wrist Flashlight

Scene: It’s 2 am. Your small child appears by your bedside three inches from your face with a pressing issue. Like his pillow is being unfair. Or her 3rd favorite unicorn stuffed animal is missing. You pull yourself from your bed and walk the kid back to their room and try to tuck them back in, but it’s pitch black and you don’t want to turn the light on and encourage more awakeness.

Enter your Late Night Wrist Flashlight to light the way! This little puppy is already attached to your body so you don’t need to remember to grab your phone off the nightstand. Plus the flashlight is easy-on with a simple touch of the side button (aka the button that turns on the digital watch face), and it’s dim enough to not be too aggressive at middle of the night o’clock.

I use this function more than I would like, but it’s helpful.

Tantrum Heart Rate Monitor

Scene: It’s pajama day at school for the PreK student in your house. It is not pajama day at school for your preschool student even though they go to the same school. This is very inconvenient for you but also the hand that has been dealt. Your preschool student is losing her ever loving mind because she can’t wear pajamas to school and you send her to her room because you literally can’t even with this tantrum.

Check your heart rate on your Fitbit. Are you flying into the 100s with rage because the preschooler’s wails have boiled your blood? Take a minute to cool off before going upstairs to convince her that she will someday in the near future in her life get to wear pajamas again. Alright, deep breaths. Is your heart rate back into the 90s, 80s, 70s, 60s…. Now you can walk upstairs and deal with this.

I think the heart rate monitor is supposed to be for running or something, I use it when my kids are running their mouths.

Date Reminder

Scene: You’re signing a kindergarten form, a check for the insurance company, a contract for work. You write your name neatly in the space provided. You sign your name in a way that would make your cursive teacher cringe. Then it’s time to write the date.

The date? I don’t know! It might be September 1st? October 16th? The blurteenth of Marcember? Your brain is fried and you don’t have time to think about the date any longer than you already have been staring at this form.

Hit that side button on your handy wrist Date Reminder, give it a couple of taps to get to the date, and you have your answer.

Bedtime Monitor

Scene: It’s 6:30 pm on a Wednesday. You’ve had a very busy day running in every which direction trying to be all the things to all the people. You’ve just managed to make some dinner that only 1/2 of your family refused to eat and now the kids have entered into a game that can best be described as “Who Can Make The Vein in Mommy’s Forehead Pop.”

Is it bedtime yet?

No? Not yet? How about now?

If you’re trying to step away from your phone for a little while after you all get home from work and school and enjoy some family togetherness, you may lose track of the time. But with your convenient wrist-based Bedtime Monitor, you can keep an eye on the time as your children and the dog run circles around the kitchen. Then you can proudly announce promptly at 7:30 on the dot that everyone needs to go brush their teeth.

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Midday Slump Waker

Scene: It’s 2:49 pm on a Saturday. You are on the couch reading books to your kids because they’ve already watched a movie this morning, and been on their Kindles in the afternoon, and supposedly reading to children is good for them.

But man, you’re tired… The afternoon slump has hit you hard, in no small part due to the late-night flashlight usage from the evening before, and the book your kids picked is painfully boring. Simply painful. How many times can these seven little bunnies walk down the road to call on good friend toad before they actually get to toad’s house? How far away is this house!?

So you start to nod off mid sentence. But since you haven’t moved a lot in the past hour, your Fitbit/Midday Slump Waker gives you a little buzz at ten minutes to 3. Time to get moving, lady! Get those 250 steps! Or at least wake up long enough to finish saying the word cabbage because apparently these bunnies had to stop for cabbage on the way to toad’s house.

I seriously can’t with this book.

Missing Phone Substitute

Scene: You are playing on the floor with your kids because you’re a wonderful mother. There’s a tea party to your right, LEGOS to your left, and two happy children in front of you. The problem is you haven’t seen your phone for the past several hours. There’s a good chance one of our kids put it in the fridge, or you put it in the fridge, or the dog buried it in the backyard.

Good news is that you can still get your text messages!

If you set up your notifications in the Fitbit app your wrist will get a little buzz and the message comes through. You can’t reply, but at least you’ll have a sense of what is happening in your social life. And if you are going to have an unexpected visitor soon and need to panic clean.

We haven't panic cleaned for visitors in a while and it shows.

Sleep Debate Partner

Scene: It’s 6 am. You and your partner are laying in bed and you’re both claiming that it was a rough night. The baby was up all night. The toddler was up all night. No one wants to be awake, but someone has to go tend to the preschooler who is going to starting pouring Froot Loops all by herself if an adult doesn’t intervene.

You could turn this into a he said/she said situation and rely on your own memories of who got up more times during the night and who subsequently should now be getting their butt out of bed.

OR you could use the sleep tracker on your Fitbit to show your partner that you indeed were awake for 2 hours last night in 30-minute intervals whereas he or she was only up for 45 minutes. Boom, argument won. Back to bed you go!

Crimson Wave Meteorologist

Scene: You and your partner are thinking about having another baby. A quick Google search reminder on “how are babies made” tells you that you’re going to need to make some time in your lives to do the deed either pretty frequently or at least within your monthly window of opportunity. But when is that again? When was my last period? Ugh, I don’t know. I can tell you when my last question mark was.

Now to be honest, I’ve never used the Fitbit for fertility. But I did use multiple apps and charts in the years leading up to Jack’s birth. I also almost set fire to all of those apps and charts because they were stressful…

However, if the ability to track the arrival of Aunt Flo, the Crimson Wave, or any other cutesy euphemism for menstruation and it’s fertile friend ovulation would be helpful for you, the Fitbit app has that function. One less additional app to download!

Personal Zen Master

Scene: Your preschooler still hasn’t calmed down about the aforementioned pajama day incident, it’s only 7:35 am and Mama already needs a break. Really what Mama needs is a three day all-inclusive spa visit, but a little break would be good too.

Here’s where the Relax function comes in!

On your Fitbit, select the Relax app and choose from a 2 minute or 5 minute deep breathing exercise. You might need to lock yourself in the bathroom for the kids to leave you alone for 2 minutes to actually complete the breathing exercise, but it does work. Check you out, being all mindful!

Mom Cheerleader

Scene: You have been busting your tail all day long. Putting out fires (figuratively and literally), tying up loose ends (again figuratively and literally) and overall just being a total boss. But now you’re tired. In fact, you’ve been tired all day/week/month/year.

Enter your personal cheerleader! If you take 250 steps in an hour, Fitbit is going to cheer for you. Climb the stairs a dozen times to go get a missing stuffed animal, hairbrush or shoe, your Fitbit gives you credit. If you hit your step goal for the day, the sweet thing throws you a tiny digital parade with fireworks!

Moms all need more cheerleaders in our corners, and one that lives on your wrist is quite convenient.

Best Fitbit for Mom Life

There’s a pretty solid list right there and notice I didn’t talk about anything related to fitness! Of course, Fitbits are great for that too and you can track your water intake, your food, and your weight using this little gadget and the Fitbit app. But, I think you’re amazing and beautiful exactly how you are and I really just want you to have a wrist flashlight.

Convinced that you could use a Fitbit or it sounds like a great gift for a mom you love? Let’s check out some options, shall we?

I’m a big fan of the Fitbit Inspire HR. It has a thin band, tons of features available on the Fitbit and the app, and it’s less than $100. If you want to skip the heart rate function, go with the Fitbit Inspire for under $70.

Check out some more great Fitbits below too!

Happy Fitbiting, Mama!