The Elvie Rise is an app-controlled baby bouncer that can be converted into a bassinet without moving the baby. Unfortunately, it costs $799 and isn’t suitable for tots over six months of age.

For Graves, 54, the bassinet embodies the small-town Americana that continued to personify the Orange of her childhood. Her parents still have the ranch they moved to when Graves was around 7.

Secondhand models of the Snoo smart bassinet, which retails for $1,700, became less attractive last month when its maker, Happiest Baby, debuted a new monthly fee required to access functions like ...