do you have a baby monitor?

eacerna · July 2010

Is it essential?
Do you have the regular or video monitor?
Which brand do you have?
Do you like/not like it?

We registered for a regular monitor (Sony; had good review on BB book). but now I'm wondering whether I should change it or not.

lola808 · July 2010

Is it essential? I'd say yes, even in our one story, smallish house.
Do you have the regular or video monitor? Regular
Which brand do you have? Graco Ultra Clear II
Do you like/not like it? Sure, it does the job just fine. And it's only $28. But I could see splurging on the video if you have a big house or plan to regularly have baby on a different floor. I like to pop in for a look every now and then.

myday1708 · July 2010

Essential? YES!!!!

Regular or video? VIDEO

Brand? Summer Infant Best View Handheld Color Video Monitor

Do you like it? LOVE IT!! Absolutely one of the BEST baby items we purchased!!! I can't imagine not having video. I use it every day, multiple times a day, having video is essential for me. Because...

1) I don't put Alexa down asleep, so I can watch her on the video while she crawls around and puts herself to sleep;

2) Babies have sleep cycles where they naturally wake up multiple times a night. If I had a regular monitor I would hear her fuss for a second and not know if she was up or not. WIth video, I can check quickly and see that she's just rolling over and not waking up. Or, I watch her sit up and flop back down asleep.

3) We have a colonial style house with an upstairs (where nursery is), downstairs, and basement (where laundry room is). With video, I can check on her anywhere and not have to keep running up the stairs and opening her door, which would probably wake her up.

4) I like to be able to check on her when she wakes up. Usually, I'm still in bed. So when I hear her, I don't have to jump up and go in right away I can just check the video from bed. Before we got bumpers, she stuck her arms in the slats and when I saw that, I rushed in to get her. Now, I can see if she is standing up, sitting, sleeping or happily playing in her crib... I would feel so blind without my video monitor!

I would note that I only use the volume downstairs. When I go to bed, I put the monitor on my bedside table and turn both the sound and video off. We can hear her across the hall when she wakes up. Then I'll push the button to check the video before deciding when to get her.

mrspresley · July 2010

pretty much exactly what Malia said! couldn't live w/o mine and now that we are at my parents' house i am totally missing it!

Married2MrWright · July 2010

Is it essential? For us? Not really. We bed-share and only use it for naps. Our home is small (1300 sq. feet, one story and her room is right next to ours) so we can hear her in her room anyway. But we got the Angelcare and it does detect movement (like breathing) and when she was younger it gave us peace of mind for sure.

Do you have the regular or video monitor? Which brand do you have?
Do you like/not like it?

I have the Angelcare that comes with one parent unit. It was $90 at Walmart. We like it and are glad we didn't spend the money on a more expensive set-up since we're not really using it anyway.

eacerna · July 2010

mrspresley:
pretty much exactly what Malia said! couldn't live w/o mine and now that we are at my parents' house i am totally missing it!

hmm this makes me think twice now and switch to the video monitor instead. we have a 2 story house and i would to go up and down the stairs every minute (although it will be a good workout) to check on the baby.

MauiWedding08 · July 2010

Is it essential? maybe it depends on the house - but it is for us. Nursery is at the opposite end of the house and we have a basement where we can't hear anything. Even with him not sleeping in his own room at night we use it for naps and will like it for when he does transition. Also good for times when I sneak out (not far) to do some gardening.
Do you have the regular or video monitor? video. probably not essential but I like the ability to look at him.
Which brand do you have? summer infant
Do you like/not like it?so far, so good.

redshoegirl · July 2010

Is it essential? Yes, if only for peace of mind! Plus even though I can kinda hear them from our room at night, sometimes I've been so tired that I'd have slept through crying if I didn't have the speaker next to my head amplifying the volume.

Do you have the regular or video monitor? Regular. If we got anything else we'd have had to buy two, but the sound only works for both babies. I've never missed video, just sound has been 100% fine (and I'm a nervous parent lol!).

Which brand do you have? Fisher Price Sound & Lights

Do you like/not like it? I HATE it. Do NOT buy this one! We originally bought the Sony Baby Call from the USA because of all the awesome reviews but it wouldn't work with the power here. So we got the cheapest one I could find in the stores here just to tide us over until I found something better and OMFG it's sh!t. Only 2 channels and our wireless devices interfere with it so you get random bursts of LOUD static (this wouldn't happen with the Sony one). Ugh!

inamra · July 2010

eacerna:
mrspresley:
pretty much exactly what Malia said! couldn't live w/o mine and now that we are at my parents' house i am totally missing it!
hmm this makes me think twice now and switch to the video monitor instead. we have a 2 story house and i would to go up and down the stairs every minute (although it will be a good workout) to check on the baby.

Since you have a two-story and I assume that you'll have a nursery, I would say that it's pretty essential. We don't have a monitor because we're currently in a small 1br apt and the baby sleeps in our room. We were co-sleeping until this week and now he's in his crib but still in the same room, so there's no need for a monitor right now. But we'll be moving soon and he'll have his own room, but we're going to just use our webcam/extra laptop as a video monitor. I would suggest video over just audio because I always want to be able to see him too, but that's just me...

mrspresley · July 2010

eacerna:
mrspresley:
pretty much exactly what Malia said! couldn't live w/o mine and now that we are at my parents' house i am totally missing it!
hmm this makes me think twice now and switch to the video monitor instead. we have a 2 story house and i would to go up and down the stairs every minute (although it will be a good workout) to check on the baby.

I don't mind running up and down the stairs actually (during the daytime)... for me, it's more useful at night when you are sleeping/super tired/half awake and the baby cries...you can switch on the monitor and check and see if baby is fussing/going to settle or if baby needs tending to. or, like malia said...if you put them down sleepy but awake and need to know if they are settling or if they are wide awake.

but yes... now that she is older it is nice to be able to be on a different floor of the house and see her on the video monitor. she doesn't cry often when she wakes up from a nap, just plays in her crib (and even though our home isn't big it's hard to hear her). so if i don't have an eye on her i'd have to go in and check on her all the time when she is napping just to see if she is up yet.

sanae78 · July 2010

Not essential for us. We registered for one and got it as a gift but kaya is loud enough that we don't need it. I can hear her from anywhere in the house even though we have a two story. When we put her down we keep the door cracked so I stand outside her room and watch her sometimes. If you get one, keep the receipt in case you find you don't need it.

lelekay · July 2010

myday1708:
Essential? YES!!!!
Regular or video? VIDEO
Brand? Summer Infant Best View Handheld Color Video Monitor
Do you like it? LOVE IT!! Absolutely one of the BEST baby items we purchased!!! I can't imagine not having video. I use it every day, multiple times a day, having video is essential for me. Because...
1) I don't put Alexa down asleep, so I can watch her on the video while she crawls around and puts herself to sleep;
2) Babies have sleep cycles where they naturally wake up multiple times a night. If I had a regular monitor I would hear her fuss for a second and not know if she was up or not. WIth video, I can check quickly and see that she's just rolling over and not waking up. Or, I watch her sit up and flop back down asleep.
3) We have a colonial style house with an upstairs (where nursery is), downstairs, and basement (where laundry room is). With video, I can check on her anywhere and not have to keep running up the stairs and opening her door, which would probably wake her up.
4) I like to be able to check on her when she wakes up. Usually, I'm still in bed. So when I hear her, I don't have to jump up and go in right away I can just check the video from bed. Before we got bumpers, she stuck her arms in the slats and when I saw that, I rushed in to get her. Now, I can see if she is standing up, sitting, sleeping or happily playing in her crib... I would feel so blind without my video monitor!
I would note that I only use the volume downstairs. When I go to bed, I put the monitor on my bedside table and turn both the sound and video off. We can hear her across the hall when she wakes up. Then I'll push the button to check the video before deciding when to get her.

Glad to hear it! We have the same one, and I can't wait to use it. We have a split-level that have four different levels of the house, and our bedroom is different from the nursery. He'll sleep with us at first, but once he's in the nursery more full-time, I really wanted to be able to see him, as well as hear him.

HulaLove · July 2010

We have the angel care mnonitor. I think it's our most wasteful baby purchase ($150). We turned off the breathing monitor very early on because we couldn't get the sensitivity right so it kept going off for no reason. IMO it is a product that is sold based on parents fears.

For us the monitor is necessary because we have a two story house. I often wish that we had a video monitor for all the reasons the other girls stated.

myday1708 · July 2010

mrspresley:
pretty much exactly what Malia said! couldn't live w/o mine and now that we are at my parents' house i am totally missing it!

Have you tried taking it with you? We take ours to DH's mom's house and also his dad's house! We also took it with us to Chicago. We can usually find somewhere to place the video monitor so that we can see into the Pack 'n Play or the crib at his mom's. Like I said... I can't live without ours!

I would add that I LOVE our exact kind/brand. It is digital and not on a radio frequency so we get great reception and no interference from neighbors or while using our cell phones.

However, it does have a weird green light on the video camera tho, so we put a piece of duct tape over the light so it wouldn't be distracting to Alexa. We read a lot of reviews about it on Amazon before choosing this and everyone said they use duct tape, so that's where we got the idea of covering it.

vanilla15 · July 2010

side note - we registered for a video monitor (b/c of a lot of the suggestions from you) & I just wanted to double check that I had registered for one that a lot of you recommended. I just jumped on my registry not not only had I registered for it, BUT someone had purchased it already! WooHoo!! I am sure it must be close family b/c the shower invitations haven't gone out yet! But yay! One thing for sure off my list!

redshoegirl · July 2010

HulaLove:
We have the angel care mnonitor. I think it's our most wasteful baby purchase ($150). We turned off the breathing monitor very early on because we couldn't get the sensitivity right so it kept going off for no reason. IMO it is a product that is sold based on parents fears.

This is why we didn't get an Angelcare (not to mention that they're $$$ and we'd have needed two of them). I've read that false alarms are very common, plus they're really only useful until your baby starts to move around. I have no regrets about not getting one. Smile

Married2MrWright · July 2010

redshoegirl:
HulaLove:

We have the angel care mnonitor. I think it's our most wasteful baby purchase ($150). We turned off the breathing monitor very early on because we couldn't get the sensitivity right so it kept going off for no reason. IMO it is a product that is sold based on parents fears.

This is why we didn't get an Angelcare (not to mention that they're $$$ and we'd have needed two of them). I've read that false alarms are very common, plus they're really only useful until your baby starts to move around. I have no regrets about not getting one.

Hmmm...I got ours for $80 (only one parent unit) and we've never had a false alarm. That said, Libby's crib has a solid board under the mattress...if you have slats or springs I've read you need to add a thin piece of luan under the monitor to avoid false alarms. I do agree that it does play on parent's fears...the first 12 weeks of Libby's life I was SO afraid of SIDS that I was a wreck. Next time I will be more chill and just go with bed-sharing from night one. Breastfeeding and bed-sharing safely has shown to decrease the odds of SIDS and honestly the more research that is being done the more that they're realizing that it may be a neurological thing. Unsafe sleeping is another issue entirely, but the research shows that safe bedsharing can be done with breastfeeding mothers who are sober, not heavy sleepers and have their bed situated in a way to keep baby safe.

mrspresley · July 2010

myday1708:
mrspresley:
pretty much exactly what Malia said! couldn't live w/o mine and now that we are at my parents' house i am totally missing it!

Have you tried taking it with you? We take ours to DH's mom's house and also his dad's house! We also took it with us to Chicago. We can usually find somewhere to place the video monitor so that we can see into the Pack 'n Play or the crib at his mom's. Like I said... I can't live without ours!

I would add that I LOVE our exact kind/brand. It is digital and not on a radio frequency so we get great reception and no interference from neighbors or while using our cell phones.

However, it does have a weird green light on the video camera tho, so we put a piece of duct tape over the light so it wouldn't be distracting to Alexa. We read a lot of reviews about it on Amazon before choosing this and everyone said they use duct tape, so that's where we got the idea of covering it.

haha - you know, I didn't even think to pack it! but truthfully i have soooo much stuff that it is hard to pack everything i want to take w/me. her CDs take up a lot of room and i try not to check any bags. if i was traveling with DH in both directions i totally would have (if i had remembered LOL) but since i am traveling back to DFW alone i had less room.

oh and thanks for the tip about the light!! it doesn't distract her from sleeping (yet) but she does sit there and stare up at it when she wakes up LOL

cecig · July 2010

For sure go with the video monitor!

I regret getting the regular kind, especially since we're getting ready to move Cassie to her big girl bed soon. It's going to kill me not being able to see what she's doing in her bedroom.

MrsZiz · July 2010

redshoegirl:
Is it essential? Yes, if only for peace of mind! Plus even though I can kinda hear them from our room at night, sometimes I've been so tired that I'd have slept through crying if I didn't have the speaker next to my head amplifying the volume.
Do you have the regular or video monitor? Regular. If we got anything else we'd have had to buy two, but the sound only works for both babies. I've never missed video, just sound has been 100% fine (and I'm a nervous parent lol!).
Which brand do you have? Fisher Price Sound & Lights
Do you like/not like it? I HATE it. Do NOT buy this one! We originally bought the Sony Baby Call from the USA because of all the awesome reviews but it wouldn't work with the power here. So we got the cheapest one I could find in the stores here just to tide us over until I found something better and OMFG it's sh!t. Only 2 channels and our wireless devices interfere with it so you get random bursts of LOUD static (this wouldn't happen with the Sony one). Ugh!

We have the same monitor and it does SUCK! It does the job, I can see the lights (they light up red when baby makes noise) so I like that but other than that, it's really staticy (sp)

However we do live in a ranch style house so there's no reason we need much but it does the job for when we're doing yard work or something and she's napping.

Even in our house I would have LOVED to have the video monitor, especially now that she's oolder. Now when you go in, she stands up in the crib and calls your name UGH that's enough to make you pick her up! I wish I could watch her to decide if she's just tossing and turning or if I really needed to go in there Maybe with the next kid we'll splurge on it... it is a SPLURGE though, those things aren't cheap.. our current one was less than $30.

TwoBumbleBees · July 2010

Yes, and we love it. Regular, two handsets, plenty frequencies, about $80. Great if you like to BBQ or need to work in the yard, garage, etc. We bought two, for different rooms and I abused one handset, so we still have 3 handsets. Don't need video, you start to recognize sounds. Burps, farts, hiccups, rapid breathing, whines, etc. And the handset lights up according to how loud the sound is. Fisher Price. I did a lot of research before I bought, and it seemed the best. But there is another that looks just like it, also from FP, but it has bad reviews. Mine is the newer one and has a short antenna. Lights up half circle orange. The first set I bought was defective.. check to make sure it works fully before tossing the box. (one handset did not have audio). Or the audio might not be very loud. We have one handset that is not as loud as the others. 900MHZ. I can even listen to the tv when outside. Central air and ceiling fans not a problem... window unit a/c is too loud .. probably could hear them if they cried, but the hum/static on your end is irritating!

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