Video monitors with night vision??

Amandanmoen · May 2014

My H is dead set on a video monitor. It's one of the only things he has a strong opinion on so I'm going along with it and starting to do some research. I noticed that only a few models have a "night vision" feature which seems really important to me. Is it? Or can you get by with a night light?

Also, please share any experience you have with these and whether they're worth it or not. I'm blown away by the price but don't want to object unless I've got a really good reason to!

ss265 · May 2014

We have the Motorola MBP36 which has infra-red or night vision so we don't need a night light in the room to see the baby at night. It's up to you if you want to use a night light and avoid buying a monitor with night vision but some babies need absolute darkness to sleep at night. And even with a night light, some monitors may not be able to pick up the image of the baby clearly.

For me personally a video monitor was absolutely essential but we have a two storey house and the nursery is upstairs with the master downstairs. If we just have an audio monitor, it would drive me nuts having to climb the stairs all the time to check on the baby in person.

FWIW, we have been really happy with our monitor and with Motorola's customer service. They recently sent us a brand new monitor even after the warranty period because ours stopped working.

baloneydisc · May 2014

We have a Foscam and love it. DD is almost 2.5 and it still works great. It was like $100. The one we got isn't actually a baby monitor, but they do have one now. Ours can be viewed on any smartphone, tablet or computer.

greeneyed_bride · May 2014

We got a cheap one (that I wouldn't recommend because it had issues,) but it still had night vision. I really like having one, and we still use it with our two year old. Sometimes if I hear my son make a noise, it's hard to tell if he's awake or just making noises in his sleep (he can be a noisy sleeper.) So it's nice to be able to check to see without going into his room. Also, if he starts crying but is still lying down, there's an excellent chance that he'll go back to sleep, whereas if he's crying and standing up, he's not going to go back to sleep without some help. That's nice to be able to check without going in, because if he sees me, he'll want me, even if he would've gone back to sleep otherwise.

Mnerani · May 2014

Absolutely essential for us and I'm getting an additional camera for LO #2 as well. We've got the fancy pants Motorola which I adore. We had a cheaper Summer model at first and it doesn't even come close to the Motorola. Worth every penny.

Among many other advantages, this saved me during sleeping training, as I was able to see LO and assure myself that he was OK even though he was crying.

On MANY occasions, it's prevented me from going in and waking up LO. Without the monitor, I can't tell if he's crying/talking in his sleep, or because he's fully awake. But with the monitor, I can see when he's just resettling himself in his sleep, so I don't go in unnecessarily and accidentally wake him up.

lizshort96 · May 2014

Totally agree with the Motorola MBP36. Love it so much we're getting a third camera now that DD is on the way. Ours came with 2 cameras so currently one above DS's crib and one in the play room/travel. This model is able to have up to 4 cameras, so we'll get another for above DD crib. DH thought it was an unnecessary purchase but now he tells everyone how wonderful it is. I like that its not on our wifi, so no hacking by strangers like you see in the news.

jg1011 · May 2014

I have the Motorola as well. We are quite happy with it.

alysonmh · May 2014

I personally won't be getting a monitor with night vision only because I can't justify the money being spent for our personal budget. I'm sleeping at night, not watching the baby on my monitor so I don't find it all that necessary. I don't need to see it every time it makes a peep. We do have a one story house though so if I did hear something weird that I couldn't see it wouldn't take much time to just go check. I didn't even have any type of monitor with my first baby and didn't have a single issue with not having one. In my opinion a super fancy one really isn't necessary but if you have plenty of money then why not, otherwise you will be just fine without one. After all parents have done it for thousands of years without them

MrsDL · May 2014

I had a regular monitor with DS, I read mixed reviews on video monitors so I didn't get one but might actually get one for this baby. DS was a horrible sleeper and I was a paranoid mom (we did have a motion sensor for SIDS which helped me sleep better the first few months), once we got him into the crib I probably went in his room to check on him way more than I should have, he'd wake up and it didn't help with sleep training.

I have many neighbors who have and love them, at least two of them have the night vision ones. That said, they put LOs to bed, lock the house, and will venture over to neighbors to socialize (mostly outside in the summers). While they can see the kids with the monitor and their homes, there is zero way I would feel comfortable doing this.

stacyslo · May 2014

We had the Summer Infant Slim n Secure that has night vision for our first and it worked great, we occasionally still use it (he's 3). I loved being able to peek at. Also, during sleep training it was super helpful. My only issue is that we have a large yard and I can barely get out onto the patio and the range goes out, so it's useless for carrying with you if you want to do anything outside while they nap.

Manateearmz · May 2014

I did not do one with our first. I've learned my lesson and plan on getting a video monitor this time. Trust me, it will be money well spent.

abb08 · May 2014

We considered this essential with our first, but not until he was about 8 or 9 months. He was very noisy and it was so difficult to tell (without the video monitor) whether there was a problem or he was just being weird.

We had one of the very first Motorola ones that we got on woot (much, much cheaper than they are now). It crapped out on us last year, but we will get one for DD.

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