Product Spotlight: Baby Monitors

cato99 · February 2019

Hi everyone! This week we're spotlighting baby monitors, those magical devices that help us get some rest in a different room from baby.

What baby monitors do people have? What functionalities of your baby monitors do you use? Just audio-visual or do you also play lullabies or talk to your babies? And in a larger sense, what were your guidelines and recommendations for choosing one? Range? Image quality? The attraction of WiFi-enabled apps on your phone? Connection security? Would or did you choose the same one for a second baby and beyond? Please share!

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wabash15 · February 2019

I am a tin-foil hat person (well at least a bit) and even the tiniest chance someone could hack into my baby monitor and watch me or talk to my baby,... nope, nope, nope! so we are old-school with audio only and love it.

aecm · February 2019

We have an Infant Optics DXR-8, and overall I’ve been happy with it. It’s audio-visual, and has great range (all over our decently large house, and even into our neighbors back yard!). I’ve been happy with image quality, and it switches to a “night vision” setting in the dark. It doesn’t have any fancy phone apps, but personally I don’t mind just toting the monitor around wherever I go. We’ll be continuing to use it for the twins, just adding an extra camera.

Allycat11 · February 2019

We use a very basic baby monitor, I can't even recall what brand it is because we rarely use it. With the layout of our house I can hear sounds coming from the nursery from almost anywhere in the house, it is more helpful when I want to go out into the yard while LO is napping. There have been maybe a handful of times that I thought it would be nice to see what is happening in there without opening the door so I do not feel the need to have a video monitor, also the security of them makes me very uncomfortable.

WinchesterGirl · February 2019

We have a summer infant video monitor. It was on sale at BRU, so that's the one we got. It has lasted fairly well over 2 years now, but I don't know if we'll be able to add a camera. If we can, that's what we'll do for #2.

I was very anxious having LO out of my sight when he was tiny, and I like the video monitor if for no reason than peace of mind that they're still breathing and nothing has changed.

I'm no security buff, but it doesn't hook to a wifi network and comes linked to the receiver from the factory. I have chosen not to go down the rabbit hole of video monitor security issues.

EmilyA724 · February 2019

I’m having such a hard time finding one I like. Right now we have a Samsung, which I really like, but want a newer version to add a camera and it doesn’t seem like they’re making them anymore?

My must-haves are VOX mode, being able to move the camera through the monitor, multiple cameras, and well-rated. Temp reading would be nice. I do not want an app, I like having it as a separate unit and I don’t want to have to rely on WiFi.

Lotus_2008 · February 2019

We're considering is getting a non-baby camera (like Nest brand) and putting it in baby's room to use as a video monitor. I feel like the security might be a little better and we'd be able to use after we're done using it with baby. We'd probably still get an inexpensive audio-only monitor.

BigBadWolf12 · February 2019

We've only used a baby monitor when traveling (cheapest one we could find haha). At home we don't even use one bc he's not far away and we can hear him if he needs us. For those of you with huge houses or if youre super deep sleepers I'm no help, but if you aren't sleeping far from baby its not necessarily a necessity.

wanderlustsoul · February 2019

I’m trying to find a good one that they have here. I don’t want wifi as I don’t trust it.

mkrel · February 2019

We have a hello baby monitor we ordered off of amazon. It is a very basic video monitor with good range and does not use wifi. Someone in my past BMB had someone hack into their camera and talk to their baby, so I would recommend something that does not connect to wifi. We also have a security camera in her room, but it is on a secure network. There is a slight delay with those though, so something to keep in mind. I believe our monitor was around $80 and we plan to buy a second one for this baby.

wabash15 · February 2019

@mkrel ugg that is my nightmare....

ash0625 · February 2019

We have the Arlo security system and use the baby monitor camera is our son's room. I like having a visual so I can check in without going into his room, but we also use cheap (I don't even know the brand) audio monitors because I don't want to have the app pulled up on my phone every time he's in his room.

zamoraspin · February 2019

@aecm The Infant Optics is the one I was thinking of going with so I'm glad you like it. I think I saw it recommended in Baby Bargains. FYI for folks, it is not on wireless so it says it is made with digital privacy in mind. This is it on Amazon.

Question: Do/did any moms use the Owlet monitor or similar? My sister has one for my niece and has really liked it but I've read conflicting things, including that they are not worth it and that they just add a false sense of security. I'm kind of leaning no on getting one but would be curious for other's experiences.

grangerhp37 · February 2019

@aecm @zamora_spin That’s the one I was looking at on Amazon! I’ll stick with it 😊

cato99 · February 2019

I had similar hackability concerns to many of you so I didn't get one with WiFi or handy apps. Someone in DD's BMB had someone hack the camera control and move it to face the seat where she always nursed, yikes. We have this Philips Avent one and I honestly can't remember the exact specifications that led me to it, only that I read a number of articles on connection security and this one seemed to click a lot of boxes. It looks like the Infant Optics one others are recommending is pretty similar!

mkrel · February 2019

@zamora_spin We used the snuza monitor and loved it. I'm a nurse and I knew I would over analyze the O2 sat and heart rate with the owlet. O2 sat readings can also be off very easily with user error. I've never tried the monitor so I don't know how user friendly it is.
The thing we liked about the snuza is we never had false alarms, and if it didn't feel baby moving (abdomen) for 15 seconds it would send a light vibration to stimulate breathing. THEN it would alarm it baby didn't respond to that. The light would turn from green to red if it vibrated at all in the night, and I did wake up to a red light a few times so it clearly did it's job and worked. We plan to replace the batteries and use it again with this baby.

aecm · February 2019

I forgot to mention... the Infant Optics one has a room temperature reading, but I don’t trust it. It consistently reads about 3F higher than our thermostat, and I KNOW the room does not feel 75F. I also know one other person who has the same problem with it. But yeah, other than that, it’s a good monitor.

Amdogger82 · February 2019

We have the summer infant sure sight 2.0. It's pretty basic--no wifi, not amazing picture quality, but good enough. We'd had a nicer one that was given to us second hand and then died,and we've found that a more basic version suits our needs fine. Its also expandable up to 4 cameras. I would recommend it as a budget option!

goldfishcraker · February 2019

I just wanna say...what kind of freaking creeper sicko would hack a baby monitor?! Especially to scare a child! Some People are disgusting...

database6 · February 2019

@mkrel we are looking into the Snuza and I think you just sold me on it.

We used the AngelCare monitor with the movement pad under the mattress for our first. It actually still works almost 6 years later but I do want to get a newer one with a better picture and range.

*edited because I had forgotten the name of our monitor

Beauxbaton · February 2019

We used to have a Philips monitor but they eventually stopped.working I think. So we got two of these and they defidefinit get the job done. Pretty much my only requirements for a monitor is that the parent unit is rechargable and that it has a "talk back" feature, that way if me and DH need to communicate in the middle of the night we can. It also comes in handy if one of the boys asks a question while I'm in my room or something.

www.amazon.com/dp/B007NG5UF4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Q9hBCbK7Z750V

We also have an Angelcare monitor with the two connecting mats that we used with the first two. When DD was a baby she was in a bassinet next to the bed until she was 6 months old. Then it didn't feel so necessary, plus it was the third kid so we were a lot more lax.

aevan011 · February 2019

We had a basic audio one with DS but our house was so small I rarely used it. We ended up giving it away before moving overseas bc the frequency or something would make it unusable.

Our floor plan now is much different and we started using our Canary security cam as a monitor. I love it because of ease of use and we move it to the main area of the house when we leave town. It is a basic model but has temperature/air quality monitor, night vision, and we monitor through a phone app. It also will alert with movement if we set that up and record short frames when movement is detected. If you pay for a yearly membership you can have some extra features like talking through it and long term recording abilities.

We plan to get a second one once next baby moves to their own room probably. All that being said, I haven't done my due research on the WiFi security but I figure if my husband thinks it's secure enough, then I'm good.

mikaela32323 · February 2019

I want a baby camera that has 2-way audio. That way I can hear what's going on, but also talk to my daughter while I'm away. I've been browsing a few different ones. Not sure how much I'm willing to spend though

suzycupcake · February 2019

wabash15 said:

I am a tin-foil hat person (well at least a bit) and even the tiniest chance someone could hack into my baby monitor and watch me or talk to my baby,... nope, nope, nope! so we are old-school with audio only and love it.

agpandme · March 2019

What kind of monitor would you suggest for someone with property? For example, If the baby is down and I need to go outside and check an animal or something. What monitor has the greatest range? I have 5 acres.

WinchesterGirl · March 2019

@agpandme Our video monitor doesn't have range like that (I think it maxes at a few hundred feet), but that's considered part of the safety features now. So probably a plain voice-only would be your best bet? Plus those tend to have a belt clip & our video monitor does not.

agpandme · March 2019

I found one with 900 feet, seems like obstructions aren't a problem. Probably will get a voice one for a back up just in case we find out that the long range one doesn't work at our place. I don't need to go very far but the barn at least would be nice.

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