Product Spotlight Series: Baby Monitors

kagesstarshroom · October 2019

The Product Spotlight Series continues! Each week we spotlight a new category of product. If you discover something new or are new to the board, you're welcome to comment on threads like these throughout your time here, not just when it's their week in the spotlight. Answer the questions below or just riff on your thoughts/experiences of the product. Pictures/screen grabs, if put in spoilers, are welcome! Links are always helpful! This week it's... Baby Monitors!

S(+)TMs: Give us the pros and cons of what you have and/or why you want the new one you want? What brand(s)/specific monitors have you used? Which one is best and why? What functionalities are the most useful? 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?

FTMs: What brands/specific monitors are you interested in? What functionalities are you looking for/why? Range? Image quality? The attraction of WiFi-enabled apps on your phone? Connection security? What questions do you have?

To view the upcoming PSS schedule, based off of S19's, see here: March 2020 PSS Spreadsheet!
Up next week: Baby Apparel

chichiphin · October 2019

hooray! new product spotlight!

I think we are planning on a nest cam to build in to our current system and maybe just a cheapie sound-only one for when the baby isn't in the nursery.

for those who have done the owlet, was it worth it? did it make you crazy or give peace of mind? i'm leaning toward it giving me TOO much info and making me crazy.....

momoftoddlers · October 2019

I am the kind of person whose anxiety skyrockets when she has too much info, so we did not use an owlet or a video monitor for either baby. We did have a cheap audio monitor but ended up not needing it bc the acoustics of our house made it so we could hear baby anywhere. But this item is largely personal preference and the layout of your house. I would recommend not spending too much til you’re sure, or saving your receipt .

stassischroeder · October 2019

My mom gave me some weird, off-brand (Onega?) video monitor before DS was born. It was fine, but recently broke, so we just ordered the Infant Optics system because it seems like an good option for keeping an eye on two kiddos at the same time. I have to agree with @momoftoddlers that having a video monitor almost gave me more anxiety at first because I couldn't stop staring at it, BUT my guess is that I would've otherwise just been walking into the nursery to check on DS every 5 minutes if I didn't have the video monitor.
Since the original video monitor broke a few months ago, so we've just been using a cheapie audio monitor in the meantime. It's fine, I guess, but for me it's really helpful to have the video because then I can see if he's crying because he needs me, or if he's just crying in his sleep or something (yes, this happens). DS is the type where if I go to him once when he cries, then he immediately starts getting in the habit of crying just to see me. So, it's really helpful to know if there's an actual issue or if he's just being a goober.

Personally I think the two-way talk and lullaby options are entirely useless. And I prefer monitors that don't use my phone's screen.

varimama · October 2019

We have the Infant Optics dxr8 video system. I like it a lot. The one con I’ve found is after about a year the amount of charge the monitor holds is variable. Never know if it’ll be 30s or 3 hrs. So I have to make sure I have an outlet nearby. Before that though I even would take it outside when we did bonfires and it’d work just fine. I like that I can talk back to DS on it bc sometimes all he needs at night is a reassuring “I love you, you are safe”. Then he rolls over and goes back to sleep. I also like to see what he’s hollering about, is he yelling help because he needs me or because he knows it’ll get my attention. Usually it’s the latter and he’s fine so I know to ignore him and he’ll stop in 30s, but like today he yelled it and he had his foot seriously wedged through his crib bar somehow so he legit needed help.

I think we will buy another system since it’s only a little more than just buying the extra camera and then we’ll have a new monitor that holds a charge. I want something like the owlette but Idk if we can afford the owlette or will go with like a snuza. I used to be up counting breaths for hours when I should have been sleeping with DS so I don’t want to be like that this time around and would rather have a few false alarms than constantly waking up in a panic unable to sleep because I was afraid my baby might stop breathing.

miss.sally · October 2019

We got a Motorola video monitor with DS and it was fine. I still use it. It has the two-way talk but I don’t think I’ve ever used it. The cord has started malfunctioning some which is annoying.

I scored a summer infant one at a local consignment sale with two cameras though so I’ll be switching to that once baby comes. I haven’t even taken it out of the packaging yet to see if it works. I should do that.

kailanae · October 2019

When we just had one kid, we had a cheap VTech audio monitor. This worked fine for us. It was also easy to take along with us if we were visiting family through a nap time and wanted to be able to set baby up for a nap there. When I was pregnant with DS2, we got the Infant Optics video monitors (2 cameras and one parent unit). Similar to @varimama, our parent unit has an unreliable charge now - we can sometimes tote it around with us but usually keep it plugged in. This also worked out just fine for us and still is. If the parent unit eventually poops out, I will get a new one because otherwise the system is good for what we need.

We co-slept in the same room until about 2 years old for both kids so we did not feel that the more advanced monitors were needed. We also personally chose not to get monitors that would connect to the internet, to reduce the risk of someone else being able to get to a feed of our kids.

stassischroeder · October 2019

@kailanae @varimama glad to hear you guys like the Infant Optics! I just got a notification that ours shipped lol. I think the unreliable charge thing is an issue for most monitors because we had that issue with both our Onega video monitor and Vtech audio monitor.

AAAG13 · October 2019

@chichiphin we had the Owlet with DD. For me it gave me peace of mind and actual restful sleep. One con is that it did have false alarms but we bought it when it first came out so I imagine they have fixed this bug. The Owlet doesn’t monitor as well once baby does a lot of movement during sleep so I don’t think we used it much after 7 months or so. I would like to just use the one we have now for this baby but idk if it still works. Ours did stop charging when DD was 4 months but it was still under warranty so they just sent us a brand new one.

We have the Motorola video monitor right now. I got it for $15 from Facebook market place 2 years ago. We originally didn’t register for a video monitor so we never got one but when I saw that deal I went for it. Like some have mentioned I like the video monitor bc I can determine if I should intervene with a whine or cry. Now that DD is older she talks in her sleep so I still just check to see if she is even awake.

aerie_star · October 2019

@chichiphin We were given the owlet by my overly anxious mil. I actually really liked it and we used it way more and longer than I thought we would, which was when my daughter outgrew the largest sock around 14 months. We rarely had connectivity problems and I don’t think it went off more than 5-10 times after the first couple of weeks of use, all of which were due to sock positioning issues on our part or baby moving. There is a bit of a learning curve to putting it on. We’ll probably be getting the camera that was recently put out to go with it since the version we have is compatible with it.

We also have a audio only vtech monitor we used for a bit once my daughter outgrew the owlet, just to check on her as we transitioned her into her own room in her crib.

mrsc918 · October 2019

Great feedback on the owlet!! I’m seriously considering it bc I’m a super anxious person and I think it would help me rest at ease and get some shut eye!! I am really racking up the money spent on this baby hahaha

Anybody have any suggestions for good “nanny cams”?? We will be hiring one 3x a week so I’d like to keep an eye on her...I mean the baby hahaha

orbmaker · October 2019

We have an audio-only V-Tech monitor that we only use when gardening outside or whatever while kiddo is napping. It’s easy to hear her in the house. She was in our room til 9 months and is right next door to us now. We’re in a slow process of switching her to a floor bed and I’m considering getting a video monitor (at 19 months) so I can see what she’s doing when awake/“alone” in the (highly babyproofed) room. Otherwise I haven’t felt like we needed one. Never considered or tried the owlet or anything like it.

stacey6689 · October 2019

I am working on my registry now and I chose the Owlet Digital Video Monitor. I have heard good things about it from friends and family with LO's so I am going to try it out. There are so many options it's hard to choose but I am hoping to get some use out of it.

mrsvp614 · October 2019

We use the Nest cam in DS's room, and plan to get another one for baby #2. We love that we can check on & talk to him through the phone, and I could watch him while I was at work and missing him. We can also keep using it as he gets older, and eventually as a security cam somewhere else in the house.
We do use it paired with a cheapie V-tech audio only monitor, so that we can hear him if he needs us through the night, since the Nest doesn't really wake us up or alert us. We'll just move the audio monitor to baby's room. That's been easy to travel with as well and we keep the second receiver in the basement, where we spend a lot of time. It's also the simplest for our parents or anyone else to use who happens to be watching him.

As for @chichiphin's question about the Owlet, we personally did not get one. When DS1 was in the NICU, nurses actually advised against them, since there's not much science to back them up, they can definitely cause more anxiety for parents, and also give parents a false sense of security when practicing unsafe sleep. DS was in our room in his bassinet for the first few months, and then when we moved him, I could check the video monitor to see that he was breathing and moving.

dunder_mifflin · November 2019

This is a super old post but I’m just wondering if anyone has tried the lollipop monitor? I’m really lost on registry stuff lol and I can’t keep doing more research. My brain may explode

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