Product spotlights: baby monitors

emmylou78 · March 2021

Will you use a baby monitor?

High tech and fancy? Are you adding it to your baby shower registry?

Links to previous and upcoming topics: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mqlBWywDw6uR06rrrZZ0pQ5FdUpa5hMt4aB6jpO4ha4/edit

cyanope · March 2021

Definitely! Baby monitors save my sanity. I have a two-camera Motorola for the big kids. One camera on each kid.

I’m getting the Owlet sock + camera duo for this babe. I wanted it with my other two, but couldn’t justify the cost when I had so much other gear to buy. This time, I’m only getting a few “splurge” items, and the Owlet is one of them!

Kenneylynn3 · March 2021

I have a super low tech one from DS. It's just sound, and that's all I plan to use for this baby if I use one. We are right down the hall, so I can hear DS wake up before he starts to cry.

dancingnarwhal · March 2021

I’m not sure if we need a baby monitor. We live in a small two bedroom apartment. The baby will sleep in my room. I don’t have one on my registry right now.

surrenderdorothy · March 2021

Yes I will be using a monitor and I need recs on a dual camera monitor set! I only want to have one display for both kid's rooms. Our house isn't big, but we like to go in the hot tub or sit outside after bedtime and I want to have eyes and ears on both kids. Picture is a must and would prefer it to be radio and not wifi.

I HATE the monitor we used with DS. It would lose signal/low battery and beep incessantly. It was an Infant Optix brand I believe.

claireloSC · March 2021

I used the basic Angel sound only one with DD and it was fine but our apt was small and it wasn't that necessary. I used it more so I could sit outside when she took a nap. Once she was 1 and we moved to an even smaller place, I got ride of it. For LO I'm probably going to get one since baby will eventually be upstairs in the new house and we will be downstairs. But probably in our room for at least a bit. I'm thinking I will do a camera one this time. I am nervous about security on those, so I will be choosy if I get one that has more of a closed system.

hannelorre · March 2021

@surrenderdorothy hah we have infant optics and like it a lot! Agree that the distance isn't great (can't use outside the house, even in the yard) but we don't have problem with battery even with daily use of 2+ yrs. My one rule was no wifi after hearing all the terrible hacking stories.

surrenderdorothy · March 2021

@hannelorre I’m glad yours hasn’t given you trouble. It was great... until the beeping. We replaced the display and the battery and that fixed it temporarily. I did love how good the picture and sound was with a no wifi system. It was great to travel with since we could just set it up without connecting to WiFi.

BourbonBiscuits · March 2021

We had one with both the big kids and will probably get a new one for this babe. I like having video, but have always been wary of wi-fi cameras. A lot of girls in my F19 BMB have the Wyze camera and love it, but the thought of someone having access to my baby monitor freaks me the f out. So we'll likely avoid wi-fi enabled monitors and just get a simple camera one with enough range to take it into the back or front yard.

the_most_happy · March 2021

What's the story with the concerns around WiFi monitors, is it just that someone in your vicinity could connect to it? Have there been incidents of people using that for nefarious purposes?

cyanope · March 2021

@the_most_happy, yes LOTS of stories of sickos hacking WiFi monitors. It's the reason I didn't buy a WiFi monitor the first go-round. Since then, I have done quite a bit of research on how to make WiFi monitors more safe. You can set up a lot or precautions that make it very difficult to hack. Because of that, I feel more comfortable getting one with this baby. I like the idea of being able to "check in" on the baby from wherever. And there's no being out of "range." That way I can sit outside if I want to and I can see the baby from an app on my phone. Anyways, I know a LOT of people still wouldn't feel comfortable with the risk of potential hacking, so it's definitely an individual choice!

pickle-chips · March 2021

When we brought our first kiddo home, we didn't bother with a monitor at all because we lived in a small 2 bedroom apartment. You could hear him from anywhere, even on the balcony. We moved when he was 7-months old and we started with a simple audio VTech monitor. It worked really well, has great range! One feature that I don't find that useful is the talk to baby feature. It just freaked our kids out. We use this audio monitor with our youngest right now (although I think it is unplugged...).

When our oldest was two-ish we had an awful 💩-related debacle that I didn't know was happening until I went in to get him up from his nap. He had not been napping, rather making "art" all over the carpet, walls, dresser, etc. So we bought a video VTech monitor to keep our eye on him and prevent any future 💩 masterpieces. I don't love this particular camera, it beeps whenever you turn it on or push any buttons, the zoom feature is pretty lousy, the battery life on the parent unit is not great. Also the "soothing sounds" built in are pretty crappy, our kid actually likes the crickets, but it is a very obvious digital loop that annoys me and it only lasts 45 minutes. Overall it does it's job perfectly fine for a non-wifi video monitor, I just wouldn't enthusiastically endorse it.

emmylou78 · March 2021

I didn’t use a monitor much for the first. I had a very basic one but babe was in my room for the first year, then I could hear her from my 2 bed apartment. Now our house is so big, I’ll probably need something.

I have a Wyze camera that DH bought me. I put it facing the front door. I didn’t know people used them for baby monitors!

loloyoyo26 · March 2021

I don’t plan on using a monitor just because we don’t have a lot of square footage and our house doesn’t mask many noises.

I didn’t use one with DD either. She wasn’t a good sleeper so she woke up fairly often 🤦🏽‍♀️ and I was living with my parents at the time while I got back on my feet so I had quite a bit of help. Either I or another family member who was home could always hear her in any part of the house we were living in.

claireloSC · March 2021

Good article on monitors less prone to hacking https://offspring.lifehacker.com/how-to-find-a-hack-proof-baby-monitor-1797534985

Product spotlights: baby monitors

Re: Product spotlights: baby monitors

Choose Another Board

Search Boards