We have this guy. Our old house had spotty wifi so we didn’t want a monitor that was dependent on it. It’s really nice when traveling since we just have to plug it in. We haven’t had any issues with it so far (knock on wood) and plan to get a 2nd camera for this baby’s room.
Personally I prefer the closed circuit ones (ie no WiFi or app) because they’re more secure. I will say if you do go with WiFi enabled ones, I don’t recommend the blink system but Amazon. We had so freaking many problems with it!
We have a Nanit for DD, and will get another for her new room as well. The only issues we've ever had were because we had 2 different wifi networks in the house, but since DH did some tech magic and brought everything back on one, it's been just fine. I love how portable it is, we always bring to grandma and grandpa's house! Only caveat: don't think it works on wifi like what hotels have where you have to sign in online.
I tend to be over-connected/paranoid so we have decided to get a simple old school monitor that I can’t obsess over every second of every day. I still want one that’s video-enabled, but it’s a losing battle with DH and my mom. They both know I’d spend all day staring at him sleeping.
@taylorharris0522 this is your first, right? We had a sound only monitor with my first, and while I thought I really wanted a video monitor, it was good to start out with just the audio! Now, once she decided to learn how to climb out of her crib at freaking 10 months old, we decided to switch but still.
We have a super low tech V-tech audio monitor that's great (we used it while DS was little little) and we also have a Yi Cam which is a great video monitor that connects to our phones.
My parents gifted us a Nanit (after I did a ton of research on the mommy blogs). I have an infant optics for my 7 year old that I still use, but I hate that thing. It beeps out of range all the time and the battery life is nonexistent.
@skc040512 Yes, this is our first. I think we’ll do the same, when he starts being able to “get into trouble” we will upgrade to a video system but for now when he basically just sleeps and cries it’ll be audio only. Our house is small, too, so it’s not hard for me to poke my head in the nursery whenever I feel like it.
@natkg we had the same battery issue with our infant optics. Call the company support number and they will trouble shoot with you! it was an easy fix and our battery life is back to normal!
I recommend a monitor with a video. Sometimes they cry or fuss as they’re transitioning between sleep cycles and opening the door to take a peek can fully wake them, but if you just looked at a camera you’d see they were okay and just re-settling. Or you can take a peek on the camera and check to see if they’re awake, but quiet, again rather than opening the door and risking waking if they really are still asleep.
I second what @annashaf said. The video was super helpful for know exactly why the baby was crying (did they roll over? Are they wide awake? Are they just between sleep cycles? Did they get a limb stuck in the crib bars?). Not to freak anyone out- I think audio is perfectly fine!!! I just liked having video so I didn’t have to disturb their sleep more than necessary by checking on them
Agree, I like video to check on why they're crying. Especially as a toddler when they can move around... if she's wandering around the room crying ,that's abnormal and I'd go in. But if she's just crying while laying down...I'll let her fall back asleep.
Also nice to know if she decided to eschew her entire naptime and just pull out every wipe in the pack instead. At least we know where she hid them 😂
This is reminding me of my favorite infant sleep tip I learned (which I'm sure we'll talk all about somewhere else) - at around 7-8 weeks, when your baby fusses and cries and you are about to pick them up to feed them, they might not actually be awake, and you can wait a second and see if they resettle!
“Bringing up Bebe” is a book i read that talks exactly of that. The crying is not actually crying that they need attention just that they are going from one sleep cycle to the next.
@b_1029 How long have you had your monitor? We have the same one and have noticed the picture is way less clear than it used to be. I think the infrared lights are going out. Now I'm trying to decide if we want to get the same one again or go with something different.
Re: Product Spotlight: Baby Monitors
Also nice to know if she decided to eschew her entire naptime and just pull out every wipe in the pack instead. At least we know where she hid them 😂