October 2022 Moms

Product Spotlight: Baby Monitors

What baby monitors are you looking at and/or do you have? What functionalities of your baby monitors do you use? WiFi-enabled apps on your phone? Connection security? Share below!

Re: Product Spotlight: Baby Monitors

  • We have Panasonic model KX-HNM300. I love the tilt and rotation options on the camera, the temperature gage, I find the image fairly clear, and we occasionally use the 2way talk on it. We turned the alert noise off within a couple of days other than if the temp gets super high or low (you can set what that range is). Got a great deal on it from Best Buy during a holiday sale. We didn't get it until we moved and he was going to be in his own room and it helped a LOT with my anxiety about him not being next to me all night.
  • We have the infant optics DXR-8. I'll be getting the DXR-8 pro. We've had it for 5 years or so. I love that it's not connected to wifi because I've heard far too many creepy stories about those getting hacked. I love that I can zoom in on their belly as infants (we put it on the crib when they are infants and can't stand) and see them breathe. I'll definitely be getting the same one again. The range reaches from upstairs all the way into our backyard so I can actually go and do stuff while babies nap and be able to hear them. There are complaints about the out of range beeping. You can turn that off. I turned off all the noises. The temp range is always off a bit once we install it high because it's by the window and it gets hit by the sun.
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  • mia80mia80 member
    We have a vtech wi-fi monitor (RM5764HD) and love it!  It's got pan and tilt, zoom, two way talk, songs, alerts, and temperature control (although temp always seemed a little off, and the songs have terrible loops).  We live on an acreage, so we're not concerned about the wifi hackers (maybe we should be??), but the ability to go to wifi on our phones from the parent unit has been great when we're out doing stuff in the yard. DH has actually linked the sound from his phone to his airpods and mowed the lawn while our little guy is sleeping!  When we were shopping around I really wanted one with all the bells and whistles, and I realize now that I don't use half the options, except for the pan/tilt/zoom and wifi options!
  • bows22bows22 member
    edited April 2022
    We have the infant optics DXR-8 also. It’s been fine as far as we have used it every night for 4.5 years and it still works perfectly. However (and this might be the same for all monitors) we have a hard time positioning it so that you can actually see at night. It’s like when you take a picture and the camera focuses on something else instead of your intended subject if that makes sense. It’s great and really clear when you get it in the right spot though. We still need something for DD because she still just calls for us in bed if she needs us at night (and I honestly sleep better knowing that she’s going to stay put) but I don’t know if we really need a second camera or if we should just get some cheap audio only monitor for her room. 

    I don’t understand how people use monitors that are just on your phone. Do you leave the app open all night or how do you hear the baby while you’re sleeping? What if you want to mindlessly scroll on your phone after the baby is asleep? Do you have to keep switching back to the app to check? I might just not understand how they work but it’s never made sense to me. 
  • @bows22 we just added another camera. None of my kids need the monitor anymore but they don't want me to take them out. I'm going to get the DXR-8 pro this time. 
    As far as the phone monitor goes I am not a fan. It creeps me out. I had friends have it hacked and someone turned the monitor in the room and it wasn't either of them. They ditched it that day. Probably a non issue in the country as previously mentioned but I'm still paranoid. That and when we have big storms we will lose our WiFi off and on for awhile but not power. 🤷‍♀️
  • mia80mia80 member
    @bows I don't understand how people do just the phone monitor either!! Maybe put it on a tablet to run continuously? Ours is a combo, and I love that we can use the parent unit or our phones. Also if DH has the parent unit I can check on my phone.
  • I also have the infant optics dxr-8 and it’s great! Still use it with my 17 month old. We just stopped using the owlet monitor, so it’s nice to check in on him before bed, watch his chest go up and down. We also talk about how destroyed our backs would be if we slept in the positions he gets himself into 😂 A few times it does the out of range thing, but goes away. We don’t pay too much attention to the temperature monitor during the day. We mounted the camera on a wall with Velcro hanging strips, not thinking that we get a lot of sunlight off that wall, so it’s not too accurate during the day. 
  • We have two pet monitors, the Eufy P24 2K, and I’m wondering if they’re good as baby monitors. They have the settings for it.

     https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0856W45VL
  • @krysnicole1022 I just thought of something. When you added the second camera, does the parent unit just cycle between both of them while it’s on? Can you tell when it switches? 
  • @bows22 you can choose to pic one camera for it to be on or set it to scan and it spends maybe 39 seconds on each room. If they are quiet you can't tell but if a noise machine or something is on then you can. 
  • But also my children are never quiet so we can definitely always tell. 🤣🤣
  • @krysnicole1022 yes that’s what I was thinking, DD has a white noise machine so I think that’s going to be kind of annoying. However, I love that I said yesterday about how it’s lasted for 4.5 years aaand tonight it decided to stop holding a charge. As soon as you unplug it, it beeps for low battery. Fun!
  • I turned that noise off. 🤣🤣 Oh yeah the battery has gone on all of mine. I've found it's usually the port and not the battery. You can actually buy a replacement battery. 
  • rcgwrcgw member
    Has anyone tried the Nanit? That's the one we're looking at/thinking we'll get but haven't used anything like it as a FTM. 
  • ficheyfichey member
    @rcgw We haven't used it yet, but it's the monitor that we ended up getting. Seemed to hit all the things we needed and friends highly recommended it. The downside is that it doesn't come with a parent unit, but we've got so many tablets and old phones lying around the house that it's not a problem for us. 
  • Alright here’s my rant of the day. Why are there no baby monitors with 1 camera and multiple monitors that connect to it? Are all partners glued at the hip?? The only solution I’ve seen is to buy a second camera with a second monitor but like ??? I’m not trying to watch my baby from several angles and spend twice the amount of money. I’m almost tempted to just start this new product and go on shark tank I can’t be the first parent to need multiple monitors!

    send suggestions pls. 
  • bows22bows22 member
    @mcclanna that’s a great point. We usually just put it in the family room and figure one of us would hear it, but I could def see wanting to have 2. I guess options would be to get one where you can use your phone or get a second audio only one so the other parent would at least be able to hear?? 
  • mia80mia80 member
    @mcclanna we bought a Vtech WiFi monitor with a parent unit. I really like being able to check on my phone if my husband has the monitor and it's worked really well for us! 
  • @mia80 unfortunately my husband is a privacy nut and doesn’t want to get a WiFi enabled one. I’ve read a few other moms who’ve had the same concern above. It’s unlikely anything happen but who even knows these days. 
  • That's how I feel about wifi enabled ones. I just had a friend a couple of weeks ago get rid of hers because someone else was talking on it. Maybe it's unlikely but I don't like the idea of it at all. 
  • Why do monitors have two-way audio? I'd prefer just to be able to hear baby. Like that's all I want.
  • ficheyfichey member
    For wifi enabled monitors, they aren't inherently more vulnerable than any other wifi enabled device in your home. If you've got a secure network/password for your router and 2FA enabled for your logins than that will be enough of a deterrent for 99.9% of hackers. Monitors that use radio frequencies can be hacked or listened in on, too. The difference is that those people would need to be in range of the signal--which would essentially mean they're already hiding in your bushes lol. 

    Obviously this all comes down to personal preference/comfort. I'm sure if I had even the slightest inkling that our camera was hacked I'd throw it out and never look back. That being said, we've already got wyze cameras around the house to keep an eye on the cats and it's never been a problem for us. 
  • mia80mia80 member
    edited May 2022
    @mcclanna, we're on an acerage, so I'm not concerned about the WiFi, but totally get it!

    @pangolindrome I'm not really sure, but I always assumed it was for when the kid is older and you can tell them to back to sleep? 🤷🏼‍♀️ I have a friend who would do a monster voice on hers and tell the kids they were the monster in the closet and they had to stay in bed!!! 😂
  • @pangolindrome my toddlers ask me questions all the time and really it saves me a trip up the stairs to be able to answer on the monitor. I actually never talk to them at night only during their quiet times or during my coffee time (house full of not morning people) before they are free to roam. 
  • @pangolindrome I totally use the 2-way audio to tell my kids to get back into bed. And my older daughter has discovered the function and uses it to tell her little sister she loves her. 😍
  • @krysnicole1022 @EmilyE13 Thank you, that makes sense. Also, @EmilyE13, that just absolutely melted my heart <3
  • edl611edl611 member
    A few of you mentioned your concerns about wifi and privacy.  My husband was in charge of researching monitors for our first (2020) and had the same concerns.  We ended up getting the Eufy Spaceview and LOVE it. Super easy to unplug and travel with it, too.  We are adding a second camera for Baby 2.  Just as an FYI, no wifi means no app, so you can only us the monitor to check on baby. 
  • bows22bows22 member
    I mentioned above that our infant optics monitor stopped holding a charge recently and has to be plugged in at all times….I looked up the listing on Amazon so I could send it to a friend to see if she wanted it for their lake house, and saw a link to buy a replacement battery….9 bucks….it came today and we switched it out and it’s as good as new 🤦🏼‍♀️ Not sure why I didn’t think of that before but glad I did before I gave it away haha 
  • @bows22 Our Infant Optics loses its charge. I found a tip to take out the battery completely for a bit then put it back in. That’s worked for us so far. It’ll give us a decent stretch in time between losing charge and needing to take out and put back in the battery again.
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