Product review: Baby Monitor

The latest trend in baby monitoring is to have one with video capabilities. Having just audio monitoring is not enough anymore, and I totally agree, which is why a video baby monitor was a must have item on my registry. The top rated brand according to my research is Motorola, and the one I have is Motorola® Digital Video Baby Monitor with 2.8-Inch Color LCD Screen. At $180, this is the cheapest option. Other higher options is to have a bigger screen or an additional camera. Luckily, I was able to use a 20% off coupon at Buy Buy Baby and had enough gifts cards to cover the entire cost. It is worth the cost to give me peace of mind.

The main reason why I wanted the video monitor is because I'm paranoid about something bad happening, like SIDS, and wanted to be able to see how the baby is doing in her crib whenever I wanted. I wanted to be able to check that nothing was blocking her ability or breath and that she is sleeping on her back. 

Since we live in an apt, it's small enough that we can hear when she cries. However, if we are in the living room and there is noise like the TV or whatnot, it helps to have the monitor close by to hear. Or if after we put her down in the crib, we can look at the monitor to see if she has woken up (kicking around) shortly after and would have to go back in. Overnight, it's useful for me because sometimes I would hear her start to whimper but then when I check the monitor, she is still, so that means she has gone back to sleep and I don't need to get up. Now that the baby sleeps in her own room, I mute the audio so that I don't have to hear her small grunts because I want to get up only if she really needs me, which is when she would cry. 

I know that I will be using this product for many years so it is worth the investment and I recommend this brand. In general, I like brands that have few products but do them well, as opposed to brands that have multiple different versions of the same product at sub-par quality.