Video Baby Monitors worth the money?

lyndsyh

Expecting baby #2 and thinking about purchasing a video monitor this time, with my son we just had the sound monitors.

Are they worth the amount of money? they seem to start from around £90 just looking at Argos this one in particular.http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9020878.htm

Gillyx

We never had any monitors at all and still don't at 17 months but we live in a small place so for me I'd say yes x

fluffysox

Got to be honest we were lucky enough to be given one secondhand from family who had used it to watch over an elderly relative (wouldn't have bought one, had only considered the sound only ones). When my DS was born, for at least 6 weeks or so we would take him upstairs about 6:30pm, into Moses basket and I read to him / told him stories about family for up to an hour until he looked sleepy then I would read in bed as I was anxious about leaving him. I'm quite a relaxed person generally but having a newborn scared me. It was only my DH setting up the video monitor near the telly that got me to spend a few hours downstairs in the evenings. We don't use it now DS is two but it will definitely be coming down from the shelf when our 2nd baby arrives.
On the other hand I valued the hours I spent with my new baby and was well rested for night feeds etc. And never had problems training him to go to bed in the evenings cos he was literally trained from birth
Spent your question is are they worth it and I would say yes! Could you try ebay? make sure its digital tho, ours isn't and it has crackles on the sound due to interferance from wireless internet etc.

jwil

We've got one and I'd say yes definitely worth it. It means you can have a quick look when there's a noise rather than going upstairs to check on baby.

lyndsyh

fluffysox wrote: »

Got to be honest we were lucky enough to be given one secondhand from family who had used it to watch over an elderly relative (wouldn't have bought one, had only considered the sound only ones). When my DS was born, for at least 6 weeks or so we would take him upstairs about 6:30pm, into Moses basket and I read to him / told him stories about family for up to an hour until he looked sleepy then I would read in bed as I was anxious about leaving him. I'm quite a relaxed person generally but having a newborn scared me. It was only my DH setting up the video monitor near the telly that got me to spend a few hours downstairs in the evenings. We don't use it now DS is two but it will definitely be coming down from the shelf when our 2nd baby arrives.
On the other hand I valued the hours I spent with my new baby and was well rested for night feeds etc. And never had problems training him to go to bed in the evenings cos he was literally trained from birth
Spent your question is are they worth it and I would say yes! Could you try ebay? make sure its digital tho, ours isn't and it has crackles on the sound due to interferance from wireless internet etc.

The one I'm liking the look of has digital signal. I will take a look and see if I can find it any cheaper or second hand somewhere.

Thanks for the replies!

SplanK

We don't have a video baby monitor, however I did buy a pan tilt zoom Dlink 5222L IP camera, which can be used on wireless or wired networks. There are cheaper alternatives available, however I decided to go with the more expensive unit in the end due to mixed reviews

The quality of this unit is much better than the over priced junk you can get as baby monitors, with more features and additional use as a security camera if we ever need.

optimistic-mummy

our inlaws brought us a video one for our first, it ment i could see my LO without having to go upstairs into the bedroom and disturb him so yes was worth the money

andthethreebears

If you're concerned about SIDs / safety / etc, then NHS/WHO recommended until 6m+ baby should be sleeping in the same room as you, day and night - which is cheaper than a video monitor!

dizziblonde

It's only now (my eldest is almost 15 months) that I'm starting to wish we had a video monitor. Now she's moving toward proper bedding, starting to think about when we take sides off the cot-bed (since she's starting to become a climber, with the height to go with getting a good leg up to things - this is likely to be on the sooner rather than later side of things) and just downright wondering what the cause of the chatter to her toys IS - I wish we had one.

We have to keep her bedroom door closed as it's like the Eye of Sauron at the top of the stairs if you go to the loo otherwise as well - she'll wake at any movement at the top of the stairs - and when I hit the point of crawling across the landing to the loo on my stomach to avoid being in her eyeline - we realised the door-ajar to peek thing wasn't working anymore.

Wouldn't have needed it at all prior to the 6+ month point.

moneypenny21

we have the angelcare ac1100 - video, sound and movement, managed to get it for about £130 which is expensive but cheap compared to RRP of £250. I am a total worrier and for me the movement monitor is a lifesaver as she sleeps face down in the cot so the alarm would go off if she stopped breathing. I don't think I'd sleep again if I didn't have that! Many would say thats total overkill which it probably is but it makes me feel better which is worth the money in my opinion. video is great, sometimes we leave her if we see she is settling herself, its only when there is a leg trapped in the cot bars or a dummy out we go to her so its good for leaving her to settle herself. I can only imagine it will get ever more invaluable as she becomes more mobile i.e. in and out of bed !!

LannieDuck

Yes, definitely if you can afford it. Obviously a normal baby monitor is fine too, but I love my video monitor.

It means we're happier to leave her to self-settle in the evenings because we can see if she's whimpering just because she's tired and trying to sleep or because she's upset and wants to get up. Whilst you can sometimes tell by her cry alone, it's much easier to look at her visual signals. Similarly it means we're happier to leave her babbling to herself for a bit when she wakes up after her nap - sometimes she'll get up and stand at the side of her cot waiting for us, but sometimes she'll go back to sleep for another 30 mins.