Baby Monitors?

[Percy1983]

Happy days got my first child due in September!

Now my tech/geeky side has been investigating baby monitors.

As it is my mum has given me a 7" cheap andriod tablet (low spec with busted battery) to which I am thinking use that with an ip cam to make a cheap video baby monitor (solder new battery in).

Of course this will mean it can be viewed from more places/clients.

As a secondary though all TV etc is on a htpc so would it be possible to get a pop up if noise levels exceed a certain level etc?

I third thought is we both use windows phones so being able to look on those would be nice too (but not essential).

Am I over/under thinking this?

From here any advice on cams, software/apps to use. I know of ip cams but have never set one up before but do know how to port forward etc in my router if needed.

[abaxas]

Buy one without video or you'll be forever checking it.

Let the baby sleep and he/she will let you know if they are unhappy, even without the need for a monitor

[Percy1983]

That makes sense, I may well have been over thinking it.

Found the BT 350 for £30, seems to have good quality audio but also can play some music/white noise and a light show which may just help.

Will see what the wife thinks when she next has a clear head (could be a while).

Any other input/ideas welcome.

[Smudger]

We've got a basic Motorola one, with a light at the baby end and a button so you can talk to them to soothe them. We felt that the camera ones are a bit invasive, and we would be checking them every second, as already mentioned.

[Bagnaj97]

We bought an Angelcare one with movement sensor off ebay and 1 month in we haven't used it yet. At night she's in our room so we can hear her, during the day she's usually in a sling or carrycot and moves around the house with us. Until miniperson is sleeping in a cot in their own room you may find you don't need one - you've got plenty of time to wait for a bargain or to hack something together!

[cheesemp]

We went with a basic £30 motorola audio only monitor. Shows room temperature which is a nice feature. I would definitely get a dedicated monitor myself - Your partner will never forgive you if your custom solution doesn't work and doesn't pick up the baby screaming! (My wife wouldn't even let me try! I was going to use a redundant android phone and IPcam app).

For video however the tablet would be a simple solution however it won't work in the dark which reduces its usefulness significantly (You want a dark room trust me - blackout blinds all the way)! I personally picked up a cheap dlink wireless IP cam for £30 (deal of the day on ebuyer) that had a android app (sorry we're all Android) that did night vision great. Well worth having but not as intrusive as the baby monitor as we had to load an app to see it (so we only checked it occasionally). It was also cheaper having an IP camera and audio monitor separately than buying an all in one (plus you can use the IP camera for security later).

Anyway congratulations and a quick word of advice - don't rush into purchases now. You've got plenty of time and lots to buy between now and september! Take your time and don't buy everything 'you might need' - You often don't (for example we got a mobile that was used once and the new born baby grows where too small after about week.)

For the record I became a father 10 month ago to the day! Best thing ever but hard work...

[Percy1983]

Thanks for the input, I will will say we aren't stocking up or buying things we 'might need' just yet and we aren't falling for the scare tactics used to sell things.

IE, ISOfix car seats aren't safer, more convienient yes, but I can spend £400 less if I don't mind my bum sticking out in the rain for an extra 30 seconds while I check a car seat.

Angelcare and such monitors, if a baby is going to die from SIDS the last things to stop are the breathing and heart, in short they will keep breathing even up to it being too late, in short said montior will not stop anything. Sounds cold to think like that but I am a realist in not trying to stop something I am powerless to stop. Interesting most on here say get an audio only monitor where a quick look on mumsnet etc would have you down as evil for not wasting money on such items (angelcare etc).

In short spending more doesn't mean you love them more and spend less doesn't mean you love them less.

How has the human race lasted this long without such things.

[cheesemp]

Thanks for the input, I will will say we aren't stocking up or buying things we 'might need' just yet and we aren't falling for the scare tactics used to sell things.

IE, ISOfix car seats aren't safer, more convienient yes, but I can spend £400 less if I don't mind my bum sticking out in the rain for an extra 30 seconds while I check a car seat.

Angelcare and such monitors, if a baby is going to die from SIDS the last things to stop are the breathing and heart, in short they will keep breathing even up to it being too late, in short said montior will not stop anything. Sounds cold to think like that but I am a realist in not trying to stop something I am powerless to stop. Interesting most on here say get an audio only monitor where a quick look on mumsnet etc would have you down as evil for not wasting money on such items (angelcare etc).

In short spending more doesn't mean you love them more and spend less doesn't mean you love them less.

How has the human race lasted this long without such things.

Glad to hear it. On a side note we found ISO fix very helpful but we have lowish cars and bad backs. Your mileage may vary! Only cost the extra for a base which was £60 and as we can reuse it (if we have another) and sell it on it seemed like a good idea to us. For info we went for the maxicosi cabriofix + family fix base - Got a good deal from kiddicare with lots of cashback. Got the whole setup for £150.

Also I'd be careful with Mumsnet - far to many judgemental mothers on there (A friends wife postnatal depression got worse thanks to a few unhelpful comments on the site).

[Percy1983]

It does seem a rather strange place, I am not registered but have read threads when I have been googling subjects.

I remember reading one "my pram nearly killed my baby" while looking up different prams.

In short the chassis collapsed and baby in pram dropped a couple of feet while remaining horizontal in the pram, don't get me wrong I wouldn't be amused and I am guess mini me wouldn't be either but nobody is dead or even close to it.

Then you have "a wheel fell off" but when the pram has detachable wheels was it attached correctly?, could it be reattached? who knows, rather than try any of that they get straight on mumsnet to report a death trap, I never did find out if it was a simple fix as that got lost in the madness.

Anyway I dislike my baby so much I have decided to get a pram/pushchair/car seat for only £250, I clearly am neglecting my unborn child by not spending 4x more.

[Mithrandir]

Firstly, congratulations!

I've had two since my son was born. I would say having a video unit is preferred over a sound only unit.
The first is a Tomy T450, it was a generally good unit although the night vision went after a few months. Only lasted just over a year before I bought another unit. Had problems with the charging port for the monitor unit which meant the unit was useless.
Currently using a motorola mbp36. Is a great unit as the screen is a step up from the Tomy (still not crystal clear though). Has controls to tilt, etc for the cam.
Both have good signal and easy to use. I would however say you still have some time to look at options. I'm sure you will have a load more choices to make on other stuff such as prams, cots, mattress types,nappies, etc. You'll be an expert in no time!
Best of luck.

[peje1873]

We bought a baby monitor and never used it in the end. I found a cheap Foscam wireless IR camera at £50 was all I needed

[cheesemp]

It does seem a rather strange place, I am not registered but have read threads when I have been googling subjects.

I remember reading one "my pram nearly killed my baby" while looking up different prams.

In short the chassis collapsed and baby in pram dropped a couple of feet while remaining horizontal in the pram, don't get me wrong I wouldn't be amused and I am guess mini me wouldn't be either but nobody is dead or even close to it.

Then you have "a wheel fell off" but when the pram has detachable wheels was it attached correctly?, could it be reattached? who knows, rather than try any of that they get straight on mumsnet to report a death trap, I never did find out if it was a simple fix as that got lost in the madness.

Anyway I dislike my baby so much I have decided to get a pram/pushchair/car seat for only £250, I clearly am neglecting my unborn child by not spending 4x more.

Sounds like a good plan and sensible spending. We have a £300 pushchair with pram top and apart from the first six months we use a £120 stroller more often (Its so much easier to get in the boot)

[cheesemp]

We bought a baby monitor and never used it in the end. I found a cheap Foscam wireless IR camera at £50 was all I needed

I guess it depends on your house/partner. We can hear my daughter from downstairs most of the time but often miss when she's just grumbling. The audio monitor sorts that. I've not found out IP Cams audio out to be reliable enough (plus I wouldn't want the app open constantly).

[abaxas]

Anyone with a little one will tell you that unless you live in a mansion your baby will let you know they are unhappy.

The monitor is used to pre-empt the uber meltdown to make your life easier.

[DanceswithUnix]

We had one of the ones that had a movement detector with alarm if they stop moving/breathing etc. Doesn't take long for them to get mobile enough at night that they end up in a corner of the cot where the monitor doesn't pick up so well and the alarm goes off. Just seems like a way of making sleep deprived parents worse.

You want to be able to tell if the baby is crying upstairs if you are doing something downstairs, specially if you are in the kitchen where the washing machine is always going and making a lot of noise.

[PowerPie5000]

We used a "Summer" branded baby monitor with our daughter. Everything about it was good... Colour screen, great mic, night vision and room temperature... But it had one major problem! It completely messed with the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi in the house! The 5GHz band was unaffected and we now have everything running on 5GHz.