Baby monitors?

[samjtomes]

Hey dads

Future dad here. I’ve been doing a bunch of research on baby monitors over the last few weeks and have narrowed it down to a few contenders: Nanit Pro, Cubo AI, and the Infant Optics DXR-8 Pro.

My only concern about the monitors that use your phone is the stability and speed to connect. I have a few web-enabled cameras at home and hate how it takes 5-10 seconds to connect.

The draw for me are the breathing and activity insights which I hear really do help parents build good routines and gain a bit more peace of mind.

Curious if anybody has any personal anecdotes about these cameras and if they have any alternate recommendations?

 

[mhandy1]

@samjtomes We had the same concerns, and for that reason went for non-Wi-Fi monitors. Our son just turned one last week and we’ve had no problems and we are very happy with the product. That said, we only use the monitors when he is in his bedroom, which is only when he sleeps.

 

[chelaine]

@mhandy1 What brand?

 

[rhinoofgod]

@chelaine Not the guy you responded to but we also had privacy concerns. We have a Eufy Spaceview. Image quality is good, screen is big. Battery time is good in my opinion. Range is good, our girls room is on one corner of the house and my office is on the other end. No issues there. Surprisingly good microphone.

Plastic on the actual monitor feels a bit cheap. But buttons arent mushy or anything.

 

[foursail53]

@rhinoofgod I just got my space view pro from Eufy. Lots of research I ended up with this one due to price point and feature set.

 

[cooker]

@rhinoofgod Another vote here for the Eufy Spaceview

 

[dsjones17]

@rhinoofgod I thought there were safety/privacy concerns with the Eufy company?

 

[rhinoofgod]

@dsjones17 The Eufy Spaceview is not a wifi/internet connected device.

 

[christnme]

@rhinoofgod My Eufy lasted a year and went kaputs. It was a great choice while it lasted. The only complaint was the battery lasted maybe three days at best and towards the end it lasted only one night.

 

[jack871]

@chelaine We love the VAVA brand for our Bluetooth monitor

 

[olusanya800]

@chelaine We have Bonoch and it works great.

 

[mhandy1]

@chelaine Vtech

 

[jesusiscoming01]

@samjtomes We have the Nanit and I just timed it a few times and it was 5-15 seconds on each time I opened the app. Personally the delay isn’t a huge issue for me because for whatever reason I am checking it, 5-15 seconds can’t make that big a difference. I also figured we will put it on an iPad and leave that running if we truly need to see at a moments notice.

 

[bperry]

@jesusiscoming01 +1 for the Nanit. It’s also locally hosted, so it doesn’t rely on your network to be connected to the internet if you’re on the same network. Plus being able to play it in the background is very nice. Plus the Nanit breathing clothing are a nice piece of mind when you bring a newborn home and the “is it alive” intrusive thoughts start creeping in every time you put them to bed. We have the overhead and a portable stand. Both are great.

 

[jennatccm]

@jesusiscoming01 How much do you pay for the app subscription or is it free? Just wanted to check if there are any hidden fees except product purchase.

 

[graceenph]

@jesusiscoming01 We also use a Nanit. Sometimes the camera needs to be repaired with our wifi network, which we tend not to notice until we leave the room. It’s disruptive when it happens. It’s fine overall; I don’t have any major objections to it. I don’t think it’s worth the money though. If you don’t pay a subscription then it’s nothing more than a video monitor that utilizes your mobile device as the screen.

 

[j0nni3]

@samjtomes Been using the Infant Optics DXR-8 Pro for a year now and it has been great.

• Doesn't rely on our phones or WiFi
• Very reliable connection (has never disconnected)
• Seamless expansion to multiple cameras (we added a 2nd for a play area after a few months)
• Cameras have a thermometer that reads out on the display (enabled us to set our house thermostat such that LO's room was the right temp range)
• Plays a warning tone if the battery gets low or connection is lost
• Stupid simple interface that just works (more important than it sounds when you have newborn brain)
• Acts as "baton" for clear handoff with SO of who is on-duty

As for the features other systems offer that this lacks:

• After a year, we've never felt a need to remote in to the cameras
• We read plenty of anecdotes of the breathing/activity/growth tracking monitors not being 100% accurate and actually adding more anxiety than they remove by parents fixating on the data or feeling they had a false sense of security

 

[saidytobias]

@j0nni3 We also have an Infant Optics (not pro) and I agree with all these points even down to the baton handoff

it's stupid simple and I like that I can unplug it and use it anywhere I go as long as I bring the camera and the monitor. It's literally plug and go. We have never had any issues and the camera gets dropped off the nightstand at least once a week and it's still strong after two years! (Although I do recommend keeping it from dropping )

Edit to add: I wanted a fancy monitor with all the breathing and movement tracking but I think that would have given me more anxiety especially in the first few months.

 

[shannonrees1]

@saidytobias I'll just say the 2x zoom on the pro works very well for manual breathing tracking. Use it frequently and have never not been able to tell if he's breathing regularly on 2x zoom.

 

[fickles]

@samjtomes We're using a secondhand Infant Optics DXR-8 (not the pro) and it works just fine. No fancy insights or anything, non-Wifi, had to swap out the battery from the original but a replacement battery cost only $8 off Amazon.