Author Topic: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?  (Read 8623 times)

HairyUpperLip

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Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« on: May 15, 2014, 07:53:28 AM »
Hello!

Our baby is starting to stand and crawl so we think it's time to get a baby monitor. We are worried about keeping an eye on her when she's in the crib alone.

At first I really wanted just an audio only baby monitor, but it seems like the value of video is just a plus in our modern world. I don't think it's necessary by any means but definitely a luxury that can be excused as a safety measure....

Is my face punch earned yet?

This is the monitor we like....
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=20616906&cp=2255957.2273447.12661883&parentPage=family

Obviously that price is way too high for my tastes. Any suggestions or alternatives for a similar baby monitor that is considered quality? I'd rather pay a little more for something that will last and could be used with the 2nd kid.

Thank you for any insight you guys can provide.


Update -
I tried the Craigslist route, but ran into a lot of flakers for some reason. Or the item was too far away to justify the cost.

After checking CL for a few weeks, I decided to just order this brand new from Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/VTech-Communications-Sound-Digital-Monitor/dp/B007NG5UF4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406818676&sr=8-1&keywords=vtech+baby+monitor

$40 and it works perfect. I would highly recommend it for anyone that does stumble across this thread later. It's crystal clear audio and does the trick.
« Last Edit: July 31, 2014, 09:03:19 AM by HairyUpperLip »

goatmom

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #1 on: May 15, 2014, 08:18:59 AM »
i have more children than i need and never used a baby monitor.  I just would listen or take a peek.  But I am not big into baby gadgets.  Now a teenage monitor is something I am thinking about investing in. 

HairyUpperLip

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #2 on: May 15, 2014, 08:20:50 AM »
haha - I don't think it's a necessity but one that won't break our bank/savings rate to get.

Plus, we were gifted cash from family members to purchase one specifically.


LadyMuMu

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #3 on: May 15, 2014, 09:55:10 AM »
Keep in mind that a baby monitor is basically a doorbell to let you know that your kid woke up and is ready to get out of the crib. I don't see the point of the video capability--if baby is happily playing in crib, enjoy a little extra free time while he or she builds the skills of gratification delay. If you really want one, whatevs, but this seems like a ridiculous amount of money to spend to peek in on your baby. Anything over $40 is cray-cray. Even then, you could likely get a used one at a garage sale for $5.

lauren_knows

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #4 on: May 15, 2014, 10:08:21 AM »
If you really want video, and have some technical know-how, look up "IP Cameras" on amazon/tigerdirect/etc. They are the exact same night-vision cameras as the baby ones, they're just not branded with "baby" and they don't have the monitor portion.  You can usually set them up so that a smartphone or table can see your little one, and they can be had for $40-60.

FrugalSpendthrift

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #5 on: May 15, 2014, 10:10:06 AM »
I use a D Link Wireless Network Camera, so that we can just check from our phones.  It's also nice that we can check the video when we are away from the house.  I picked a DCS-932L, so it has infrared, about $54 on amazon.

HairyUpperLip

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #6 on: May 15, 2014, 10:15:42 AM »
If you really want video, and have some technical know-how, look up "IP Cameras" on amazon/tigerdirect/etc. They are the exact same night-vision cameras as the baby ones, they're just not branded with "baby" and they don't have the monitor portion.  You can usually set them up so that a smartphone or table can see your little one, and they can be had for $40-60.

Yup ---

This should do what we want/need....

http://www.amazon.com/TENVIS-JPT3815W-Surveillance-Microphone-monitoring/dp/B006I0KL6Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1400170219&sr=8-2&keywords=ip+camera


Audio and video.


I use a D Link Wireless Network Camera, so that we can just check from our phones.  It's also nice that we can check the video when we are away from the house.  I picked a DCS-932L, so it has infrared, about $54 on amazon.

Will check this one out, thanks!


Keep in mind that a baby monitor is basically a doorbell to let you know that your kid woke up and is ready to get out of the crib. I don't see the point of the video capability--if baby is happily playing in crib, enjoy a little extra free time while he or she builds the skills of gratification delay. If you really want one, whatevs, but this seems like a ridiculous amount of money to spend to peek in on your baby. Anything over $40 is cray-cray. Even then, you could likely get a used one at a garage sale for $5.

yeah, it's more that she's almost 9 months now and starting to crawl and walk. We are totally okay with leaving her alone when she first wakes up until she cries out. We don't rush in once we realize she is awake. But like I said, it's a modern world and I think it's a simple luxury to keep an eye on her.

We have actually been watching Craigslist for the past month or so hoping a good deal would pop up. All I see are very cheap ones that look used and abused or off-brand items. A lot of the ads for the decent stuff were just spam. I think my CL is more saturated with spam then most cities I've used it for.

La Bibliotecaria Feroz

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #7 on: May 15, 2014, 11:23:11 AM »
I've never felt the need for a video monitor. Our house is large enough that a good audio monitor sometimes comes in handy. but video? I don't see the point. If my children are in their room silently, then I assume they are asleep and that's good enough for me.

I don't see how it helps safety. If you are awake, you will hear your baby moving around. If you are asleep, then all the video in the world won't help you, because your eyes will be closed. (Fortunately, she's in her crib and much too young to climb out, so you know she's safe.) Save your money.

momo5

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #8 on: May 16, 2014, 04:48:51 PM »
i have more children than i need and never used a baby monitor.  I just would listen or take a peek.  But I am not big into baby gadgets.  Now a teenage monitor is something I am thinking about investing in.

this post just made me literally laugh out loud!
and I feel the same way, though my teenage monitor didnt work out too well. got more from my preschooler monitor.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #9 on: May 18, 2014, 08:22:55 PM »
Five and a half kids here.  The only time we've gotten use out of a baby monitor is when we're at my family reunion and there are 40 grandkids running around, ranging in age from 0-18 years old, and the baby's crying would be completely lost in the background noise.  Other than that, we've always been able to hear the baby crying--it's remarkable how your ears adjust to pick out that ever-so-faint sound.

If you're going to get one, I'd second the recommendation to get an IP camera of some sort.  We have a D-Link 930L (which is a basic, daytime-only version of the one FrugalSpendthrift recommended) at work, and have very few complaints.  You'll want a night-capable version because it's darker in the kid's room.  And when the kid outgrows it, you can repurpose it for something else.

mm1970

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #10 on: May 18, 2014, 09:58:42 PM »
We've never had a baby monitor, but our house is small.  A very loud MAMA or DADA is all we need.

Freedom2016

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #11 on: May 18, 2014, 10:38:19 PM »
For another perspective... we love our video monitor and have used it virtually since Day 1 with our 2-year old son.

No doubt human kind survived just fine without this technology, but for us it has been incredibly helpful to be able to SEE what's happening when our kid is squawking/crying/fussing/screaming in his room. Is he actually fine and just annoyed at being in bed? Or is his arm stuck in the slats / is he injured / are blankets covering his face / ie do we need to go in to check on him?

We also use the speaker function periodically - these days to ask if he's okay when he squawks. He usually says, "yes" but sometimes it's "no" so we go in to put socks on / readjust the blanket / put his PJ bottoms back on.

YMMV.


ASquared

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #12 on: May 18, 2014, 10:50:09 PM »
So I have this one, new and unopened, in the box.  Wish I never got!!  Put on my registry, pre-MMM:)  My family member paid 170 but they are available for 100 on Amazon now.  If you really think you want one of these - PM me and maybe we can work something out?

http://www.amazon.com/Infant-Optics-Digital-Monitor-Vision/dp/B0052QYLUM/ref=sr_1_6?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1400474856&sr=1-6&keywords=baby+registry

dbanta

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #13 on: July 30, 2014, 01:42:02 PM »
I just bought this monitor used on craigslist for $25.  I have found a lot of good deals on baby supplies looking on craigslist and ebay.  For me, the peace of mind is worth it when baby is sleeping his in room at night.  We did not get a video monitor, but the one we chose monitors sound and movement/breathing.

http://www.amazon.com/Angelcare-Movement-Sound-Monitor-Deluxe/dp/B00HE66YU8

Christof

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #14 on: July 30, 2014, 02:55:10 PM »
Our monitor is called "baby". It's a very efficient device that cries loudly and long until it is silenced in person. ;-)

We only use a baby monitor when we are traveling and are not sitting next to our baby. On one occurence we just used our regular cell phones. Put one next to the bed (plugged into a charger), the other we carried around and regulary listened. Worked fine for us, but then, our son is a good sleeper and rarely need any assistance during the night. Other times we use our smart phones (need them for business, anyway) with a baby monitor app. We did not purchase yet another device for the one or two times a year we qctually use monitoring.

As a parent you have to feel comfortable. If you need a baby monitor for this, I would look on Craigslist. Baby monitors are only needed for a few years, so can be had used in relatively new condition.

HairyUpperLip

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #15 on: July 31, 2014, 08:59:41 AM »
I tried the Craigslist route, but ran into a lot of flakers for some reason. Or the item was too far away to justify the cost.

After checking CL for a few weeks, I decided to just order this brand new from Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/VTech-Communications-Sound-Digital-Monitor/dp/B007NG5UF4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406818676&sr=8-1&keywords=vtech+baby+monitor

$40 and it works perfect. I would highly recommend it for anyone that does stumble across this thread later. It's crystal clear audio and does the trick.

HairyUpperLip

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #16 on: July 31, 2014, 09:02:43 AM »
Our monitor is called "baby". It's a very efficient device that cries loudly and long until it is silenced in person. ;-)

We only use a baby monitor when we are traveling and are not sitting next to our baby. On one occurence we just used our regular cell phones. Put one next to the bed (plugged into a charger), the other we carried around and regulary listened. Worked fine for us, but then, our son is a good sleeper and rarely need any assistance during the night. Other times we use our smart phones (need them for business, anyway) with a baby monitor app. We did not purchase yet another device for the one or two times a year we qctually use monitoring.

As a parent you have to feel comfortable. If you need a baby monitor for this, I would look on Craigslist. Baby monitors are only needed for a few years, so can be had used in relatively new condition.

We've done the cell phone things plenty of times, but it's not as easy when we were out of the country.

But we can't use our phones when we set them up like that. Since I actually use my phone for work sometimes this was an issue a couple times.

I totally agree that a babies cry itself is loud enough to hear, but sometimes we go outside or in the garage while the baby is sleeping. Definitely wouldn't be able to hear her crying all the way in my backyard when she's upstairs in the crib.


firelight

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #17 on: July 31, 2014, 09:17:03 AM »
There are apps nowadays that monitor baby and send notifications. You need an older phone that has a camera and is connected to your home WiFi. The other part of app would be on your phone connected to same WiFi.... And tada!! You have a cheap baby monitor that can be repurposed for something else after your baby grows out of it.

Hvillian

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #18 on: July 31, 2014, 12:42:55 PM »
I tried the Craigslist route, but ran into a lot of flakers for some reason. Or the item was too far away to justify the cost.

After checking CL for a few weeks, I decided to just order this brand new from Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/VTech-Communications-Sound-Digital-Monitor/dp/B007NG5UF4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406818676&sr=8-1&keywords=vtech+baby+monitor

$40 and it works perfect. I would highly recommend it for anyone that does stumble across this thread later. It's crystal clear audio and does the trick.
I think we have the same one.  I like that you can set the sensitivity level. 
Ours did become un-linked at one point, and no amount of powering it off/on would get it to communicate.  It seemed pretty common, and the company was happy to exchange it for a new one at no cost.

Christof

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #19 on: July 31, 2014, 01:50:38 PM »
We've done the cell phone things plenty of times, but it's not as easy when we were out of the country.

But we can't use our phones when we set them up like that. Since I actually use my phone for work sometimes this was an issue a couple times.

I totally agree that a babies cry itself is loud enough to hear, but sometimes we go outside or in the garage while the baby is sleeping. Definitely wouldn't be able to hear her crying all the way in my backyard when she's upstairs in the crib.

in other countries I buy a local SIM card that is rechargable or - as I did in the US - a MiFi Router. It's also a business expense a lot cheaper than roaming.

When I am needing a baby phone like device it is usually because I am somewhere enjoying meals or conversations. The last thing I want is a business call. If there is something urgent they can text me which works while being in a call. But seriously, there is rarely anything unexpected I would be the only one to be able to solve it, but none of my employees, that  I would also be able to solve on the phone and can't wait a few hours. Never happened in almost twenty years, and that is being in IT.

HairyUpperLip

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #20 on: August 05, 2014, 10:51:06 AM »
We've done the cell phone things plenty of times, but it's not as easy when we were out of the country.

But we can't use our phones when we set them up like that. Since I actually use my phone for work sometimes this was an issue a couple times.

I totally agree that a babies cry itself is loud enough to hear, but sometimes we go outside or in the garage while the baby is sleeping. Definitely wouldn't be able to hear her crying all the way in my backyard when she's upstairs in the crib.

in other countries I buy a local SIM card that is rechargable or - as I did in the US - a MiFi Router. It's also a business expense a lot cheaper than roaming.

When I am needing a baby phone like device it is usually because I am somewhere enjoying meals or conversations. The last thing I want is a business call. If there is something urgent they can text me which works while being in a call. But seriously, there is rarely anything unexpected I would be the only one to be able to solve it, but none of my employees, that  I would also be able to solve on the phone and can't wait a few hours. Never happened in almost twenty years, and that is being in IT.

I usually travel out of the country for family reasons - USA to Canada. So I can't expense it for business. We were able to still use our phones on WiFi and made do and it wasn't a big deal.

I'm not a manager, I'm a technical person. Therefore, when there is a server outage/crash I'm involved and don't get to take hours to respond. Are you technical? If yes, I'm surprised you could ignore an outage for hours. I don't want to disclose too much about my role or company but we support hospitals all over the country... if one is down, it literally means life or death for some patients; especially ER patients.

Christof

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #21 on: August 05, 2014, 12:58:14 PM »
I'm not a manager, I'm a technical person. Therefore, when there is a server outage/crash I'm involved and don't get to take hours to respond. Are you technical? If yes, I'm surprised you could ignore an outage for hours. I don't want to disclose too much about my role or company but we support hospitals all over the country... if one is down, it literally means life or death for some patients; especially ER patients.

I'm in software development for pharmacies (among others) which are small businesses here in Germany, not huge chains. We do not have guaranteed response times or SLAs, because our market doesn't pay for that. I'm neither the first, nor the only contact. Our customers can usually reach someone, though they might need to make a few calls instead of just one. Or technicians tend to be more accessible than we from the software development side, though.

The only technical equipment I'm responsible for is our own servers. But there's a backup system available in another data center that can be used in case the main system is not available. We also have procedure for the most common problems such as connectivity issues of the VPN. After a two day outage (when we didn't have a replicated stand-by  system available) we also created a list of things to do when the network is not available (purging office documents, reading books, etc.). So in the worst case we miss a day of work.

GuitarStv

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #22 on: August 05, 2014, 04:47:45 PM »
The biggest kid related waste of money we spent was on a baby monitor.  I can hear our baby cry when he's in his second floor room and I'm downstairs in the basement.  If I'm gardening in front of the house I can usually hear him.  Everyone told us that we would need the monitor and it would be essential.  Pfffft.  For us, earplugs get more use than a baby monitor.

mamagoose

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Re: Baby Monitor - Cheaper options?
« Reply #23 on: August 06, 2014, 01:37:19 PM »
We use an old smart phone, it's video only but I can hear her throughout the house. It's great b/c we can tune in from any computer in the home network. We also bought a cheapo used audio monitor (like $10) that we use at night time so we can hear when she wakes up.