Product Review: Summer Infant Day & Night Handheld Color Video Monitor

I always knew I would get a video monitor when I had a baby. I got to see the Summer Infant Day & Night Handheld Color Video Monitor in action for three years at my sisters house and my parents house, so it was a no brainer that I would get the same one. A video monitor is a must have for any parent, and the Summer Infant Day & Night Handheld Color Video Monitor is a great choice with just a few issues.

Although getting a video monitor always seemed obvious to me, I found out through pregnancy forums that many women didn't think it was necessary. Let me tell you, not only is it necessary, it can keep you sane! Having a video monitor allows you to peek in on your baby or toddler at any time without them knowing. Hear a noise? Take a peek and see what they are doing. Are they starting to whine? Look at the monitor to see if they are waking up or just readjusting. My sister still uses it for her 4 year old to make sure he is actually going to bed. Without a video monitor, it would be easy to think I need to rush into the room anytime I hear a noise, but the Summer Infant video monitor allows me to see that she is OK without going in which would disturb her.

The Summer Infant Day & Night Handheld Color Video Monitor works at day or night so you have 24 hour access to spy on your baby. During the day you can see everything in full color, and at night it goes into night vision so you can still see your baby while she sleeps. The monitor is large enough that, if positioned correctly, you can see the whole crib so no matter where your baby lies you can see her. The camera can be mounted to any wall or even the ceiling, which is where we have it, so you get the best possible view of baby. The monitor can be set up with 2 cameras so you can have 2 different rooms monitored and keep an eye on 2 different kids at the same time.

One of the downsides of the Summer Infant Day & Night Handheld Color Video camera is that you do have to mount it close to a plug. It only works plugged in and I'm sure that's true for any camera out there. Since my baby's room only had 3 plugs, I really only had one plug that was usable. One plug was behind her crib and it's dangerous to put any type of cords that close to a baby's crib. If you haven't heard the stories - look it up! The other plug was too far away so we settled on the 3rd plug. We taped the cord along the wall and ceiling as far as it would reach and mounted the camera so it's almost over baby's crib without being directly over it. The cord holders that come with the product are completely useless. They are flimsy and they didn't stay stuck. We ended up using packaging tape to secure the cord, especially since baby started grabbing at it when she got older.

Video is great, but you also need audio to make a truly useful monitor. The Summer Infant Day & Night Handheld Color Video Monitor has audio that can be turned up as loud as you want. The only trouble is the audio can encounter some interference depending on where you set the monitor. You'll want to keep the monitor away from other electronics, cell phones, etc so that it doesn't mess up. We do have an ongoing problem with the sound cutting out on this monitor. It happens randomly depending on the volume settings. We have to turn the volume up and down a bunch to get it to click back in to normal. I've read this on the troubleshooting for the product so I think it's common. It's something you get used to and you learn how to set the volume so the sound will come through ok.

Once the audio clicks in properly, it works great. I can hear baby snoring when she is sick, or even the smallest whine. I take it outside while she is napping so I can do yard-work and I can hear when she wakes up. It is definitely reassuring since she has been sleeping in her own crib since birth. Some people prefer to share a room with baby in those early months so they can see and hear everything, but I actually found that having her in a separate room and using this monitor worked better for us. We slept different hours, plus we moved around or got up a lot (especially in those first few months). Plus it would have been too dark to really see her in our room. The night vision on this camera allows me to keep an eye on my baby and not have to worry about waking her up whenever I'm moving around.

Overall the Summer Infant Day & Night Handheld Color Video Monitor is a great investment. There are a lot of audio-only monitors on the market but I don't see why anyone would not get a video monitor. Hearing your baby is one thing, but being able to see her is a totally different story!