Baby Monitoring Solutions

Just curious if anyone here has done anything in regards to baby monitoring? There seem to be a lot of expensive options out there. Looking to maybe get some notifications based on motion or sound and obviously being able to see the baby is important too. This is several months out but I've been giving marching orders to find a solution so I'm not running around at the last minute. I've not done anything with video or audio before in regards to indigo so anyone's feedback is greatly appreciated.

We have 1yr old twins, and are using WIFI cameras with Pan and Tilt over their cribs. We use Astak MOLE cameras we bought from costco and ebay. They seem to work well, but many others have the same feature set. They can do all you are asking and also store clips to a built in SD card based on motion or a schedule. We connect to them with laptops/ipad as well as a wall mounted HP touchpad downstairs. We typically use them for video but also have a traditional audio monitor as it tends to be simple and foolproof.

While you are gearing up, get some blackout curtains. They are one thing we really overlooked at first and have had an enormous impact.

Good luck with the newborn, get some sleep now!

-Chris

Chrisla23, thanks for the info. Is there a sensitivity to the motion? No baby just yet... but I'm sure October will come soon enough! We splurged and bought blackout shades for all our bedrooms when we replaced our metal blinds, so we are all set in that department. Glad it wasn't a total waste of money!

I talked to my wife about it and she seemed nervous to have have a "dedicated" thing... perhaps the sound baby monitor is the ticket.

With you cameras, can you adjust the sensitive level as to when it detect motion or sound?

http://www.withings.com/en/babymonitor

I found this today, poking around... pricey, but it looks pretty straightforward. Still think the wife might be nervous about not having an always on type of thing... I keep telling her that people used to just have to go check on their babies back in the day and a lot of people turned out fine... but you can imagine trying to convince a pregnant lady

The ones we have do offer a slider that allows you to adjust the sensitivity to motion. Honestly though they move around allot, you certainly don't want to be notified every time there is even a large motion. Once they start rolling they will be moving around and even having waking periods where they settle themselves without a peep.

I mainly use the motion detection to trigger snaps to the SD card. I only find myself looking at that on a meta-level to say when naps/sleep started and ended.

I'd be with your wife on wanting a traditional monitor as a backup, S* happens. The power flicked the other night and the server took a silly dump that took me 2 days to figure out (despite a UPS...). All of our fancy indigo/cameras/blind controls/squeezebox white noise were out of commission. The monitor just needs electricity. They are also handy as they are easy to setup say when you go visit the grandparents. Fancy with a simple backup has been a good combo for us.

It really is nice having a hands-off way to check on them. You don't have to disturb them to satisfy your "are they breathing" paranoid curiosity, or get your cute fix. We have also found it helpful once they are no longer newborns and you need to start thinking about not running into the room immediately every time they cry and teaching them to self sooth. The camera lets you know if they are just flailing or "partying" or are two seconds from finding the binky/blanket/stuffie that will help them settle down on their own.

-Chris

Well, this won't really solve your immediate need... But, the best solution is to have another kid. It is amazing how much stuff you think you absolutely must have for the first one. Then, when #2+ comes along, you wonder what in the world you were thinking with #1.

Been there, done that, YMMV

[matt (support)]

But, the best solution is to have another kid

Dude, a fancy baby monitor is way cheaper and less work than having another kid.

I used IP cameras and Evocam to monitor two cribs. Evocam allows simultaneous viewing from any computer, iPad, or iPhone on the LAN, but I used Dect baby monitors for sound, not the IP cameras' integrated microphones.

Also installed Weathersnoop with some Oregon Scientific temperature monitors in the kids' rooms to make sure they don't get too cold or hot. Indigo sends me a text if either rooms gets out of range.

Once they could walk & get out of bed, I set a "nap time" mode, which temporarily prevents the switches in their rooms from turning on their lamps for about an hour. Also, used a motion sensor in the hallway outside their rooms to turn on the hallway light, very dimly, at night and during nap time, but more brightly at other times.

Anything that increases sleep is good.