Any new parent will tell you that part of their daily routine is obsessively checking that their precious offspring is still actually alive and breathing. With the fear of God instilled into us by health visitors, older generations, Mumsnet forums and the likes, is it any wonder we’re paranoid that our babies could be in mortal danger at any given moment?
With that being said, we can’t literally watch them 24 hrs a day (although you show me a mum who hasn’t lost a good 8 hours just staring at her newborn in wonder and I’ll show you a big fat liar) so what do we do? Luckily, gone are the days of the perma-crackle walkie-talkie baby monitors – technology has moved on a bit since the 80’s and 90’s. Baby monitors have gone digital age.
I tried 3 different monitors and based on reliability and features one came out on top – the Motorola MBP853 Wi-Fi camera. Here’s why it won the vote:
- Remote access – You can control the camera using an app on your phone or the portable screen.
- Night vision – As it goes dark the camera switches from normal to night vision meaning you can always see your precious one clearly.
- Speaker – You can talk to your baby via the camera without having to enter the room – ideal when they’re a bit older and refusing to go to bed. Big Mummy is always watching!
- Reliability – Obviously a Wi-Fi based baby monitor needs to be able to stay connected to the Wi-Fi or it’s pretty useless. Another brand we used (Y-cam) constantly dropped off the network and you’d have to re-install it all over again. Not great. The Motorola has dropped off the network once or twice BUT firstly an alarm goes off on the screen letting you know the connection has dropped and just turning the camera on and off at the wall makes it reconnect.
- There’s the option to add more cameras if you want to monitor your baby in more than one room. Also works if your fella says he’s tidying the house but actually playing PlayStation.
- You can buy a breathing monitor to make sure you can be there in seconds if your baby gets into trouble breathing.
- Portable – it connects to the mains power overnight but there’s a rechargeable battery meaning you can take it all around the house with you.
- Volume – It’s just as loud as if the baby was right next to you so as soon as they stir you’ll know about it.
- LED volume – Even if you’ve got the TV turned right up there’s flashing lights on the front to alert you visually that your baby is crying.
I’ve had a shop around and the cheapest I can find the MBP853 is on Amazon – You can buy it here … Now if only it could make babies sleep through the night, that’d be boss!
XOXO
