The Summer Infant Day and Night Dual Scanning Video Monitor

The Summer Infant Day and Night Dual Scanning Video Monitor is one of those things you don’t know you need until you have it. It also comes as a single video monitor.

Here is a run down of how the product works: You plug the camera in baby’s room (ideally positioned over the crib) and plug the receiver in wherever you want (ours is in our room). They also make hand held models. Voila! You can hear AND see your baby!

And here is where it gets even better: if you have baby #2 and your first child is still in need of monitoring (or if you want to be able to watch two different rooms for whatever reason) you can buy the dual scanning model. It can be used with each camera individually, or you can set each camera on a different channel and have the receiver scan between them. It switches between cameras every 8 seconds. You can turn off the video to just use the sound (for instance, if the light annoys you while you sleep), and then push the video button if you hear something so you can see what’s going on. Likewise, you can turn the volume down to just use the video feature. You will see if any noise is being made by the light indicators (just like with a regular, non video monitor), then turn the volume up if it looks like your child is up.

Here is why you need this monitor:
– After you put your child down to sleep, you can see exactly when she falls asleep. You might be surprised at how long kids toss and turn!
– When you hear your child cry, you can see whether she actually needs you, or is just crying out in her sleep.
– If she is crying and is awake, you can see whether she’s in trouble (for example, if her legs are caught in between the crib slats) so you know not to wait and can hurry in there!

Sounds like the perfect product, right? Not so fast, it does have some cons:
– It occasionally messes up our wireless router. And since everyone I know has a wireless router nowadays, this is a huge problem. What usually helps is that while there are only two cameras, there are three channels, so you can try a different channel if there is interference. We had the single monitor before our second child was born, and we did not have this problem, so I think it is specific to the dual scanning model.
– Sometimes the sound does not come in clearly and there is a clicky sound. This is very annoying. Moving the receiver to a different location sometimes helps.

All in all I do love this product. While it’s not a necessity, it is one of those things that makes life easier.

Batsheva is a mom to two daughters ages four and almost two. In addition to reading her reviews on Baby Things, you can read about her mommy adventures at Late Night Feedings.