If you have ever stepped in to Babies R Us to register for baby things or to purchase baby things then I’m sure you’ve experienced that overwhelming feeling of ‘holy macaroni. where do I even begin?!’ There are so many baby products out there boasting that they are a ‘must have’, making it really difficult to decide (particularly as a new parent) which ones are necessities and which ones you can live without.

I’m no expert, by any means, but as the months go by and I earn new parenting ‘badges’ with each new experience I am beginning to learn which things have been the most useful for our family.

Today’s “must-have” is definitely a luxury, and one I am SO grateful for: Video monitor

When we were registering for baby things I really liked the idea of a video monitor so we could see Charlotte (not just hear her) while she was in her crib. The problem was that all of the biggest monitor brands and models out there got pretty sad reviews (I use amazon to check reviews for most things). Complaints for the biggest name brands included poor reception and video interference/bad video quality.

In the end we decided to go a different route with a product called D-Link. It is not marketed as only a ‘baby’ monitor, but more like a home security system.

A very generous friend of ours gifted us the camera and then set up the system for us. We can now check in on her from our smart phones, Kindle, or laptop. The camera will automatically switch from color to ‘night vision’ depending on the amount of light in the room. The camera is also equipped with sound but we prefer to use a separate audio monitor that has several receivers so we can keep one upstairs and one downstairs.

I really love this system. I don’t have to worry about bringing a monitor with me from room to room or making sure I don’t run out of battery. One audio receiver is plenty for each floor of our house {Our house is not too large but also has an open floor plan which helps with being able to hear her no matter what room I am in}. The receivers just stay plugged in all the time {one in our bedroom and the other in the great room downstairs} so we don’t have to worry about battery life. The only time I unplug one is if I am doing something in the garage. The only thing I carry around with me between rooms or keep close to me throughout the day is my phone {which I did before Charlotte came along anyway}.

{2 weeks}

{4 months}

I am so grateful for this monitor and I use it multiple times every day. Around 2 weeks old we put Charlotte in her crib in her own room to sleep because she was {and still is} a very noisy sleeper. Grunts, groans, whimpers, moans…. all of these sounds set me on high alert in a hot second and I would just lay there, listening… panicking. Then I learned to check the video first before rushing to the pack-and-play {when she was in our room} or in to her room. Take it from me, if you rush in there all pell mell, expect to stay a while to comfort the baby you have just rudely awakened. 99% of the time when I check the monitor she is still snoozing soundly with a grin on her face, and seeing this on my phone allows me to drift peacefully back to sleep {or not, as post pregnancy insomnia continues to control me}. One thing I was worried about was some crazy lunatic somehow finding our video feed in the ‘cyberspace’ and being all creepy but then I discovered that I am able to tell when someone is linked in watching the feed from the camera because the camera’s red light will be flashing. It is also fun for Chris to be able to ‘check’ on her while at work and see how she is {not} napping.

Stay tuned for more Mommy Must-haves.

UPDATED: I forgot to add that the video feed is password protected so only Chris and I can access it!!