Hellobee Boards

I love having a video monitor. My LO was a sleep crier, so it came in handy those early months.

Video, video, video. Seriously. Above any other piece of baby gear, this one is worth the $ in my opinion. So many times my baby is just sleep murmuring and isn't actually awake - in the beginning I would swoop in so he didn't get "worked up" and.. wake him up on accident! It was also helpful working out his sleepy cues and timing when he was older.

@scg00387: totally agree. This is sonething we use EVERY day, multiple times a day. Couldn't live without our video monitor !

I am maybe the only person in the world who doesn't feel the need for a video monitor...but for what it's worth, we just have an audio one and that works for us. I used it all the time the first month or 2 when I was paranoid, but now I never use it (I can hear her nursery from our room) and don't feel the need to check on her constantly. If you have a huge house or the baby's room is far away, I could see a video one being nice. My LO is only 4 months old, so I can't speak to needing one for an older child, just wanted to pipe in and say that you can survive without a video monitor!

@Sugar.Biscuit: I initially had the foscam and a separate audio monitor, and while the foscam was awesome when it worked, we constantly had to mess with the IP thing and we couldn't take it with us when we traveled. I then got the midlevel Motorola, hated the picture quality, and got this http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-MBP36-Wireless-3-5-Inch-Infrared/dp/B004VL2VRO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373240859&sr=8-1&keywords=motorola+video and while I miss some features of the Foscam, it works great. I know it seems insane to spend that much $ on one.. but I 100% think it's worth it!

Definitely prefer video monitor, we had an audio for the first 8ish months and once E was in her room by herself at 7 months I was constantly checking on her (accidentally woke her up a few times) and I was in and out of bed several times a night. Finally got a video monitor and for me its so much more reassuring, definitely wish we had gotten one sooner!

@Sugar.Biscuit: We have this one, which is one of the newest ones but it's a Toys r us exclusive. I got it on Ebay though for $130 brand new.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=19131106

ETA: it has the smaller screen but it's plenty big enough for me.

I have both and actually prefer the audio. She moves aeound all the time and I don't see the point of watching - would rather just hear if she wakes up. Also I can't seem to find a good spot to put the video monitor to have a good view of the crib. I'd save my money and just go with audio...

We love our video monitor. M slept in our room for the first few months, but since she's moved into the nursery it's one of my must-haves. It was great for the minor sleep training that we did because I could see what she was up to if she was fussing a little. Now that she's mobile we can see if she gets her arms through the crib bars. Sometimes, like tonight, I get home from work after she's asleep and I love being able to peek at her on the monitor!

Not sure about what brand to recommend but we love our video monitor because I can see what lo is doing without getting out of bed.

I thought the video monitor was essential for my peace of mind during sleep training. I didn't need to go in her room and disturb her to check on her because I could watch her on the monitor.

i LOVE our video monitor. I am a nervous nelly so I would never do well with just a audio monitor.

We have to Motorola from Target (model is not available any more) but it has worked great for the past year.

Especially if you are going to sleep train, it is super helpful.

My biggest tip is to attatch the camera to the wall with command strips, that way you don't leave nail marks in the wall. We have changed the location of the camera a few times as she grows and needs change.