With a new baby on the way, I asked my son and his wife what kind of baby monitor they would like. With so many options available today, I was expecting them to select a video monitor with all the bells and whistles. Their reply was, "Just an audio monitor." They said they didn't need one that glowed in the dark, turned somersaults, played tag, or danced with you, but if it cooked supper and washed the car that would be okay.
So I did what most mom's would do and selected a state-of-the art audio monitor (the Levana Melody). Unfortunately, it doesn't do chores, but with the built-in flash light and talk-to-baby feature, the monitor was a huge hit.
Both units are lightweight and connect automatically when turned on, but it only transmits when there's a sound in the baby's room, so there's no extra background noise. It even shows the temperature in the baby's room, and the included rechargeable batteries are an added bonus. Even in a smaller house, this monitor has saved them from making excessive trips up and down the stairs just to check on the baby. They requested a simple monitor, but the extra features on this one are just too cool not to use.
Not only have my son and daughter-in-law gotten plenty of use out of it, my 8-year-old granddaughter has gotten in on the action, too. The last I heard, she was using it as walkie-talkie. She likes to "help" calm her baby brother down when he's fussy.
"HEY, WESLEY! DON'T CRY! IT'S OKAY! IS HE SLEEPING YET?!"
"Sam, stop yelling. Yes, he's sleeping."
"OKAY!!!"
It also plays lullabies, which is a neat feature when used in moderation. Luckily, she hasn't found the nightlight that can be turned on remotely from the parent unit. She'd have his room lit up like the 4th of July.
So the pros of this monitor are that the parent unit connects well with the baby unit when it is turned on, it has a good range, and you can hear with clarity. The monitor remains quiet until it picks up a noise in the baby's room. The flashlight on the parent unit comes in handy any time they have to get up in the middle of the night. The cons are that it is extremely attractive to older siblings as a toy, but it's a small price to pay for such a useful device that provides peace of mind for parents with a new baby.
