Friday Faves | Summer Baby Video Monitor

My husband and I read an article that says first-time parents will spend an average of $10,000 within the first year for baby gear (furniture, diapers, formula…yada yada).   How crazy is that?  So, we put in a lot of research to avoid accumulating things that could be done without but there are some items that we would be happy to splurge on.

With the exception of a crib, we took anything we could second-hand.  I should be used to it.  I had to wear all my older sister’s hand-me downs which was slightly embarrassing since she was six years older, so I was still wearing those hot pink 80’s leggings while my friends were wearing 90’s Nirvana-inspired grunge.  Ah, I believe I’m uncovering the mystery why I may not be the fashion icon of the windward side. But the real embarrassment came because I had an obsessive compulsive mother who used to label everything we owned with our names, right down to hangers and socks.  So all the shirts I would wear to grade school every day had my sister’s name “CASSAN” permanently inked on the lapel for all to see.

Now I’m still inheriting my sister’s leftovers, but this time, I’m scoring big in the baby gear department.  My sister has five daughters, three of which are three and under.  My baby girl has bags of pink and pink (didn’t you know they only make all baby clothes in one color only?) clothes from her cousins.  And besides clothes, another thing that my sister passed on has become such a huge hit in my household that it has earned the spot as this week’s Friday Fave.

This week’s Friday Fave is the  Summer Infant Day/Night Video Monitor. It’s a high-tech version of the baby monitor we are all a little familiar with and a huge find for those parents who need to do work at home.

I used to be a GWAC (girl with a camera) but now I’ve graduated to MWAC status, a mom with a camera.  I wasn’t sure how I well I would adjust to taking care of a newborn and keeping ahead with photo-editing.   It’s made so much easier and worry-free with the use of the Summer Video Monitor.  It’s amazing.  It may be pricier than a regular baby monitor but I would say it’s worth the upgrade.

Now I can get a lot of work accomplished and keep an eye on my daughter.  It has night-vision capabilities so the video quality looks exactly the same whether it is night or day.  I position the monitor right on my work station so I have a great view.  It’s even better than actually having her next to me.  We mounted the camera on the wall and it has an adjustable mount to get the angle you desire.  The quality is so superior that I can even see her breathing as she sleep.  A huge relief to an overanxious first-time mom.  The sound is almost a little too crisp. I have to turn it down or I get distracted from hearing the birds constantly cooing outside her nursery.  Even with the sound turned down, there’s a light display that represents the ambient sound in the room, lighting up red when baby girl starts to make noise.  And, now I can watch to see if she’s just fussing and falls back asleep without waking her up by trying to check on her.

One huge word of caution about the infant monitor is that the video camera should be mounted on the wall away from the crib with the cord secured against the wall.  A free cord near a crib and baby is a very serious choking hazard.

Before I show you pictures of my home set-up, I’ll let you know that I almost postponed today’s blog post to give myself time to clean up my desk for the pictures.   But I’m a stickler for schedule so here’s my desk in all it’s real-life glory.

First glance at my work area

Those are samples of float wraps on my wall above the desk. I just love them.  Check out our Products Page for a description.

Breakdown of my work area

Friday Fave=Baby Video Monitor

I could watch this show all day long!!!

And, yes, anything that allows me to just sit and watch my baby girl sweetly dreaming is going to have an easy time winning the coveted spot of Friday Faves.  Scott’s idea is that when we don’t need it for the nursery anymore, we can hook it up outside our front door to see who’s coming a-knocking.

Come back tomorrow for a sneak peek at one of my favorite images from a family session at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel!!!