There are times when you wish you could see what is going on with your little one when they are in bed without wanting to disturb them. For example, the past few days my son has been sick, and we have the Summer Infant Video Monitor setup in his bedroom overlooking his bed. I was able to comfortably and discretely watch my son while he slept without coming into the room and waking him. It was a relief to see him sleeping soundly. I have been using this monitor ever since he was born. It has given me peace of mind to be able to “see” instead of just hear what was going on in his crib or bed.

The Summer Infant Video Monitor has a nighttime function that automatically kicks in whenever the room gets dark. A small LED light gives off enough light that you can clearly see your child in the darkened room. The 5 inch display is sufficiently large that you can see a lot of detail. There is a sound function so that you can also listen to what is going on, and the screen has a convenient on/off function where you can turn the video off yet still have the sound portion of the monitor off. This way you don’t have to sleep with a bright screen staring you in the face at night.

Overall, the Summer Infant Video Monitor is a great item to have if you want to monitor your child day or night,and have the peace of mind being able to see them and know what they are doing. For more information on this and other video monitors by Summer Infant, including the dual camera and portable screen monitors, please visit Summer Infant’s Website.

Popularity: 3% [?]

The Graco Pack ‘n Play is one item which I did not realize would get used so much. I initially thought of it as a luxury item, but decided fairly quickly that it was one of my “must haves” after seeing how I used it on a daily basis for various reasons.

At first my Graco Pack ‘n Play was in our downstairs livingroom, where I used it as a changing table and a secondary sleeping area (i.e. bassinet). It then came with us on a month long trip to Florida when my son was 8 months old, where it was used as a portable crib. After my son outgrew it for sleeping, I used it as toy storage for months in the living room. Then my second son arrived, and my older son was still in his crib at that time. So instead of buying a bassinet or second crib, we used the Pack ‘n Play in our bedroom as bassinet until my youngest turned 6 months old. Then we came full circle with it returning to the living room. It now gets used as a safe play area for my son, and provides him with a nice way to practice cruising.

The Pack ‘n Play is very easy to put together and fold down for portability. It is also easily changed from bassinet to crib. The mattress pad is a nice quilted material and the sides are mesh for good ventilation and visibility. It comes with a carrying case, basically the size of a large duffel bag. Graco makes these in so many patterns and colors, and they usually match their other items such as swings, strollers, highchairs, etc. Graco, as well as other companies such as Eddie Bauer, make sheet sets for the Pack ‘n Play, for when you need to use them as a sleeping area. The Graco Pack ‘n Play also comes with a removable parent tray for storing diapers and supplies, a mobile with cute soft toys, and it comes with a detachable electronic music/sound machine that has a night light.

For more information about the Graco Pack ‘n Play, please visit GracoBaby.com.

Popularity: 4% [?]