Baby & Mommy Must-haves Event #5: Summer Infant Baby Touch Digital Color Video Monitor Review & Slim & Secure Handheld Color Video Monitor Giveaway

There are so many baby products out there, it can often be overwhelming for new parents. I remember feeling unsure of what to register for when I was pregnant for the first time. Which items would we need, and which could we live without?! Over the years we've learned our list of must-haves...and at the top would definitely be a high quality baby monitor. Thanks to Summer Infant, we found just what we've been looking for!
With the mission of making this 'the best time of your life' and putting their heart and soul into everything they design, Summer Infant is dedicated to bringing parents a large selection of products that are both safe and sensible for little ones. Between their high quality baby products and excellent customer service, they have become a name parents know and trust.

Having used several products from Summer Infant over the years, I am a huge fan of their high quality, innovative products for little ones. With everything from health & safety products to bath, feeding and travel gear...they have everything parents are looking for.

When we learned that I was pregnant with our third baby, my husband and I began thinking about the items we would need once he/she arrives. Aside from the obvious clothes, diapers, etc...we were also in agreement that we needed a better baby monitor. We have used the same monitor with Kaelyn and Kaden, and although it works ok...it seems we get a lot of interference, and it has no video which we thought would be really handy to keep an eye on the baby without risking the chance of waking him/her up by walking in the room. In search for the best monitor out there, I came across Summer Infant's line of baby monitors and couldn't have been happier to learn we were going to have the opportunity to review one.

We were sent the Baby Touch Digital Color Video Monitor to review.



Features/Benefits:

• 3.5” color LCD screen with automatic black & white night vision
• Touch-screen menu controls remote pan/scan/zoom feature, brightness and camera options
• 100% digital technology provides a secure and private connection up to 400’ away
• Talk-back feature allows parents to talk to baby while in the nursery
• Includes: Battery pack for camera, recharging base for parent unit, 10-hour rechargeable battery, etc.
  
• Ability to add 3 additional cameras with auto-scan feature
• LED sound lights
• Belt clip/flip stand
  
• One-touch video on/off button for nighttime convenience

When the baby video monitor arrived, I couldn't wait to check it out. I could tell it had everything (and more!) that we'd be been looking for by just looking at it in the box!

As I pulled everything out, I was happy to see all that was included (even more than I had expected!). The Baby Touch Digital Color Video Monitor comes with 1 camera, a camera battery pack, AC adapter, Monitor, Monitor Recharge Base, AV Cable, Security Clips, and Wall anchor.

Just after receiving the baby monitor, we moved to a new house where Kaelyn's bedroom was on a different level than ours. We thought it would be the perfect opportunity to test out the video monitor and keep an eye on her.

To get started we plugged the camera in her room. It does come with the necessary components to mount the camera to the wall, but having it set right on her dresser has worked out great!

We then plugged in the Monitor Recharge Base in our bedroom. The Monitor sits nicely on the base and there's a battery power indicator at the top which lets us know when it's charging. At night we leave it on the base, but I love having the option of being able to carry it around once it's charged too! There's a handy flip stand/belt clip which makes it easy to have with us wherever we're at in the house.

One thing I couldn't help but wonder, was how difficult it would be to figure out how to use this baby monitor. Thankfully, it came with excellent instructions (which included pictures) and is a very user-friendly device. In no time at all we had learned the different features and how to use them!

Upon touching the screen, many of the different options available pop up. There are sound lights along the side, brightness control, a zoom in and out option, and one of my favorite features....the ability to pan left and right and up and down!! Kaelyn has a larger room now, and the ability to pan has been wonderful! We have the camera sitting far enough away that we can easily see her on her bed, but when she's even playing in her room during the day, we can conveniently pan over to the other side of her room and see what she's up to. I love it!

The color and clarity of the picture on the screen is much better than I expected. This is partly due to the nice size of the monitor, which is 3.5". It's a color LCD screen, but also has automatic black & white night vision so we can still easily see Kaelyn at nighttime too.

Along the top of the monitor are the power volume, talk back, and video on/off buttons. When we're getting ready for bed, we love having the option to turn off the video and have only sound. By simply pushing the video on/off button we can have sound only or sound and video.

The feature that impressed me most about this video monitor is the talk back option. Kaelyn has been in a routine of waking up way too early for quite some time. In the past, we'd have to get up, walk into her room and tell her to go back to sleep. Thanks to the Baby Touch Digital Video Monitor, all we have to do now is press the talk back button and tell her to go back to sleep. It's like an intercom where our voice is projected through the camera so she can hear us. We can now easily talk back and forth with one another which I love!!

The video monitor even comes with a battery pack for the camera to make it portable. This is ideal for when the kids are in their play room. I can move it there and keep an eye on them while I'm cleaning, doing laundry, etc.

I had a feeling I would love this baby monitor, but had no idea how much! Summer Infant really went above and beyond to make this a product that allows parents to easily check in on, and communicate with their baby with the many convenient features it offers. I am thrilled with everything about it and am so happy to have it now for when the baby arrives. In fact, we are now considering getting a second and third camera so each of the kids can have one in their room. Having such a great baby monitor helps give us peace of mind when our kids are in their rooms sleeping. The Summer Infant Baby Touch Digital Color Video Monitor is definitely a must-have on my list, and a baby product I would highly recommend to all parents with young children.

Buy It: You can purchase the Baby Touch Digital Color Video Monitor at Walmart, Babies R Us and more!

Win It: One very lucky reader is going to win a a Slim & Secure Handheld Color Video Monitor!

For parents looking for the ultimate stylish color video monitor that allows them to view baby both day and night, there's the Slim&Secure Handheld Color Video Monitor from Summer Infant. It's small, sleek and stylish design makes parents feel like they're watching the little one on their cell phone. It's today's most sought after baby monitor and gives parents the reassurance they need by allowing them to hear and see baby - day or night.

Mandatory Entry - Visit Summer Infant and let me know another product you'd love to have!

Extra Entries: (Only valid after the mandatory entry has been completed. Leave 1 comment for each extra entry)

1. 1 extra entry- Like Summer Infant on Facebook

2. 1 extra entry - Follow Summer Infant on Twitter

3. 1 extra entry - Sign up to receive the Summer Infant Newsletter

4. 3 extra entries- Blog about this giveaway (linking to this post and Summer Infant) and leave THREE comments with the URL to that post.

5. 1 extra entry- Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway (You can tweet once a day for one extra entry every day)! You can copy and paste:

Baby & Mommy Must-haves Event 5: #Win a Summer Infant Slim & Secure Handheld Color Video Monitor! http://bit.ly/n6j0Al Ends 10/6

6. 3 extra entries- Post my blog button or blog URL to your blog and leave a comment with the URL to your blog. (If it already is, leave me a comment letting me know)

7. 2 extra entries- subscribe to A Mom's Balancing Act via e-mail (found along the side column) and leave TWO comments letting me know.

8. 2 extra entries- 'Like' A Mom's Balancing Act on Facebook

9. 2 extra entries- Follow my blog publicly on Google Friend Connect

10. 1 extra entry - Enter any of my other current giveaways. Leave me a comment on which one(s)....ONE entry for EACH giveaway you enter!!

Leave one comment for each entry you complete above including with each, your e-mail address (or make sure it's visible in your profile) so that I can easily contact the winner!!

This giveaway will end October 6th and is open to US and Canada!

**The products for this review and giveaway were provided for free by Summer Infant. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way. The opinions of others may differ from my own**