Recently we reached the stage where it was time to move our 3-month old out of our room/bassinet, to his nice, big crib next door. It meant a lot of things – less constant sleep, a new bedtime routine and of course digging out the old baby monitor from last time.

Apparently a lot has changed since we last relied on the old baby walkie-talkie because this time when we turned it on, 8 out of 10 times, there was nasty interference.

Crap.

I spent a good day trying to crack the code. What was different from last time? Was it the Wi-Fi? Was it the neighbours Wi-Fi?

Anyways, while this was going on, it meant my wife was basically trapped on the top floor of the house each night, because we would not be able to hear the baby from the basement.

While she did enjoy the peace, the chance to read, and going to bed early, after a few nights, she was craving TV. We had a backlog of shows piling up, one of which, Top Chef, our weekly hit of crack.

As I was using tin foil on the baby monitor to see if that would magically fix it like a bad episode of MacGyver, I realized I had gone too far.

It was time to suck it up and just get a new one. Gone baby monitor, gone.

Saturday morning, my wife went out and picked up a fancy new digital monitor that said there were no chance in hell of being any interference. Perfect.

It also had vibration mode, a night-light, an intercom and many other features. We were all set.

I think my favourite part is the intercom part. I already freaked out our 3-year old as he was running around trying to figure out why my voice was upstairs but my body was not.

Side note: Wife has banned me doing that anymore as it is creepy.

So last night, we both returned to the basement and watched TV. It was touch and go at first as my wife built up the trust in the new monitor. But once we heard that first gurgle from the little guy, we were fine.

As for the old, analog monitor. It will be going to where all our other burnt out crap goes. To the garage, where it will get tossed out whenever I have time to clean up.

Our advice for new parents. Go digital right away and save yourself the headache of trying to figure out what is blocking your signal.

Back to some what relaxing nights again in our house.

As we try out some of the features, I am sure there will be more reviews to come. But for now here is more information on the monitor.

For the record, here is the one we bought. VTech DM221-2.

Features of the Safe&Sound Digital Audio Monitor with Two Parent Units

– Vibrating Sound Alert – Enjoy some added peace by being silently alerted when there is sound in the baby’s room.

– Talk-Back Intercom System – Remotely communicate with your baby from the parent unit to the baby unit. Soothe your baby from another room or even from outdoors.

– Night Light – The loop on the baby unit illuminates to be used as a night light.

– Five Level Sound Indicator – Turn the sound down on the Parent Unit and rely on the visual sound alert LEDs to indicate sound levels in the baby’s room.

– Belt Clip – Take advantage of the extended range and rechargeable batteries on the parent unit by using the built in belt clip.
Backlit display on parent unit.

– Rechargeable Batteries – With up to 18 hours of monitoring time, have the freedom to carry the parent unit everywhere you go without the hassle of a power cord.

– Secure Transmission – The signal is digitized and encrypted ensuring that all transmissions between the baby unit and parent unit are private and secure.

– Extended Range – Up to 1,000 feet of range allows you to feel safe and connected to your child while you go about your day.

– DECT 6.0 digital technology provides crystal clear transmission, eliminating the annoying white noise you hear from analog monitors. The only sounds you hear are coming from your baby.