Safety1st 900 MHz In-Sight Color Hand-Held Monitor & Television

Where To Buy: You can also get all brands of monitors at Walmart.com
Where Purchased/Price:  BabiesRUs for $199.99, 11/2/2000.        Our Product Rating:   *

Safety1st has a great idea with this color hand-held & portable video monitor/television, but too bad it's very unreliable and stops working.  We tried several stores and it was hard to find, as parents snap this one up.  It's a 900 MHz system with 2 components, the first is the video camera/mic that you mount the baby's room.  This video camera will transmit color motion video (black & white if it's in pitch dark) to the portable monitor that clips to your belt.   The monitor has a 2" active matrix color LCD screen.  It's 900 MHz and there is some interference, but the signal will penetrate the walls with no problem, and you can still get a good image of the baby in her crib. The system has 3 channels to minimize outside interference, and you can use the TV unit in audio only mode to save battery life.  Both the video camera and the mini TV monitor have AC wall adapters. The color LCD looks real good for TV, but not as good in color baby's room monitor mode.  Remember, anytime a TV maker shows a sample screen image on the box or sales brochure, it's always a simulated picture, another scam. In pitch black the picture is a nice B&W infrared image that is easy to see the baby in her crib.  The audio is real sensitive.  My only complaint is this product has no "sound lights" that most other monitors have, but that's a small issue.  Also, it would have been nice if the mini TV unit could transmit audio back to the video camera so parents in 2 places in the house can communicate.  For example, we had the baby in the bassinet in our room where my wife slept.  I slept in another room with the TV monitor so we could alternate diaper shifts.  When I hear the monitor, and I can see my wife and baby moving on the screen, it would be nice for me to just push a walk talkie type button and ask if everything is OK.  Typical of most mini TVs with a telescopic antenna, VHF signals come in weak, but UHF comes in awesome, as my photo below demonstrates.  This is because the ideal antenna for TV stations 2-12 is rabbit ears. Maybe if you are closer to the TV stations you'll get better images on VHF.  You can control brightness, contrast, and hue. 

UPDATE:  Well, after getting several complaints from other readers of BabyResource about their Safety1st 900 MHz Hand-Held Monitors crapping out on them, ours did likewise.  I've gotten a dozen complaints so far.  I called Safety1st about our problem, and they sent us a new camera head transmitter unit. But it was on a 6-8 week backlog, which does us no good.  It's probably on a backlog from all the parents who found out what a piece of junk this turned out to be.  But at least their customer service is good.  Here's their number: (800) 723-3065.  They sent us a new one, and a few months later, it broke too?

This is the titlting camera with the mic. You can see the LEDs on either side of the lens that are used to provide bare visible lighting for infrared mode when using the monitor in complete darkness.

Here's a sample image of our bassinet being transmitted via 900 MHz to the portable mini TV viewer that clips to your belt.   During the day, the image is in color, and in pitch black at night, the infrared mode automatically kicks in and it looks like a perfectly lit black & white image.   The daytime color image is fair.

This is a sample UHF TV station on the portable TV monitor.  If you are not using the monitor, flip the switch to TV mode for football.  2 buttons control brightness, contrast, hue up and down.

Dex Products Baby Wipe Warmer Ultra

Where To Buy:  Walmart.com
Where Purchased/Price:  Target for $19.99, 11/2/2000.        Our Product Rating:   *****

The Baby Bargains book said wipe warmers are a waste, and safety hazards.  I disagree because current designs are now different from the way they were designed in 1997 when they wrote their book.  Previously, wipe warmers were cumbersome "electric blanket" products that wrapped around a plastic wipe box.  This was a dumb idea, it's not good to apply heat to a plastic box. Over time people had their plastic wipe boxes melt. The current "coffin" type designs are much better and safer, you don't use the plastic box.  The Dex Products unit that I bought is completely sealed and all you do is take a stack of wipes, drop it in the wipe warmer, add 1/2 cup of water, and close the lid.  In a few hours, the wipes will be warm, not hot, and no melting plastic containers.  This product is a lifesaver, as our baby would literally scream out when we wiped her bottom, using cold wipes.   Some of our friends told us they did not think it was worth spending $20, but we think it was worth every penny.  When you wake your baby up at 3 AM for a diaper change, they don't want to feel a cold wet wipe on their butt.  Now you can buy the cheaper bulk wipe refills instead of boxes.  Our friends did not think of that.  This unit will pay for itself in a short time. If you don't want to spend the money yourself, put it on your baby registry.

This wipe warmer is very convenient.   You keep it plugged in at your diaper changing station and just lift the lid on the warmer to pull out warm wipes for your baby.  Don't forget to close the lid or the wipes will cool off and dry out, and you run the risk of growing mold at the bottom. Always keep one hand on your baby at all times, never let go, not even for 1/4 second.  You'd be suprised how their momentum can cause them to roll off.

Avent Express Bottle and Baby Food Warmer

Where To Buy: It's usually found at high end specialty baby shops.
Where Purchased/Price:  BabiesRUs for $39.99, 11/2/2000.        Our Product Rating:   ****

When you bring your newborn home from the hospital, you'll find out by the 2nd feeding just what a joke it is trying to warm up a chilled bottle in a pot of boiling water at 3 AM in the dark, your wailing baby in one hand.  It can take up to 10 minutes to warm the water enough to warm your bottle without overheating.  There's too many variables, like water level and your baby does not want excuses, she wants results.  So we bought the Avent Bottle & Baby Food Warmer to control the situation and saw an immediate improvement.  The Avent heats everything from frozen breast milk to baby food, and works for all types of bottles, in 6 minutes for a chilled 4 oz bottle.  If the bottle is at room temperature, it warms quicker.  Remember, most other bottle warmers will not work on Avent bottles, because Avents are wider than normal bottles.  With Avent bottles, you must use an Avent Warmer.  A thermostat allows you to warm bottles, disposable bags, and jars without overheating, by turning on & off periodically to keep the water hot, indicated by the orange LED. As the picture below shows, the warmer is a mini Jacuzzi for baby bottles.  The key is that it has less water than a pot, and it does not boil off, so the level is the same for days.

To use it, be sure the water level is the same as the milk level in the bottle, and drop the bottle in.  Now you have 6 minutes to change the baby's diaper and when you come back, it will be ready.  Bottle warmers are a bit pricey for some people but register it for your shower. We read the reviews and most parents liked this warmer.  But many said it overheated the milk, some said it underheated. I figured out what all parents are doing wrong. They are blaming the warmer for their own stupidity.    The water level must match the milk level, no higher, no lower. The instructions clearly say the LED is for the water, not the milk.  The LED goes off when the water reaches the right temperature, not the milk. 

Some fools see the LED turn off and think the milk is done, when it needs a full 6 minutes. The dial tells the Avent how much milk you have so it can adjust the water temperature. As for "overheating", they are tricked by the hot water.  When you pull the bottle out of hot water, of course it's going to be hot.  Duh!  So you cannot tell if the milk is warm until you wipe the bottle and swish the milk.  Always keep the water level the same as the milk level.  If the water level is higher, it will overheat the bottle.  You should practice a few times first, not at 3 AM the first time you get it home. Pros: Handy feeding dish keeps baby food warm also. Cons:   No power switch, you have to unplug it when you're done.  That can be solved with a switchable outlet strip if it bothers you.  You won't find Avent discounted. By 6 months, we began to just mic the bottle for 20 seconds.  You'll have to experiment on your microwave to find the optimum time.