Magazine

A simple non-wifi baby monitor on a wooden nursery dresser next to a half-empty coffee mug

The Wi-Fi Paranoia and Why We Chose a Simple Monitor

I was seven months pregnant with Maya, standing in the middle of Target aisle 14 in my black maternity leggings that were completely pilling at the thighs, clutching a lukewarm iced coffee like it was a life preserver. My phone...

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A blurry infrared night vision view of a baby sleeping peacefully in a crib

Why Dumb Tech Is Actually Better for Your Baby's Sleep

It was 2:14 AM and my phone was glowing an angry, pulsating red. The oxygen alarm was going off. I basically vaulted over my sleeping wife, kicked a laundry basket into the hallway wall, and burst into the nursery expecting...

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A baby sleeping safely in a crib without any monitor cords nearby

The Truth About Buying a Baby Monitor Camera (Before & After)

It was 3:14 AM on a Tuesday, and I was wearing a nursing bra that smelled like sour milk and, I don't know, absolute despair. I was sitting on the edge of the bed staring into the void when the...

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A tired mom looking at her phone next to a glowing green Owlet base station

The Truth About the Owlet Baby Monitor for Anxious Parents

It was 2:18 AM on a random Tuesday in November, and I was sitting on the very edge of our mattress in a milk-stained maternity bra and my husband's gray sweatpants, just openly staring at a softly glowing green ring...

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A blurry black and white baby monitor screen showing an infant rolling over in a dark nursery

Late Night Monitor Glitches and the Truth About Ghost Babies

My mother-in-law told me to burn sage and recite a specific prayer in the corners of the room because the house was clearly occupied. My old charge nurse from the pediatric ward texted back at three in the morning to...

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A father staring bleary-eyed at a glowing baby monitor screen in a dark room.

The truth about the best baby monitors (and what actually works)

At 2:14 am on a Tuesday, I was staring at a glowing five-inch screen, utterly convinced my daughter had been replaced by a Victorian ghost. The night vision on our heavily marketed, terrifyingly expensive smart camera had turned my two-year-old...

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Mom holding a baby monitor parent unit in a dark nursery

The 2 AM Wi-Fi Outage That Taught Me How to Pick the Best Baby Monitor

Lightning struck somewhere past our back pasture, the thunder rattled the bedroom windows, and the little green light on my nightstand router immediately turned a sinister, blinking red. It was 2:14 AM. I snatched up my phone, but instead of...

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Exhausted dad staring at a glowing baby monitor smartphone app in the dark

Why I Cannot Stop Staring at the Night Vision Baby Monitor

It's 3:14 AM, and the blue light of my smartphone is the only thing illuminating our bedroom ceiling. My wife is completely unconscious next to me, breathing in a steady rhythm that I deeply envy. Meanwhile, I'm zoomed in 400x...

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The Nanit baby monitor set up over a wooden crib in a rural Texas nursery

The Brutally Honest Truth About the Nanit Baby Monitor System

When I was pregnant with my first, I got three entirely different pieces of advice about watching your kid sleep in the span of one afternoon. My mom, bless her heart, told me to just leave the bedroom door cracked...

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