If you’ve been following the Finish Line Blog lately, you’ve noticed a common thread running through the last couple of posts. I’ll give you a hint: baby. As I mentioned in the past, we have a newborn at home. She’s becoming less of a newborn by the day, as we’ve reached the one month milestone already. Time flies when you’re having fun (or at least really busy!) I’ve decided to share with our readers some of the technology we’re using to make life a little easier. Last week we introduced you to the Owlet monitor. Owlet measures your baby’s heart rate and oxygen levels in real time and works in concert with an app on your smartphone. If you missed that post, be sure to read “Give a Hoot About Your Baby“. While Owlet is great to monitor the health of your child, what if you actually want to be able to see and communicate with him? How about a Snug Baby Monitor?
Technology is many things to many people. While it may be a distraction or headache to some. it also makes the world smaller and allows us to be closer to home than ever before. As I told the world in the last post, my wife does copious amounts of research before plunking down her hard earned money on a product. Last Fall she decided she wanted a video monitor that would allow us to view the video with our iPhones when we were away from home. Her research led her to Snug and the Snug Baby Monitor. The monitor connects to your home Wi-Fi, and is able to be viewed (and controlled) via a free app on your iPhone or Android device. Video is delivered in high definition, and video can be saved and downloaded for future viewing if so desired. Through the Snugcam app, the camera can be panned in any direction by simply swiping the screen on your smartphone. The camera can be set to use nightvision mode in low light situations. The Snug Baby Monitor can also initiate two-way conversation so you can speak with your child from anywhere in the world. This monitor hit on all of my wife’s desires.
Set up for the Snug Baby Monitor is pretty straightforward. For the initial setup, you’ll need to place the monitor near your router so you can temporarily run an Ethernet cable from the monitor to the router. Don’t run out and buy a cable: a three foot cable comes with the monitor. Screw the supplied antenna onto the monitor, and plug the power cord into any outlet to begin. Next, download the Snugcam app from the AppStore if you have an Apple device, or Google Play from an Android device to continue. You’ll need to know your Wi-Fi network’s name and security key to complete the setup, as the monitor will need to be connected wirelessly so you can place it wherever you’d like to in your home. Keep in mind that the better the wireless signal you have, the better the monitor will perform. Create a username and password, and you’re good to go. Snug claims that the monitor can be set up in ten minutes. That’s probably about right in my experience. If you’d like to mount the monitor to the wall or ceiling, your times may vary.
If you’re interested in purchasing the Snug Baby Monitor, the best price I’ve found is $59.99 from Amazon. Click here for the link. It really is a steal for the peace of mind it brings. Like Owlet, the app will send you notifications if the child has moved (to your specifications), so you can relax knowing that you’ll be the first to know about the well-being of your child. As always, I haven’t received any compensation from Snug for this review; I’m simply passing along to you what’s worked for me and my family. With these two monitors, we know for sure that our baby is “Snug as a Bug in a Rug” whenever we’re away from home.