Monitoring Baby with Night Vision Technology

Posted on September 28, 2011 Updated on December 5, 2011

What started off as a relatively normal morning become another day of firsts with young Maddie. Our little girl was in high spirits right up until dinnertime when things suddenly spun off course.

Maddie and I were just finishing up a feeding when she erupted into an unexpected little fit of anger. Apparently 6 oz is no longer sufficient – and since the baby was convinced that she was starving, I decided to break new ground and try for a record breaking 8 ounces. She tore through that in no time – but was still out of sorts.

All the necessary steps were taken to properly soothe the little girl including an elongated burp session. When I laid Maddie on the couch, I did wonder how she would be able to process all of that liquid. I didn’t have to wait long for the answer.

Maddie was cooing and chirping on the couch with a huge smile on her face – I reached under the blanket to lift her up and was treated not only to a wet blanket – but large wet spot on the couch as well. Surprise!

Fair enough – time for a diaper change and a new outfit. We went back to the living room where I held Maddie for a while. About 40 minutes later, we laid the baby down to eat dinner. When dinner was done, I reached under Maddie to pick her up and guess what – Act II had already been completed. Wet blanket, wet diaper and a wet couch.

Luckily, this accident took place on the opposite side of the couch – so now each corner of the couch matches the other.

These unfortunate events almost postponed Maddie’s first planned solo nap, but we decided to go ahead with it. Our definition of solo means that this would be the first time Maddie slept in a room without us being physically present. I set Maddie in the crib and pointed the baby bubble camera at her and took the monitor into the other room with me.

I stared at the image of Maddie situated in the eerie glow of her darkened room. It was kind of like watching a movie where a Delta Force team is conducting night operations to snag the sleeping villains.

I could tell right off the bat that this monitor thing is going to take some getting used to. My wife and I sat on the stinky couch ignoring the television and staring at the baby monitor for two hours until Gina finally went to bed. This obsession with watching the baby monitor kind of defeats the purpose of the device – instead of being productive while the baby is sleeping, we’re in some sort of parental trance – locked into the image of our sleeping daughter.

I suppose we just need more time to feel comfortable – but watching the Maddie show seemed infinitely more entertaining than whatever ever show we might have conjured up on the television.