Summer Infant {Review & Giveaway}

I have come into contact with A LOT of infant and toddler products in the last three years. Some I love, some I don't. There has been one brand, though, that I am extremely loyal to, and that brand is Summer Infant. Summer has consistently delivered fabulous products that I am 100% happy with. When I find a brand as great as Summer, I always look to them first when I am in need of a new product. Some of my favorite Summer products are the Ultimate Crib Sheet, the SwaddleMe, and the BestView Handheld Color Video Monitor.

When I was pregnant with Rylie, I didn't think there was any need for a video monitor, so we registered for a regular audio monitor. My thought was, if my baby is crying in her crib, what good is it going to do to look at her? I mean, she is a baby, I'm going to have to go in her room to get her, so why bother spending the extra money on a video monitor? So we didn't. As Rylie got older, though, and was able to stand up, jump and climb, I always wondered what she was doing in her room. I would hear her make noise and go into her room to see what she was up to. Most of the time, though, she was just laying in her bed and probably would have gone back to sleep had she not seen me come in. We decided then that a video monitor was a necessity, and I think they are for all parents of toddlers.

When Bryce was born, we used Rylie's audio monitor in his room. But now that he is a super toddler climber, we definitely have the need for a video monitor for his room. Naturally I looked to Summer to find one. We have had a great experience with the Summer BestView video monitor we have in Rylie's room, and I was hoping to find another great Summer product. I was sent the Sleek&Secure Handheld Color Video Monitor for review.

The future of baby monitors has arrived. Summer Infant is proud to introduce the Sleek&Secure™ Handheld Color Video Monitor to those parents striving to stay ahead of the curve. This hip new monitor is designed to look and feel like a cell phone, but has all the great features you've come to expect from Summer Infant products. The unit features a 2.5" color LCD screen with automatic black and white night vision, as well as 100% digital technology to provide a secure and private connections up to 350' away. The Sleek&Secure™ Handheld Color Video Monitor also has a 4-way split screen feature that allows you to view up to 4 rooms at a time (additional camera purchases required) or scan between each room every eight seconds.

It was so easy to install the Sleek&Secure monitor. We took the camera and display unit out of the box, read the directions, drilled a small hole in the wall and mounted the camera. It took less than ten minutes.

Once we charged the battery, it was ready to use.

I really like the Sleek&Secure monitor! It has a color picture during the day, and a black and white picture at night. The picture is good, and we can always see what he is up to, without having to go in his room.

The audio quality is excellent too, and we can hear even the slightest sounds that he makes. I definitely don't have to wonder whether or not I will hear him if he wakes up in the middle of the night. The display unit is small and compact, and has a great range. I can take the dogs outside and still have great reception on the display unit.

My favorite feature of the Sleek&Secure is that I can talk to Bryce through the monitor. If he starts crying, I can press the talk button and let him know that I am on my way. I wish we had this feature on Rylie's monitor! Her room is upstairs, so it takes us a minute to get to her. There have been a couple of times when she has had a bad dream and is screaming for us, and it would be nice to let her know that I was coming to get her. I am so glad Summer added this feature to this monitor!

Another great feature of the Sleek&Secure is that you can add up to four cameras to view different rooms at the same time, or scan between each room every eight seconds. It would definitely be nice for us to hook up both kids' rooms on the same monitor and be able to view them at the same time.

The Sleek&Secure Handheld Color Video Monitor retails for around $199.99. You can purchase an extra camera for $89.99, or buy a bundle with the extra camera included for $269.99. Keep your eye out for great sales, though, like the one I just saw at Amazon for $144.93 for the unit with one camera.

All and all, I really like the Sleek&Secure Handheld Video Monitor, but I have to say that I like our Summer BestView Handheld Color Video Monitor just a little bit better. The BestView monitor gives you the ability to pan around the entire room, so when your toddler moves into a toddler bed and gets out of bed, you can still see what they are doing. It also has a zoom feature so you can really get a close up view. The picture on the BestView is better than the Sleek&Secure. However, this may be because we were able to mount it closer to Rylie's bed. Because of the fact that you can move the camera around, we don't have to have her entire bed in the display, so it is mounted right above her bed and closer to it. I highly recommend both monitors, though. They both have some great features that the other doesn't have, so you just have to decide which features are more important to you. Regardless of which one you choose, I can assure you that you will have a great monitor!

~*~Summer Infant has graciously offered to give one of my readers a Super Seat!~*~

SuperSeat® from Summer Infant offers 360 degrees of floor time activity fun & booster in one. It’s a secure and comfortable area for your growing infant to learn to sit up and interact with the environment around them. With the Summer Infant SuperSeat®, your baby can experience play while also sitting up. It’s the ideal place to keep baby entertained, safe and happy! (ARV $50)

Mandatory entry: (This must be done in order for any optional entries to count) Check out all of the great products offered by Summer Infant, and let me know which one you would like to try.

Optional entries: After you make the mandatory first entry above, you can get one extra entry (unless stated otherwise) for each of the following (please leave a separate comment for each):

* Follow @summerinfant on Twitter
* Like Summer Infant on Facebook (please let them know The Life of Rylie...and Bryce too! sent you)
* Follow my blog publicly with Google Friend Connect (left sidebar)
* Like The Life of Rylie...and Bryce too! on Facebook (leave your first name and last initial)
* Share this post on Facebook by clicking the Facebook icon below (I will verify this with you privately if you win)
* Follow @thelifeofrylie on Twitter (leave your user name)
* Tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting this tweet and leaving me the link to your tweet (you can tweet daily for an extra entry each day):

Keep your baby entertained with a SuperSeat by @summerinfant. Enter to #win one from @thelifeofrylie! http://bit.ly/h8w5LI #giveaway

* Post my button on your sidebar or your blog roll for TWO extra entries (leave me two comments with a link to where I can find it)
* Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post for THREE extra entries (leave a link to your post in three separate comments)

Giveaway will end on December 19th at 9:00pm EST. The winner will be chosen by random.org. I will notify the winner by email within 24 hours, and you will have 48 hours to respond. If no response is received within that time frame, I will pick another winner. Please leave your email address or make sure it is in your profile so I will have a way to contact you. I will announce the winner once they have been confirmed. Giveaway is open to the US and Canada.

Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion. I received the Sleek&Secure Handheld Color Video Monitor at no cost for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received. A big Thank You to Summer Infant for providing the giveaway prize!