Graco - Secure Coverage Digital Baby Monitor Review

Imagine my surprise when I was contacted back in February regarding testing a Graco Secure Coverage Baby Monitor! Graco provided me with this monitor and asked me to share my honest opinion on this product. I was so excited to get it in the mail. I opened up the package, and decided to read the instructions. I know; who does this right? I am glad I did because you have to charge the unit for 16 hours before using it. Why? because this model's parent unit operates on a rechargeable battery pack! I was super thrilled at this point and yes it was very difficult for me to wait to use it, but I waited and I am happy I did so that the battery won't wear down as fast. A feature that I found this unit had was that the baby unit also works on either 3 AAA batteries or the AC adapter that came with the unit. At the time, I wasn't quite sure if I would use the batteries in it, only to use it plugged into the wall with the AC adapter, but I soon came to find out not just once, but twice that we had lost power and I snuck into the room the first time to plug 3 AAA's into the unit so I could hear Gracie sleeping. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact that it uses rechargeable and AC power because I usually never have batteries stashed in the house enough to where the kids don't find them.

Graco Secure Coverage Baby Monitor Model 2M19

With getting this in March, not quite mowing weather, I had the hankering to get on the riding mower and start mowing. Unfortunately we ended up holding off until the end of April to begin that task and I was very anxious to get Gracie sleeping so I could run out and mow. After all this parent monitor had a belt clip on the back and I could wear it around. Unfortunately every time I went to bend over it kept falling off. I found a really neat way around this situation though... I went and put one of the baby's rings that link together and put that on the top where the handle is and it's a go anywhere I want to tool now! I also use it to keep my timer on the same ring so that I can work and focus on what I am doing (not to mention keep track of that dang timer!).

I love the light system on it, showing noise/movement in the room and the vibrate feature works well in the house but not on a noisy tractor. I love the light motions because while mowing I could look down at the lights to see if there was any noise going in the room.

I have found that I use this monitor better than the other unit I had before, not only by the quality, but saving me 3-4 batteries a day! I had a 25.00 unit before with a nightlight in the baby unit and I found a lot of static ran through it from my husband's fire pager. I had to watch where I plugged it in and where it sat before because it would actually make the pager go all crazy. With the Graco Secure coverage monitor, we do not have that problem, both the monitor system and the Fireman's pager work wonderfully as they should hand in hand together. I find that both the baby and parent monitors are not as harsh if you get too close with squelching also. A plus when you forget you have the monitor on and try to attempt to sneak in the room without waking a sleeping child!

As for the sturdiness of the parent monitor, I have dropped the unit a couple of times before putting the link ring on and it still works and looks as good as it did before taking it out of the box. Both units are very easy to dust/clean, even just using a wet washrag and running it over the parent unit works wonders for the dirt.

A neat trick I found to help me get the baby to sleep: I turn the unit on before feeding the last bottle and keep it near me. The two girls in her room listen to the radio, so with her finishing her last bottle, me rocking, and her listening to the music they listen to in their sleep helps her fall asleep in no time flat. I also can hear if the other two are asleep so that I can put the baby down without them waking her up.


when Graco sent out the Secure Coverage Digital Monitor, they sent more information that I found very good. I am including it in this review to help others as well....

Introducing the new secure coverage™ digital baby monitor

Click here to visit the interactive product demo!

You always want the confidence that baby is resting safe and sound. That’s why our secure coverage™ digital monitor operates on a 900 MHz frequency, so you can clearly hear even the quietest whimper, without fear of interference from your phone or wireless network.

Plus, at $44.99, the secure coverage™ digital baby monitor is a great value and is also available with two parent units (retail $64.99)!

This monitor comes with several thoughtful details, including:

• Sound lights and exclusive vibration alert to see, hear and feel baby’s call
• Exclusive Graco® vibration technology can be turned on & off
• Secure digital technology provides optimal clarity, performance and privacy
• Low battery alarm reminds you to charge the parent unit
• Belt clip gives active parents wear-it-anywhere convenience
• Battery back up in child unit for added peace of mind

Complete Household Coverage

• 2000 ft. range for complete household coverage
• Secure digital technology for optimal clarity, performance and privacy
• 900 MHZ frequency means no interference from phones and electronics
• Includes: 1 child unit, 1 parent unit, 2 AC adapters, 1 instruction booklet

MONITORS 101
HELPFUL TIPS FROM GRACO

Monitor Noise: Why do you hear static? The two main causes of static are due to weak signal and/or interference. Read below to find out common causes for weak signal/interference and prevention suggestions.

Weak Signal – think of your AM/FM radio in your car, the further you drive from the city or radio station
transmitter, the weaker the signal. So the further the parent unit is from the nursery unit, the greater
the chances for static. Also, read your product instructions for maximum range – this is the best case
tested range, but will be affected or reduced by interference.

Interference – there are many things that disrupt your monitor’s reception. Below is a list of common
causes of interference and prevention suggestions.

• Background Noise: Your monitor’s job is to pick up sounds in the nursery – this includes background
noise that may not be static.

• Channels:
- The monitors allow you to manually change channels. On Analog monitors, make sure you change
the channel on both the parent and nursery units. On Digital monitors, you only need to
change the channel on the nursery unit.
- Ask your neighbor if they are using a baby monitor. You may have to change channels to avoid
interference with their monitor.
- Try changing channels on other wireless equipment in your home (WiFi modems and routers).

• Other Electronics: Lots of signals are being transmitted at the same frequency as your monitor,
which will cause interference.
- Analog monitors operate at 49Mhz and 900Mhz, similar to AM/FM radios and some cordless phones.
- Digital monitors operate at 900Mhz and 2.4Ghz, which also supports some cordless telephones,
WiFi, Bluetooth, microwave ovens and other wireless devices.
- Try turning off other electronics and wireless devices one at a time to see which device may
be interfering.
- Keep your cell phones away from both the parent and nursery unit.

• Batteries:- Low batteries or dead batteries cause interference.
- Make sure both nursery and parent units batteries are charged.

• Construction/Furniture/Plants:
- Signals can be weakened or blocked by construction materials in your home (metal studs, wire
mesh for stucco, plumbing or A/C ducts, etc.).
- Avoid placing your nursery and parent units on metal objects, this also causes a weak-signal condition.
- Even non-metal items can interfere – Did you know long needles on some pine trees are the
perfect length to absorb 900Mhz signals – like a Christmas tree?

• Motors: Motors will cause interference.
- This includes washer, dryer, vacuum cleaner, ceiling fans, humidifiers, air filter, dish washers,
treadmill, furnace, kitchen appliances, and refrigerators.

• Sun:
- The FCC requires radio stations to reduce power output at night to keep them from interfering
with each other after the sun goes down.
- Energy from the sun will increase background noise on analog monitors and cause weak signal
conditions for digital monitors.
- Lightning storms can cause interference.

Privacy: Not all monitors are private.
There are two types of monitors – analog and digital. Read below to understand the difference
between the two technologies.
Analog – simple, continuous sound transmission at a fixed frequency. Note, some video monitors are
analog, so both the audio and video signals will NOT be secure.
Digital – clear, secure connection that offers privacy and virtually eliminates static and interference.

Batteries: Understanding rechargeable vs. non-rechargeable.
There are two types of batteries – rechargeable and non-rechargeable. Read below to learn how to
optimize the performance of your batteries.

Rechargeable Batteries:
• First use – charge the rechargeable batteries for at least 16 hours before first use. Parent units
should be able to run 8-10 hours before needing a recharge.
• Battery lifespan:
- Rechargeable batteries have a limited number of times they can be charged.
- The battery storage capacity diminishes over time, so the batteries will not hold a charge as
long over the life of the battery.
- Battery should last about 2-3 years.
Non-rechargeable batteries:
• Do NOT mix old and new batteries.
• Check or replace backup batteries on nursery units periodically (just like you should check the
batteries on your smoke alarms regularly).
Note: Nursery units are constantly transmitting a signal when they are ON, which will use up battery
life if they are not plugged into AC power.

Troubleshooting Tips:
Need Help?
• Always refer to your product manual. Can’t find it? Download a copy at www.gracobaby.com
• Want to speak to an actual person? Call Graco’s helpful customer service line: 1-800-345-4109.

Model #:
• Product model info is listed inside the battery compartment of the parent unit and on the
outside of the nursery unit.
• The UPC code is listed on the bottom of the box.
• On analog monitors, the channel is listed with AB or XY and has a black check over the channel
code to indicate which one is in the box.

Batteries:
• Graco’s analog parent units require 3 “AAA” batteries that are not included. Batteries need to
be installed according to the diagram molded into the plastic of the battery compartment.
• Graco’s digital monitors include a rechargeable battery for the parent unit.
• Graco’s nursery units operate on AC power and use battery as back up.
• Before your monitor is ready to use, the battery must be installed into the parent unit – remove
battery door cover on the parent unit with a key or flat blade screw driver & place in either
rechargeable battery pack (included in digital) or non-rechargeable batteries.

Static Clings:
• There is a static cling on the parent unit sound lights & nursery unit night light – remove these
before using.

1st Time Use:
• The rechargeable batteries need to be installed into the parent unit before charging.
• Charge the batteries at least 16 hours before first use.
• Place the nursery unit within 10 feet of baby. Plug an AC adapter into the back on the back of
the nursery unit. Plug the adaptor into a working 120 volt AC outlet.
• Aim the nursery unit towards baby and check that no walls or large objects could block
sound transmission.
• Place the parent unit within 5 feet of nursery unit and turn the unit on. The sound light LEDs
will illuminate and bottom LED will be red on the digital units. You will also hear a single
audible beep.
• Turn on the nursery unit, the green power light should come on.
• Within a few seconds, the parent unit will lock onto the nursery unit. On the digital units, the
connection LED on the parent should change from red to green. You monitor is ready for use.

Erasing the Pairing on Digital Units:
• Turn the parent unit off.
• Hold the volume-down button on the parent unit while pressing the on/off button. Continue to
hold the volume-down button down until you hear a single beep and all the sounds lights
illuminate briefly.
• Release the volume-down button.
• Press and hold the volume-down button again.
• Within 2 seconds you will hear a beep and all the sound lights & red lost-connection LED will be lit.
Release the volume down button. The parent unit is ready to pair with the nursery unit.

Pairing a Digital Parent Unit with the Nursery Unit:
• Place the nursery unit in the same room 5 feet away from parent unit.
• Make sure the parent unit is turned ON after erasing the pairing (all the sound lights & red
lost-connection LED should be lit).
• Turn ON the nursery unit, the green power light will come on.
• Within a few seconds, the parent unit will find the nursery unit. The sound lights will shut off
and the parent unit will beep. The parent unit is now paired with the nursery unit.
• Repeat this procedure if you need to pair another parent unit with this nursery unit.
• If nothing happened when you turned on the nursery unit, first try turning the nursery unit off
and then on again. If the parent unit still does not pair with the nursery unit, press the channel
button on the nursery unit, then turn the nursery unit off and then on again.

Parent unit won’t turn on:
• Does it have batteries in it?
• Are you using the correct batteries?
• Is it plugged in (if you aren’t using batteries)?
• Is the volume turned on?
• Are the units in range of one another?

Unable to connect:
• Parent and nursery units must be in range of one another. Check the box/manual to find out
the range. Remember those are best case ranges because other things like household electronics,
construction materials, etc can affect level of interference and shorten the range.
• Re-pair your units (if digital).
• Make sure both the nursery and parent units are set to the same channel (A/B X/Y) on
analog monitors.



In truth, I really wish I would have looked harder and not thought that "a baby monitor is not just a baby monitor" and went with this one to begin with. At $44.99, I was much happier with this one that I am with the old one. The only thing I miss on the old one was the night light I had in the baby unit. If I were going to have another child I would have went for the two parent model - 2M20 so that both my husband and I would have one, or I would leave one in one part of the house and one in another, and then I wouldn't need to wear it! :O)

In search for a new template for my blog...

Please excuse my dust. I know my site is looking rough these days, I have been trying to work on getting a new template together and trying to do this with all of the kids home to boot... SO PLEASE come back and visit when I get it all back to working again. I will be putting all my links back up and hopefully will be able to get back into the habit of blogging again!

Softball...

This is a test to see if I can get the website working right again.

From dragging a baby blanket to a full size comforter

Katie's white feather down comforter had holes poked into it from "Smokey" the cat; So the blanket ended up being put into a bag so that the feathers could stay retained into the comforter for a "mending" day.  The mending day came and as I sat there sewing each hole, I am looking at it and thinking "it really should look better than that!  I mean I am all for white for certain things, just not comforters.  They just show way too much on the dirt scene. 

With this mentioned above, that is how we ended up creating a Duvet cover for her down blanket.  We began looking for material - Okay it may not go together all that well, but it is unique and she will know if anyone steals it :O).

swatches of fabric left; we are going to be making some cool pillows with the remains

Katelyn and I debated and went over all the fabric with these being the choices.  We kicked around a couple of ideas, only to decide to choose this one.  The blanket needed to be 70 X 70 inches, so with the fabric being 45 inches, it was large enough to sew two pieces side by side and not cutting off the selvage sides.  I went ahead and ironed down the seams after straight stitching the fabric meeting and then placed a zig zag stitch over both sides.  I think its a wonderful accent.  The middle fabric on the front are little hearts with sayings that are basically the same as the one piece of fabric that was split in half and one side was pinned and sewn into place like above with the zigzag stitch. The back is decorated with circles with multi-colorcircles, not to mention some hearts, and the peace sign.  I basically just pinned together front to back and went to town sewing the three sides together and pinning the back to the front with the front of the fabric both inside.  I sewed the main blanket (front meeting the back). 

In order to keep the blanket from moving around too much, I cut ties and sewed them into each corner of the blanket and then another tie in the same area that it would be inside the blanket and sewed the ties to the blanket so the ties are inside the cover.  I also chose to use a different scheme of fabric for the ties so that they are able to be found better when trying to put the cover on.  I also put an extra tie in the center on the top so it would not sag in the center. To complete the bottom and make it easier to change out for washing the cover only I also placed five(ten- one for front and back) ties of fabric on the bottom of the cover to keep the blanket inside.

This photo shows one of the ties at the bottom of the blanket and Duvet.  If you look closely, you can see the stitching on the front in between the different fabric on the front. 

For some reason Katie was happy to make her bed.. but to show you exactly what the front and back look like, I pulled the corner to show you the back also. At first I was tickled because it looks like a scrapbook page awaiting it's photos. After I got this all sewed up with the blanket attached inside, she took it along to bed with her, fixed her bed, crawled into to it to try it, and fell asleep.   All at or before 7:30 PM.  She was all nice and cuddled like a bug in a rug. 

 When Katelyn stepped off the bus from school tonight, she went straight for her bed and pulled this blanket off her bed and WALKED around with her.  I couldn't help but make the comment "Sheesh Katie, you went from carrying your baby blanket to carrying around a full size comforter!" and it just kind of stuck from that point!

7 Months, 1 day and see what Gracie's learning now?

See what I caught on the camera today?

Awe!!! Well, Cute isn't she?  BUT..... This is NOT the photo I was looking for.... Let's see, I know it's around here somewhere...

Hmmmm.. I absolutely LOVE that smile.. And it's a wonderful smile to find when you go to get her out of the crib in the morning and after nap times....Let's see.... It was here, HONEST!




    

Hey! Here it is! I found it!  It's Gracie at  7 months, 1 day and she's figured how to get up on hands and knees!!!!! HOORAY GRACIE!!!  Now let the real fun begin!!  Waiting on the rocking to begin now.... you know, "get your motor started, head out towards all the things you're not allowed"!  She is beginning to like getting her picture taken...and yes, it's a good thing as I have enough photos of her crying or sleeping!!

Gracie is almost 7 months!

I have been neglecting my blog... Sorry! I have had my hands full dealing with.. well just dealing.

Decluttering of the house has been ongoing... needless to say my garage shows it. I have been washing down walls and carpet cleaning, hitting "hot spots" and I was very excited to wake up this morning to only 1 load of laundry and the house was looking very nice... Until the kids started up! As soon as I realized that the kiddos closed my bedroom door to "let mom sleep", I was out to the living room to find all three not me, I didn't do it and nope not me either along with the little awe mom! all out in the living room with the Wii on and they were entertaining themselves with games. Alright. Fine with me.. At least the house wasn't trashed!

So I have seen some major changes with Gracie in the last couple of weeks. She is eating baby food with us in her high chair and at dinnertime with all of us. She is loving her mixed veggies, bananas and rice mum mum's. For the first couple months she despised being on the floor, but in the last week and a half or so she has been screaming to be on the floor more since she is finding her freedoms and how to play with some of her toys. She was having a hard time picking up her plastic balls, but I caught her today with her holding one in her hands and it going straight to her mouth with that mouth showing her always happy smile! She is finding keys, pushing the buttons on her piano, army crawling all over the floor in circles, but not rolling any although she has rolled a lot belly to back, and only 1 time back to belly. A little trick she has been attempting though is getting up on her toes and trying to push her tushie up in the air and balancing. Her little pudgy legs and toes are so cute as she normally keeps her feet crossed at her ankles. She loves her mommy and daddy time too!

We ended up getting Gracie a new bathtub for Christmas. It's a pretty cool one that has a piece of plastic that pops out so that when I can trust sitting her up more she can also sit and play too, but for now she is reclining back. I think she honestly loves to get her baby food all over the place so that we give her a bath. She knows when we take her into the bathroom and put her on her hooded towels on the floor that she is in for a nice warm bath and that's all it takes. She starts bouncing her arms and hands up over her head and back down next to her torso and laughing and giggling. Grandma got her a V-tech turtle that is for bath time that has holes in the bottom of the unit to drizzle water down and she loves playing in the streams. It also came with an octopus, a star and a crab that streams/sprays water and sings songs reminding me of warmer summer weather. Oh Oh how she adores this toy!

Can you tell I love this age?

She is a snuggle bug too, always giving hugs and sometimes gives you the most wonderful gooiest sloppy kisses ever when you try to kiss her on the cheek. She sometimes tries to hold her own bottle but really has no interest in doing so when mommy and daddy hold that for her.

She is a routine child, for sure! Honestly I love this age. I wish I could keep her this age and size forever. A pure Sweetie!

I am going to try to get pictures this Monday to keep track of how much she has changed!

Recycle, Reuse, put things back to good use!

I have this big thing I like to do; recycle what I find to be pretty cool and reuse them.

I save all of my baby food jars with or without lids... even before Gracie was on solids I had begged a friend or two to save some for me for some crafts!  I make them into things for other people that I seems to think is pretty cool.  This year I crocheted with variegated yarn around some of the baby food jars and made votive holders for small gifts for bus drivers, teachers, and special friends.  This year was also the year that the kids were told not to buy gifts, but rather to make gifts using anything "crafty" around the house.  BIG mistake seeing as how what their rendition of what was crafty actually fell into what I had around the house that I actually "needed" and they found no use in asking before taking.  One thing I did think was pretty cool was that they took some of the jars laying around and made them into banks and decorated them up with beads and paper and all sorts of whatever they could find.  They got to experience using a hot glue gun (and also how to watch out to not get burned in the process).  Anyways, banks, and my favorite; candy dishes with the label on the front stating "MOM's candy NO KIDS ALLOWED"... We will see if this holds true!  :O)

Anyways, I had a brainstorm that solved a bit of a problem for me.  Since nursing was not working out as well as I had hoped, Gracie is now on Similac Sensitive.  We get the big what Similac calls "Simple Pack" when we find it necessary and we have a coupon or two for  five or ten bucks off.  I love these containers that they come in!  They have a spot on the lid so that you have a place to store your measuring scoop that comes in the box.  When I get the smaller containers I always dump the smaller one into these big sturdy containers so it is easier to measure and it seems like I get less all over the place than just taking out of the small circular container.  When I made it through my first Simple pack, I just could not let it go in the trash or into the recycling bin.... I just KNEW there had to be something I could use them for... and after a couple weeks I found it! I ended up taking the labels off that were on the soon to be new idea in the making and this is what it looked like!

Now keep in mind that Gracie is a SPITTER.  She pukes everything up!  The doc suggested putting more cereal in her bottle to keep it down, and we need to make it milkshake thick to accomplish this task, not to mention the Zantac right along with it... which led me to another problem.  The said cereal that needed to be measured out and put into the bottle with the formula was in a BOX... with a little pull out opening that was truly a mess until you poured it from the box and into a bowl or empty bottle or however your imagination can take you to measure it out...

Adding the cereal to the empty Similac can

It led to the wheels chugging and trying to figure out a better way for measuring to exist and not be so messy!  So as you see in the picture above, the connection was made!

Voila!  Easy to measure and use Oatmeal.. New container!

Oh and don't forget to label what is in it!  I also save the box with all of the baby things just in case of a recall... We have been there with Similac and thank goodness I did save the containers or we would not have been able to tell if it was recalled or not.  Thank goodness I did not start doing this until after the recall, but after surviving a formula recall, I just don't want to take the chance at going through another one! 

Also something else I do is either measure out what dry ingredients go into a bottle and pre-measure the water in a baby bottle and that way while I am out and about I don't have to lug everything with me for 1 or 2 bottles.  I take the dry and dump it right into the water, shake and feed.  I used to do this with the baby food jars until I had one of the lids stick on me and no one could get it open.. but now I use the little 5 ounce bottles for this with a seal instead of a nipple and it works like a charm!

Do you have ideas for recycling/re-using/ making life with a baby easier?  Please share!!!