Baby Monitor

Over the holidays I found myself worried about the pets and them being alone in the house till the pet sitter came. Like many I don't have a camera set up in my home to constantly check in on my pets and make sure things are ok. So I found this app called Baby Monitor. It is a free app but if you want unlimited range it is 6.99. The app works on iPads and iPhones. They also have an app for the Mac. 

I set up my MacBook in the office with the app on as a child unit and I had my iPad Air 2 in the living room as a child unit. I then put my iPad Mini in the bedroom where the pets sleep as a child unit. I used my iPhone 6s as the parent unit. While we were away I could access the devices and see what was going on in the rooms. Not only could I see it but I could hear it. The nice thing was that we could also talk to the pets. If we noticed that they were fighting or looked sad we could communicate with them. 

The only downside to this is that it will use your data so unless you are like me and have unlimited data be mindful when you are not near a Wi-Fi. The other downside was that it does drain your battery so you will want to make sure that you have a charger with you and the device charging. If you go out of the app it will have a red bar at the top of your device's screen to tap and go back to the app. You can play music (lullabies) or talk through the app. 

We found this app helpful when Star had surgery and we went out to dinner. We were able to monitor her while at the restaurant and not have to worry about what she could be doing because we saw it. Although be careful when telling someone it is a baby monitor app. We got a few weird looks and someone did ask why we lef the baby at home. I of course responded that we couldn't exactly take her with us you don't allow pets. We had to show them it was being used as a pet monitor :) My aunt also recently used it to monitor her cats when she went out for the day. 

The app has a watch app as well so you can see the monitor through your watch. I would recommend it if you want to monitor your pets or want a cheap mobile version of a baby monitor.