Honest Cubo Ai Review + Discount code

Tried and Tested

Product

Cubo Ai Smart Baby Monitor

Used for

My second baby, from around 4.5 months, in a rental

Verdict

Not essential. But one of the few nursery purchases I don’t regret.

Paid for it?

Yes, bought it myself at full price. Not gifted.

Skip it if

You live somewhere small, you can hear everything, or you know you’d watch the sleep analytics obsessively

Recently I put out a poll on my Instagram stories asking people for their baby monitor recommendations. You would think that as a mother of two and a veteran sleep consultant I would already be knowledgeable in this area, but the truth is I’ve never owned one.

Mostly because I never needed to. When my first baby was born we lived in a small unit and I could hear everything I needed to hear. She was a fabulous sleeper so I never felt anxious about what she was doing in there. I was at home for a year on maternity leave so I was readily available to meet her every need. And personally, I don’t want to hear every snuffle and squeak my babies make overnight.

Why I finally bought one

Two reasons. We’d moved to a bigger house, and I’m more distracted. Anyone with multiple children knows how easy it is to forget what time a child went to sleep or woke up. Which side did I last feed from? Is that him or the baby downstairs crying? Is he crying or is he just grizzling?

The most recommended monitor was the Cubo Ai, followed closely by the Lollipop. I read a few reviews and decided camera clarity mattered most to me, so I chose the Cubo. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t love the price tag. But I also knew I was getting frustrated at not knowing when to start Baby O’s wake window, because I was never sure how long he’d actually been awake.

The monitor is shaped like a bird. It’s absolutely adorable and I think it’s a genius design. I got the floor stand and cot mount, as we live in a rental and I wasn’t comfortable drilling into the wall just yet.

The setup was simple, mostly because my Mr Sleep Concierge did it for me, and the image is crystal clear on my phone.

I don’t use notifications or sound overnight. That’s a personal preference. I use it more during the day, so I can see what’s going on in there and help him get the best quality sleep and awake time.

What I love about it

• Amazing video quality
• 18 hour playback, so I can see when he actually woke
• Reliable room temperature, so I know I’ve dressed him properly
• Adorable design
• An incredibly user-friendly app

Other features it has

• Covered face and roll over detection
• Danger zone detection
• Automatic photo capture
• Two way audio, which I’d use with my toddler if it was in her room

The moment it earned its keep

On the first day I had it, it was already useful for nap one. He woke after the first sleep cycle, which is unusual for him, but he’s a 4.5 month old baby so it’s not abnormal.

Usually, without the monitor, I’d probably have left him for ten minutes or so to see if he’d go back to sleep before going in to get him up. This time I could actually see him, and he was only protesting on and off. I could see him yawning and trying to find his thumb. So I left him for twenty minutes, and what do you know? He put himself back to sleep for another sleep cycle.

On day one, this monitor had already given him a better opportunity to nap.

The one feature I’d be careful with

The monitor and app also track your baby’s sleep analytics. Unless you’re about to start sleep training or work with a sleep consultant, I don’t think this is necessary, and if anything I think it can cause parents a great deal of anxiety and almost an obsession over every minute and micro detail about sleep.

If that feels like it might be happening to you, here is your permission to step away from the monitor and let your baby do their thing.

What I will say though is that Mr Sleep Concierge and I are now totally obsessed with staring at sweet Baby O and his thumb sucking. Move over Netflix, there’s a new show in town.

Related reading

• Tips to help your baby sleep longer and avoid early wake ups
• Should we discourage our baby’s thumb and finger sucking?

I bought this monitor myself, at full price, and this is an honest review. I later became a referral partner because I recommend it so often anyway, which means I may earn a small amount if you buy through my link, and you get a discount. It has never changed what I say about a product, and you can see above that I think plenty of families should skip it.