The Monitor

Ok...I have to admit that when I first saw these video monitors out on the market, I thought they were ridiculous. Frequently when babysitting in the past I noticed that I rarely even used a monitor because the baby would usually let you know when they were awake and needed you! When I sent out my survey, however, several people said that the video monitor was essential or that they now wish they had a video monitor for their toddler, and it started to make sense to me.

I feel fairly strongly that I want to have a baby that sleeps well in her own bed with as little intervention from me as possible! This might be a bit difficult for me because, as some of you know, I am a bit of a worrier. I can see how being able to see that she is just fussing because she wants my attention, not because her head is stuck through the bars (insert any other paranoid parent feeling) would be helpful. Or, when she is a toddler and moving to her "big girl bed" how it might be helpful to see that she is reading a book in bed (which I'm sure is what's she'll be doing) rather than climbing up her book shel without having to go into her room.

So, for these reasons, I decided to register for a video monitor. I went with the Summer model because several of my friends recommended it and it is the Baby Bargains best pick. It operates on a higher frequency to limit the risk of interference by cordless phones and give it longer range and you can switch it to audio only mode for night time.

On a side note, I've also decide to register for an itzbeen. Like the video monitor, it seems a bit silly, but after a friends explanations, I could see how it could be very useful. This is a handy little device allows you to simply push a button when you've fed the baby, changed the baby, or when the baby wakes up from sleep and easily monitor how long it's been since this last occurred. As my friend explained, many parents think they'll keep a notebook and write down every feeding and diaper change, but that rarely happens at 2am. Then, when you wake up at 3am and wonder when in the world it was that you last fed, diapered, etc. you have no idea. I'll let you know if we actually use it and how useful it is.