Monitor needed??

kate220627

I was hoping to get other people's opinions on this since DH and I are having trouble seeing eye to eye. We live in a small apartment on the first floor, the babies room is right in the middle of the house so I will be able to hear her cry from anywhere in the house. Her windows face the backyard so if I am ever out back I would think I would be able to hear her cry. If we do get a monitor we would get a digital monitor so we don't pick up neighbors phone conversations so I am trying to decide if this is an expense that we will actually get some use out of or if the monitors will just sit on a shelf and get dusty. Opinions??

LittleApple

We lived in an apartment for DD's first year of life.  I didn't think I would need a monitor because her room was right next to ours.  That first night was horrible (she slept in her crib in the nursery).  I could barely hear her crying so we moved her into our room until we bought a monitor.

 

ermaderma

We live in a small-ish 2 bedroom condo that you wouldn't think you would need a monitor for. But, the layout of the bedrooms/bathroom is odd, so the bedroom doors are on opposite sides of the house. Plus, we sleep with a fan on at all times.

For these reasons, we will be getting a monitor. We will most likely get a digital one, but we won't be getting a video monitor. That, I think, is a little much for our place.

klyann

I would suggest a video monitor if you get anything.  Since you can already "hear" from anywhere in the apartment, it will be much more useful if you can "see" her from anywhere in the apartment.  It will save you many trips out of bed in the middle of the night and just some peace of mind when you can watch their chest rising and falling. 

CrazyToast

Honestly - I didn't think we'd need a monitor.  We got one as a gift (Sony BabyCall).  We used it constantly at night up until she was about 6 months old.  Now we use it to go outside to do yardwork while she's napping, or to go take a shower.

tokenhoser

I'm not getting one.

I also live in a fairly compact space, and I don't think I want to hear every little nighttime sputter. Plenty of babies have survived without a monitor.

Kimee13

We live in a 2 bedroom TH with the BR's right next to each other and we couldn't live without our video monitor (we never have the sound on).  It's so convenient to just look on the monitor rather to have to check on him for every noise you hear(or don't hear).  Plus, it's very convenient when we're downstairs. 

bump310301121

We have one, but rarely use it.  If you're on the fence, why don't you just wait until the baby comes to decide?

lovesBup

Our place is small enough, so I didn't think we would need one. I ended up grabbing one when she was about 2 weeks though. It's difficult to hear her over the TV, or dishwasher, or washing machine. I can never tell if I'm hearing her coo, or the beginning of a cry. I just got the target cheapie and it works well enough. She sleeps in our room at night so I only use it during the day for naptime when I'm cleaning the house.

Strunella

We live in a 2 floor townhouse, but as pp said, the bedrooms are totally on opposite sides of the house.  If I'm in a deep sleep, it would definitely take me longer to hear DS cry without the monitor.  He's a pretty quiet sleeper, so when he's fussing, I want to know about it sooner rather than later.  Love the monitor for that.  We also use the video when we're downstairs watching tv just to take a peek at him.

MarcyIam

We live in a small house and his bedroom is right next to ours.  But with the doors closed and fans on, I can't actually hear him when I'm sleeping so I'm happy to have it.

Plus, if you're going to be outside doing something, but it's too cold or noisy to open her window, you'd most likely want one then as well.