how essential is a monitor for a newborn??

[missmayhem]

hello,

sorry to gatecrash

how essential is it i have a monitor for a newborn, bubs will be with me 99% of the time, only time we will be apart that i can see is when i nip to the loo or have a shower, in the later case the will be in their cot in the next room and the bathroom door open.


as i plan on BF'ing we will have a travel cot down stairs so LO can sleep in the evenings beside the sofa

 

[freckleonear]

We've never used a monitor. When they are newborns they are close by most of the time and when they are older we can hear them fine from the other end of the house, so we never saw the need for one.

 

[nicole_]

we didnt use one till he was 4.5 months old! then the stupid thing broke lol
imo, the £30 ones will do the same as the more expensive, we so didnt need all the stuff that it does

 

[EllaAndLyla]

I still haven't used mine yet. I would say you only need one really if your baby is in their own room xx

 

[jenfen]

i have one but just a basic sound one, not a movement or video one as i think these would cause me to be paranoid. I have an old house with thick walls so the sound doesn't travel well. If i lived in my parent's modern house with thin walls i wouldn't need a monitor at all. I find it useful when lo is having a daytime nap and i want to potter in the garden or get jobs done. Jx

 

[missmayhem]

the movement ones are a gimmick in my eyes video ones??? we've a PC linked to the TV and will use that if the need arrises and connect it to a laptop with webcam

 

[supertabby]

We used ours at around 2 months when she started going up to bed about 7 or 8pm. We just used it for the evening and then when we went to bed we slept in the same room. Before that she was never in a room alone.

We can hear Isobel cry wherever we are in the house, so don't need the monitor in that sense. However during the evening she sometimes takes a while to settle and will wake up and shuffle about and make small noises. If we ignore it she will wake up fully and cry, but if we nip up there and put a hand on her chest for a minute she will settle back to sleep straight away. So in that sense we do need the monitor as otherwise we'd only hear her once she gets herself wound up and wide awake. We also stay at in-laws sometimes and their house is bigger so we wouldn't hear her.

 

[KatieB]

I've only just started putting Louis in his cot with limited success, before that he came up with us when we went to bed lol and when he was newborn he slept in a moses basket next to sofa when we were downstairs. We've got a video monitor so when he goes in his cot and we are downstairs, it's brilliant. I need to be able to see him otherwise I just wouldn't rest. We switch it off when we go to bed as DS still in our bedroom x

 

[supertabby]

We used ours at around 2 months when she started going up to bed about 7 or 8pm. We just used it for the evening and then when we went to bed we slept in the same room. Before that she was never in a room alone.

We can hear Isobel cry wherever we are in the house, so don't need the monitor in that sense. However during the evening she sometimes takes a while to settle and will wake up and shuffle about and make small noises. If we ignore it she will wake up fully and cry, but if we nip up there and put a hand on her chest for a minute she will settle back to sleep straight away. So in that sense we do need the monitor as otherwise we'd only hear her once she gets herself wound up and wide awake. We also stay at in-laws sometimes and their house is bigger so we wouldn't hear her.

 

[Mooshie]

We only started using ours when LO went upstairs to bed at a set time and even then we only used the sound monitor, not the sensor pad as he was in his basket. That was at around 9 weeks as previous to that he was with us all the time.

I put him in his cot at the weekend in his own room and we now use the sound and sensor pad. He's 13 weeks old now.

 

[emzky90]

It depends on how you feel about it. Personally, I couldn't sleep without ours on. We have the angelcare sound and movement monitor and I love it. Let's me get a good night-worry free sleep. But that's just because I was paranoid about SIDS (even though no monitor can help prevent it) x

 

[Palestrina]

I thought I wouldn't need one but someone got it for me as a gift anyway. Turns out I can't live without it. My LO is a very light sleeper so he has to be put in a separate room to nap. We have a small apartment but I need the monitor with me anyway, it really helps put my mind at ease when I'm not in the room with him.

They're not that expensive, you don't really need the ones with the video. Mine was $30 I think and it has a light sensor so when baby makes a sound the monitor lights up in case I don't hear it.

 

[kmumtobe]

Like emzky i worry about SIDS so my movement sensor is invaluable to me, I can sleep well knowing he's fine.. I don't use the 'monitor' bit of it as im only in a flat so I hear him x

 

[lhancock90]

Didn't use mine until LO when into her own room at 11 weeks. To be honest, we don't need it now LO's room is so close i can hear everything (live in a flat) i use it really just for peace of mind.​

 

[missmayhem]

my neighbour is due her LO weeks after mine, their nurserys will be beside one another would this cause any issue with monitors...... or otherwise

 

[lhancock90]

my neighbour is due her LO weeks after mine, their nurserys will be beside one another would this cause any issue with monitors...... or otherwise

Monitors have 2 different frequencys so just make sure you both use a different one,

 

[PAgal]

It depends on how you feel about it. Personally, I couldn't sleep without ours on. We have the angelcare sound and movement monitor and I love it. Let's me get a good night-worry free sleep. But that's just because I was paranoid about SIDS (even though no monitor can help prevent it) x

My words exactly! SIDS is a very real threat and every day I thinnk about a friend whose baby never woke up at 5 months. I could never recover from that, LO is my whole life.

 

[Natsku]

We only uses ours if we go to sauna as thats the only place we can't hear her cry, and when we went on holiday and she went up to bed upstairs before us. If you're going to be your baby 99% of the time then you don't need a monitor.

 

[hayley x]

For a newborn a monitor isnt necessary at all. We started using our monitor when Daisy was 6 months and it was safe for her to have naps without being in the same room as me! x

 

[letia659]

we never used one