baby monitors....are they an essential?

hi all

Was looking at baby monitors on the weekend, and with all the various types and brands out there was wondering if they are an absolute must?? Bubs room is right next to ours, but I see it that it would be a great thing to have if i'm doing washing or whatever outside.

What are your suggestions?? Do you have any particular brand that you like/dislike?

Looking forward to hearing ur ideas!! :)

I don't see them as a necessity but I guess it all depends on how your house is designed and what your needs are.
When I had ds 12 years ago my clothes line was a fair way from ds' bedroom so I liked to take a monitor with me when I went out there. I was lucky that my db bought one for me as a Baby Shower gift.
In this house the nursery backs onto right where the clothes line is so not such a necessity, but I still have the monitor from ds and it still works fine so I will have it plugged in for when I need it.

they are very helpful- we tend to use it late at night if ds is asleep in bed and we're out in the living room watching tv as we can't hear him crying over the tv noise without the moniter.
we have the 'tomy walkabout premier' and so far it has been fantastic.

I've got the Angelcare Monitor and I love it. Like you, my bub's room is next door so I was sure I'd be able to hear her, but having the monitor just makes extra sure. We're in a unit, so I don't want her to cry too long in the night for the sake of the neighbours.

Also this one senses movement, which gave me lots of peace of mind when she first started sleeping for longer stretches. Even when she is really deeply asleep it senses her breathing. Obsessive maybe! I don't worry about the movement thing so much now, but was really good at the beginning when I was new to all this!!

I have used one with both my DS. I wouldn't go without it. It is a must for us because our kitchen where we spend all our time is along way from the bedrooms and we can't hear a thing. I just used it about an hour ago when I was carrying the shopping up, getting the clothes off the line and cleaning out the car. I even take it to check the mail. We use ours all the time. I also have it on all night. A lot of people don't use them though. It's a matter of house layout and how often you spend outside etc

I dont think they are a must no. We didnt have one for DS. Only reason we have one now for our second baby on the way is so we can shut her door so she hopefully wont wake DS during the night.
Its funny.. even though our bedroom is some distance from the kids rooms.. you just have this instinct thing that wakes you up when they need you. I use to be the heaviest sleeper.. sleep through anything.. but i always wake for DS without fail.

It's a personal choice really. We have an Angelcare monitor which I used with Nina, and now using with Emily. I like to have the peace of mind that everything is ok. We now have a basic sound only monitor in Nina's room as both girls' doors are shut, and we have no chance of hearing them in the middle of the night, as they're on the other side of the house.

I have the Angel Care Sound and Movement monitor - by far the best investment I have made - it gave me peace of mind knowing that it could pick up even the slightest of movements and breaths - admitedly I never really used the parents monitor but each to there own I say...

i had a baby monitior for all my children , i always worry all the time . if you feel safe that u have to use one . also they can you peace of mind, if you worry alot

we had one but only used it once cause it crackled too much (prob not a very good one!!). DD's room is sooo close to ours and if I hand out washing I figured she would only cry a couple of minutes and I would be back insed (our washing line is near her room). We are building though so will be interesting to see what I will do with next bub in new house cause rooms will be much further apart. I've heard of heaps of people having trouble with picking up other people's monitors and truckies conversations!

i too have an angelcare movement and sound monitor. Has been a godsend. As everyone has said - not a necessity depending on your house design. I have found it useful during summer when DS is in the room with the aircon on, and I am outside etc I can hear him when he wakes, so he doesn't have to be screaming and distressed before I hear him.

We had one - didnt use it much. I got given ours from a friend, so luckily didnt waste my money. But if anyone ever asked me what was the one baby product you have that you never used/needed, it would be a baby monitor.
OUr babies slept with us till at least 12 weeks old, then we moved them in the room next to ours. They were always fairly good sleepers.

In saying that, if i had a two storey house, or a larger home, i could see they would be much needed.

I have an el cheapo fisher price one and it's fantastic. Basically used is because Darcy was upstairs and we were down - now she's at the other end of the ouse.

With my DD i didnt use one, our house was small and her room was next to ours and her window backed onto our backyard. With DS we used one as his room was down the other end of our new bigger house and i felt that i would not be able to hear him if he woke, we will use it again with this one, i picked it up on special from Coles its a fisher price and i payed $7 for it as it was clearance stock. However DD was the best monitor for me, she would come and wake me to tell me DS was crying......lol

Wow, $7 for a baby monitor, what a bargain!!!

We borrowed one from friends, but we only used it once or twice before we decided we could hear her anyway as her room is so close to ours.

I love our monitor. I don't need it at night because our rooms are close together and I wake up to the slightest sound that either of my boys make, but during the day it is great. I spend most of the day outside or up the other end of the house and wouldn't be able to hear DS2 without the monitor. I use a Philips monitor which is fantastic.

We don't have one and don't seem to need it. Our baby sleeps in the bedroom with us and is either asleep with me in the HAB or in his cot during the day but our flat is small so I can hear him.

I don't think we will use ours much in the begining as our house is designed so that eveythigs is central,plus he will be sleeping in our room at night.
When we move him into his own room I might use it as the boys sleep next door and teenagers waking grumpily in the middle of the night is not a pleasant thing! This I guess will all depend on how he is sleeping then too. If he's still waking in the night then we'll have to use it, but if we are fortunate enough (fingers crossed everyone) to have him sleep through the night then it probably won't need to be used much.
the rooms not far from ours (just the other side of the bedroom) but to stop bubs from waking the big boys it might need to be used.

We sleep soundly at night knowing that if our son stops breathing,the angelcare monitor will alarm and we'll be there in a second.

Although, we have had a few false alarms, where he's been sleeping on the edge of the cot and not on the sensor pads. First few times scare the hell out of you. It's amazing how fast you can run while you're still half asleep. :lol:

thanks ladies for all ur comments, I think we may end up getting one as our house is two story (its the old beachcomber style, on stilts IYKWIM) so would be very handy when doing washing and outside.

thanks for mentioning the brands & styles you have 2 - the movement one sounds great, i think we would greatly appreciate that piece of mind considering this is our first bub and we will probably be up checking every 5 minutes anyway!!

thanks again - some great reading

I recieved a fisher-price one as a gift which we used when bub was first born as we were living in a double story and he slept upstairs. Now that we are in our new house and he sleeps in the next room with the door open, we haven't used it once. I still manage to hear every noise he makes- and as baby monitors amplify every sound- we really couldn't handle any more noise!! Plus, as Kell said, you will find your mother instinct is stronger than you think. I seem to always wake about 5 mins before bub- its bizzare. They start to stir long before they cry and I've got bub on the boob before he even has the chance to wake-up fully and cry!! Another thing to consider is that baby monitors omit radiation which can be harmful for bub. Apparently there is a device that you can purchase to minimise the radiation.
However, if you feel that you will have difficulty hearing bub during the day from one end of the house to the other- than you will find a monitor useful.

I don't think they are a necessity but they are great to have, even if you go to someones house overnight or have a bbq..

I have an angelcare, would never go without it now.. well worth the money

nope! they arnt essential at all... :)

We have received an Angel Care Sound and Movement monitor, was something we decided we wanted for some extra piece of mind, first time parents and a bit nervous! Will be very useful in the new house though as it is a long bigger than the one we are in now and is two story, plus with office separate from the main house (via a connecting corridor).

But each to their own really, we have friends who chose a motion sensing video camera which would activate when bubs moved... they said it was fun to watch what bubs did while sleeping! But wasn't useful when bubs got big enough and found the camera!