My husband and I are expecting our first baby in November. We live in a one floor 1200 sq ft apartment. The nursery will be the room right next to our bedroom (sharing a wall). I'm wondering if you had only an audio monitor, if you wished you had a video one and do you think I even need a monitor at all? And if you had an audio only, which one and would you recommend it? thanks!!!!
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We live in a bigger place and to be honest rarely need the audio portion of our minute because there is barely any sound proofing. I love the video though! To see if she's awake or needs something when she is making sounds is worth it to avoid accidentally waking a sleeping baby!
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I don't know what people did without video bc I love to check and make sure they're alright. Ok, I still check the video monitor to make sure they're breathing all the time.
But we have a really large footprint one-story house, and their rooms are on the other "wing" of the house, so maybe if it was smaller I'd be happy with popping in and taking a glimpse. But since it's a journey, I love our video monitor! We have the one that scans back and forth from room to room by Motorola and it's great!
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We have an audio only monitor
http://www.toysrus.com/buy/baby-audio-monitors/philips-avent-basic-baby-monitor-with-dect-technology-scd51000-3471724The only time i wished we had video was when she was learning how to sit and stand in the crib and when we sleep trained. Otherwise i liked the audio only and i slept better when i turned the sensitivity down a bit so i was reacting to every little noise. At 20 months we no longer use a monitor unless we're out back or in the basement after she goes to bed
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We used an audio monitor for both kids for the first few months. We might buy a video monitor soon...it might be helpful to spy on my room sharing toddlers and future newborn!
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We only use an audio monitor, and while I'm dreaming about a video monitor for when we switch DD from crib to bed, we'll probably just keep going with the audio. We have a fairly inexpensive one from Babies R Us (can't remember the brand right now), but if we were going to do it again, I'd buy slightly better quality. They still work great, but after almost 2 years of having them plugged in constantly, the screens are starting to die.
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We used an Angel Care audio-only monitor...it was fine until we got to about a year, and then I was wishing I had a video one! I don't need to see her all the time, but if she's making noises, it would be great to be able to see what she's up to without potentially waking her up if I go in to check on her.
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We use a Vtech audio only monitor. I am glad I did not get a video monitor because I would have been obsessively checking it in the early days. My ped advised against a video monitor for that specific reason.
I love the audio monitor because I can take it outside with me and downstairs to do laundry.
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@Mrs. Coral: Same! So glad I have an audio only monitor.
Our condo is about the same size as yours, a little bigger, and we can hear her just fine. I often turn it off, especially while I'm trying to concentrate.
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@tinyperson: exactly this!
We have the angel care audio only monitor and it's great. BUT now that DD is older I want a video monitor to be able to see what she's doing in there.. sometimes i'll hear her and go in and she is still laying there under her blankeys and would have most likely gone back to sleep if I hadn't gone in.
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Thanks everyone!! It seems like such a personal choice! @Mrs. Coral: I feel like I would also be obsessively checking too and I definitely do not want to do that. I think I'll try the audio only and if I decide later that I want one, like during sleep training or when they are more mobile, I'll just buy it then
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We have audio only and I kind of wish we'd gotten video. I can hear her without a monitor from anywhere in our small home so audio isn't actually helpful.
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We have a small 1 floor house. I had audio only for DD and it was fine. But I did get a cheap video monitor for DS and I love having it! It is so much better than just audio.
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We've lived in a few one floor apartments and I never felt like we needed a video monitor. We actually didn't even have a monitor with LO2 because I can hear her the second she makes a sound.
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We had a audio only monitor (given to us) for over a year! It's totally doable but I always wished for a video monitor. Our audio broke so I bought a video and now I'd never go back. I think having one would have made sleep training easier so I could see if I needed to go in or not but it's definitely not a need. I wouldn't trust myself not have a monitor at all because I don't want to risk not waking up when they cry but that's just because I can sleep kind of heavily...
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I have only audio and it's only used when I go outside (otherwise there is no where in the house I can't hear her). Overall, I'm happy without the video. She cries before sleep for every nap and bedtime until she was 15 mo old (just her way of unwinding, I think), and it would have killed me to watch that. It was bad enough just hearing it. I do sometimes wish for one now because she plays and chats and giggles when she's falling asleep and when she wakes. I would love to watch to see what she's doing.
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I honestly can't imagine having audio only. There's so many times when the video is really helpful. For example there's been a couple times when I've seen that DS has his leg stuck in the crib slats. Also, I love being able to see if he's lost his pacifier. If still has it, I let him cry longer. I also tend to ignore his crying if he's laying down, vs. standing up.
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We had video with our first and it broke, I bought only audio this go around, honestly the video made me go crazy. I would wake up and watch it, I freaked out way more causing me to lose sleep.
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With that space set up, if you aren't going to buy video montior I probably just wouldn't buy anything. I imagine you'll have no problem hearing her without an audio monitor.
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I can hear DS from every part of our flat (it's less than 600 sq ft!) but I love having the video monitor - I usually don't even turn the sound on but its so useful to see what he's actually doing. Sometimes he is fussing and whining but when I look on the monitor I see he is still lying down, so I know he definitely doesn't want me to go in there. But I imagine it's one of those things that if you've never had it you won't really miss it!
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I would get a video one. Since your space is smaller, I don't think you even need an audio one. The video is so nice. Even now at 2 if she wakes up in the MOTN we can look at it and see if she settles back down or we need to go in. We also check on her at night, so we know when she actually falls asleep.
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We have a video monitor and I actually used the video with audio turned off when she was a newborn who slept in bassinet in our room - so convenient to use the night vision to check on her in our dark bedroom! We also use video for so many other purposes...now with a toddler her body language is just as important as her sounds (eg if she's standing in her crib we'll go to her but if she's lying down we know to leave her alone for a bit and she might go to sleep)
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I love love love our video monitor and consider it a necessity, even through LO's first year when we were living in a NYC apartment that was less than 1000 sq. ft. I just like to be able to see what she is doing without having to open doors and risk waking her up. We always joke that of we didn't have the video monitor, we would have thought LO was the world's best napper because when she was an infant, she could literally lay in her crib for an hour, wide awake and totally silent. We would have been so confused about how she could sleep so long and still be so cranky!
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We are in a small condo and have a video monitor. It's not totally necessary, but I love having it. Especially when we were sleep training, but also when she started rolling it was nice to see when she had rolled onto her belly and gotten stuck, so we could go turn her over. Plus I like seeing her.
Even though I can hear her everywhere in or condo, I like having the sound on the monitor when I take a shower while she is napping. At this point I'm sure she could just cry until I was done but it gave me peace of mind in the earlier days that I could take a long shower while she was sleeping quietly. We have a cheap audio monitor that we use for traveling too.
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We have audio only and I prefer it. No obsessive checking. It only turns on when she makes noise above a threshold level. The range is great- throughout it house and about half a block down the street (not that we do that, but I tested it out). We have a Phillips monitor.
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We did just fine with an audio only monitor (Summer Infant from BRUS) for the first year and a half. I was so exhausted and sleeping so deeply that while our house isn't very spread out, I wouldn't hear him well without the monitor.
The video only came in very useful when our oldest moved to a big boy bed. We could stay out of sight and tell him to get his rear end back into bed. It's nice to be able to spy on them while they are playing in their rooms. I wouldn't have wanted one with a newborn, I would have just sat there watching him all the time.
Ours is fine (Summer Infant), it tends to occasionally lose the signal, but neither of mine are small, so I can hear them anyway. It is really nice when we travel and they are in unfamiliar locations, but I don't use it much right now with a 1 and 3 year old.
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We live is a small duplex the bathroom is in between our room and dds. We started with an audio only while she was still in our room but then switched to a video when we moved her to her crib. It was the only way I could handle it, but DH had to take the monitor away from me at night or I would constantly watched her.
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Thanks everyone!! Looks like I need to think about it a bit more!
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We have a audio only monitor. The idea of someone being able to be on the same frequency as a video monitor and being to see my baby is a no go in my book. We're using this one VTech DM221 Safe & Sound Digital Audio Baby Monitor.
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I agree that in the early days audio only is fine. They really don't move or do much! I have a 1350 sq ft apt and I know if I'm in my room asleep and no monitor, I wouldn't hear him. But he's on the other side of the apartment.
Now that he's older though the video is more valuable. I'd say around 5 months when he really started rolling and moving.
You can get a sound monitor for like $20. I got a vtech one for my parents house and it's fine. Can always try that out and if you decide you would like video at any point it's not like you lost that much with $20.
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I didn't have a monitor for LO1 since the house is small and I could hear him on both floors. Later we got a video monitor when he was 2, and now I don't know how I lived without it.
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We also live in a similar sized one-story condo---and we had a video monitor. But as PPs have mentioned, both DH and I were obsessed (obsessed!) with starting at it and noticing/worrying about every movement.
Our video monitor actually broke when LO was 13 months and it was the best thing for us--we realized we could hear her in her room when she made noise, but we weren't worried when she would do normal moving-around-the-crib stuff because we couldn't see it any more.
The thing it came in handy for the most was when we sleep trained---we just wanted to stare at what she was doing to make ourselves feel better, since she was crying. =/
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