WWGD: baby monitor

[Nemesis]

Do I need one?

As a baby shower gift, I received money from coworkers for a video baby monitor. I've done some basic/limited research and it seems like battery life is a major problem, as well as some interference problems. It also seems that the quality is just not there quite yet.

We just moved into a house, and right now, the baby sleeps in a cradle in our room. I'm a light sleeper and can hear him no problems. During the day, I put him to nap in his room, or sometimes the couch (yes, I know). I can hear him if I'm upstairs. I doubt that I could hear him if I was in the basement, and for sure can't hear him if I'm outside. Right now I have tons to do upstairs (unpacking, etc), but eventually I will want to go outside or the basement for chores. However, I have a pack and play that I could easily set up downstairs, or outside with a bug net and sunshade if I wanted to.

So, knowing all that, would you buy a video monitor? Or, would you use the money to buy more cloth diapers (I don't have enough right now) and if asked, just tell the people that I bought a monitor (it is extremely unlikely that anyone in the group gift will ever come to my house). Or buy the diapers, and then tell them I bought diapers with the money if asked?

WWGD?
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Everyone thinks I do it to make people stare, but really, it's to keep them from looking too closely.

[tinyrock]

I am not a parent! But I read a lot of etiquette columns.

Once you received the gift, it was yours to use as you see fit. Buy what you want. I'm sure it was their intent to give you something nice that you'll use, not to use you as a video-monitor-reviewer or something.

It's semi-rude to ask after a gift, but if someone does, I think it would be fine to just say you added it to your general "baby stuff" fund or bought diapers and thank them for being so thoughtful.

[ilikemice]

I don't have a child either! But I agree that it's your business what you spend the money on, as it was a gift to you.

Are audio monitors cheaper, so you could split some on that and some on diapers? My in laws seem to get a lot of use out of their audio monitor, especially for travelling & visiting family or friends, because it allows them to stash the sleeping baby & socialize. I'm only mentioning that since that particular use surprised me, but makes so much sense now that I've seen it done!

[PurpleDoor]

I say get the diapers. If someone actually pesters you about it, you could always just tell a polite lie, like that you thought about buying/ordering it, the model you wanted was out of stock, so you got some diapers instead since you were short on them and needed them, and then that you realized you just weren't leaving baby alone for long enough for a monitor to really be worth getting.

Purely from what I have heard/observed from other parents, baby monitors are a bit overrated, so I wouldn't feel obliged to buy one unless YOU really think it is something that will enhance YOUR parenting.

[Chupacabra]

We got an audio monitor which is more than enough for any situation I think. Of course I used it for like 1 week and stopped because our apartment is tiny and there's no where I could be that I wouldn't hear her cry. It sounds like in your case you could potentially go out of earshot, so why not get a cheap audio monitor and diapers? You aren't going to hear him cry and watch him on the monitor, you'd just go and check him!
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Etsy!
Blog!

[Figwit]

Buy the diapers!

We didn't have a monitor for the longest time because we had a small house, but now that we're cohousing both of us mamas have monitors so we can close off parts of the upstairs or downstairs. We bought a totally cheap, crappy monitor that has served us very well for $30.
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good, clean, fair.

small is possible.

[tiggycat]

Yeah, I say get a cheap audio monitor and use the rest for diapers! I actually kept our audio monitor even though our kids are old enough not to need it, and it really comes in handy when we have friends over with little ones. Babies can nap in a quiet room, and we can be outside or downstairs, etc.

[mohawk]

I have to admit that I love my video monitor. LOVE IT. My daughter sleeps to a white noise machine (mostly to drown out any noise we might make (we have really creaky wood floors)) so an audio monitor alone would not work. With the video monitor, I can just peak in on her and be assured she is sleeping well. Or I can watch her play before she gets herself to sleep.

[Chupacabra]

[ruggedchick]

I use my monitor every single night still, and my son is two and a half. It's just a $30 audio monitor, though. We have a three story home, and after D goes to bed we usually watch TV in the basement...so we need it. We'd never hear him otherwise. I also enjoy it when it's nice outside, when he's napping I can take it out to the deck with me and read magazines in the sun.

When he was tiny tiny, I didn't use it as much since he was up every 2-3 hours. But once he started sleeping through the night for 9-12 hour stretches, I used it every night because I had enough time to fall into a DEEP sleep.
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beefy and confused.

[ruggedchick]

Oh, um, yeah, so my point was, I think you should buy a cheap audio monitor and buy diapers with the rest!
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beefy and confused.

[Liat]

I agree with the buy a cheap audio one and then buy more diapers. For bonus points, garage sale a monitor for like ten bucks and then buy lots and lots of diapers.

We had a video monitor for the Sprogling. It broke. We replaced it with the cheapest audio model we could find. It worked just fine for the next two kiddos. (except for the couple weeks where our neightbour and I had the same frequency and we picked up each others kids cries).

We haven't been using one for Pipkin since we moved, but that's because if he's actually upset and needing us we hear him. Otherwise he just cries quietly and goes back to sleep, and honestly I don't want to hear that cause I'm the person who runs in at every peep.
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I truncated my name!

The Lover, The Lunatic and the Poet are of Imagination all compact.

[Nemesis]

Thanks for all the advice. I just scored on cloth diapers, and have more than half of the money left over for a monitor. So, if one comes up second hand soon, I'll get it, otherwise, I will buy an audio one new. I'm thinking a digital one? Has anyone had a problem with interference with the analog ones?

I'm thinking that I will even have money left over from this purchase....what baby item would you splurge on if you had the spare cash? I should have about $100 left over.
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Everyone thinks I do it to make people stare, but really, it's to keep them from looking too closely.

[snoopy]