Baby monitors are the tool of the devil.
I find it very interesting that in countries where baby monitor use is prevalent the birth rate is really low. However, in countries where a baby monitor would be considered a ridiculous luxury the birth rate is incredibly high. I think I've finally found the correlation.
As new parents, Carrie and I went out and bought everything that was listed in the various checklists. This included a wireless 900 MHz baby monitor. We were very happy with our baby monitor. It worked in every room in the house including the basement and outdoors to the edge of the property line. Granted there was a little bit of static when I was at the curb, but how often would I need to monitor the baby while standing in the street.
We tested the monitor and found it suitable for our needs. When the baby came home from the hospital we set the monitor up at the recommend 5- 10 feet from the crib. We went to bed with our end of the monitor and the volume raised just loud enough to hear a background hiss. For those that have never looked in on a sleeping child you might be surprised to know that babies make quite a bit of noise. Every few minutes the baby would snort, cough, sneeze, whimper, sigh or make some other noise that would start us from our sleep. I spent most of the night listening for signs of distress through the baby monitor. Fortunately, there was no distress to be had. Unfortunately there was no sleep either.
The second night we had wised up a little bit. We lowered the volume of the monitor to a more respectable level. The sounds of the ionosphere were no longer audible but we were sure we would still be able to hear any sounds of imminent need and swoop in like the dynamic duo. We weren't able to hear the quietest of whimpers but we could still hear her cries. Sleep could be had at last....Or could it. Sadly, no. She often cries in her sleep for no more than 30 seconds and will then go back to sleep for quite some time. The baby does not need to be rescued but my sleep is ruined as my heart is racing, adrenaline pumping and I spend the next 5 minutes straining my ears for problems.
Basically, if we want to use the monitor to hear any crying we must be ready to handle these false alarms. I think the best option would be to leave the bedroom doors open and just expect that when the cries have reached the necessary pitch we will be awoken from our slumber to come in and save the day rather than leap and start at every shadow. However, the fact is it is winter time and the house is cold. So cold in fact that we have a heater in the baby's room to keep the temperature stable. We are faced with a difficult choice:
Raise the temperature of the entire house by 15 degrees
Suffer through some sleepless nights until either we just tune out her cries or she learns to sleep through the night.
So far we have chosen to keep the monitor and slowly lose our sanity due to sleep deprivation. Perhaps we'll write again from the sanitarium.
The baby is crying. I am needed. Now if only I could find a phone booth to put on my cape, tights and mask.
As new parents, Carrie and I went out and bought everything that was listed in the various checklists. This included a wireless 900 MHz baby monitor. We were very happy with our baby monitor. It worked in every room in the house including the basement and outdoors to the edge of the property line. Granted there was a little bit of static when I was at the curb, but how often would I need to monitor the baby while standing in the street.
We tested the monitor and found it suitable for our needs. When the baby came home from the hospital we set the monitor up at the recommend 5- 10 feet from the crib. We went to bed with our end of the monitor and the volume raised just loud enough to hear a background hiss. For those that have never looked in on a sleeping child you might be surprised to know that babies make quite a bit of noise. Every few minutes the baby would snort, cough, sneeze, whimper, sigh or make some other noise that would start us from our sleep. I spent most of the night listening for signs of distress through the baby monitor. Fortunately, there was no distress to be had. Unfortunately there was no sleep either.
The second night we had wised up a little bit. We lowered the volume of the monitor to a more respectable level. The sounds of the ionosphere were no longer audible but we were sure we would still be able to hear any sounds of imminent need and swoop in like the dynamic duo. We weren't able to hear the quietest of whimpers but we could still hear her cries. Sleep could be had at last....Or could it. Sadly, no. She often cries in her sleep for no more than 30 seconds and will then go back to sleep for quite some time. The baby does not need to be rescued but my sleep is ruined as my heart is racing, adrenaline pumping and I spend the next 5 minutes straining my ears for problems.
Basically, if we want to use the monitor to hear any crying we must be ready to handle these false alarms. I think the best option would be to leave the bedroom doors open and just expect that when the cries have reached the necessary pitch we will be awoken from our slumber to come in and save the day rather than leap and start at every shadow. However, the fact is it is winter time and the house is cold. So cold in fact that we have a heater in the baby's room to keep the temperature stable. We are faced with a difficult choice:
Raise the temperature of the entire house by 15 degrees
Suffer through some sleepless nights until either we just tune out her cries or she learns to sleep through the night.
So far we have chosen to keep the monitor and slowly lose our sanity due to sleep deprivation. Perhaps we'll write again from the sanitarium.
The baby is crying. I am needed. Now if only I could find a phone booth to put on my cape, tights and mask.
posted by daniel @ 9:03 PM
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