how long did/do you think you will listen in for?

[girrafey]

my dd is 20 weeks and i have just put her down for her nap. i came down stairs and as soon as my bum hit the sofa i had to go back up to get the monitor out of the bedroom.
( where it had been through the night)
it made me wonder.
for how long do people use their monitors for?
at the moment i cant see any time when i wouldnt want to use it.
i can see her being 8 or 9 and me still having it next to me at night.
just interested what the norm is for dropping this?
thanks,

I never used one

really!!!
god i feel a paranoid one now!!
what did u do in the vening etc?

I just used to hear them if they woke up

I remember thinking this and now dd is 8 months old and I hardly ever use it - we still have it on at night as dd's room isn't that close to ours (although we can still hear her if she wakes but I like to know she is shouting in my ear !!). During the day and evenings I don't use it but can't quite remember when I stopped - I think I just started forgetting to use it. Having said that, if dh is home early (he often doesn't get home till almost bedtime) then he always goes and gets it and asks me why I don't use it.... I think its just one of those things that just happens at some point.

Ds we used one till he was about 1 and a half (at which point he started to try and hang himself with it), dd never used one.

never used one but then we live in a 2up2down and dd makes herself heard when she wants to be heard

I used one for a bout a week befor I came to the conclusions that it wasn't for me. Also dd never ever slept in my bedroom

Confess we only stopped using for ds1 when ds2 was born! He was 3 and had sleep apnea until having his tonsils out! I always close the door when baby is sleeping and he doesn't cry when he wakes up so need to hear him. Guess it depends on you and your house set up. If you find it reassuring to listen in, then why not?

They get louder and louder as they get older though. We have a small house so I only use it if we're in the kitchen with the door to the stairs shut and some music on - otherwise I'd be able to hear ds (11mo) if he cried.

i think that is one of the main reasons for me. we always shut her door and during the day etc i have the tv on, or radio, the washing machine and oven fan are on at the mo for example.
so there would be no way i could hear her unless she bellowed.
which she doesnt normally do. if she wakes up herself then all you can hear is her gurgling, grabbing her toes and blowing rasberries.
also she fitted after her birth and 2 out of the 3 jabs she had.
so i guess i would be to paranoid i wouldnt hear if their was a problem.
guess i will get less vigilant about it as she gets older though.

Stopped using it at 6 months old. My house is tiny though, I can hear him roll over from my kitchen sink.

dd is three and a half and we still use it . In my defence though, the listener is only on for the evening when she is in bed, and us downstairs. The main reason I want to listen in, is that she is asthmatic, and the first sign of an attack coming on is a cough, which doesn't wake her at first. If I can get to her with her inhaler before the wheeze gets too bad, the attck can be controlled. When we come upstairs to bed, the listener is turned off, I would definitely hear her from our room if she started to cough.

We have a monitor that beeps if baby stops breathing, used that ?breathing? bit until about 6 months and the normal listening monitor bit until about 10 months.

I found it very reassuring to see the green light flashing if I opened my eyes in the middle of the night, and know immediately that baby was breathing.

Hands up to being very paranoid. My bf would only babysit her new granddaughter if she could borrow my monitor, so I know I?m not the only one.

We've had a monitor since DS1 was born 5 years ago. DS2 is now 17mo and they both sleep in the same room. However shortly after DS2 was born the monitor packed up and we've never replaced it. TBH if he cries you can hear him.... eventually!! Since DS1 was about 2 the only reason we've ever used it was when babysitters were in charge so they could hear.

Didn't use one at all for DS1 - didn't even buy one.

Bought one for DS2 when he was about 1yr old, as we couldn't here him from the kitchen, or back garden because of the way the house is. Only use it when we're out the back, or occasioinaly swtich it on if we "think" we can here noises in their bedroom (they share a room).

Also gets used if they're playing up in their bedroom together - makes it easier to hear what's happening .

oh and we've never had the monitor in our bedroom - could here them loud and clear LOL.

we never used one as our 3 bedromed terrace house is too small not to be able to hear ds from whichever room you are in

I use the monitor for daytime naps as I wouldn't hear dd (6.5 months) otherwise but at night she's in the room next door. We still use the monitor but if she starts making a noise we turn it off (unless she sounds upset) so don't know why we bother. Should probably just take the plunge and stop using it at night.

"We still use the monitor but if she starts making a noise we turn it off "

LOL - sorry have this wondeful image of you waking up, hearing your DD making noise, switching the monitor off, rolling over and going back to sleep.

We used the monitor for CC - it was easier on us than listening to the actual crying - and for going away to houses or hotels where we didn't know what the situation would be and whether we would be able to hear the babies. I think we stopped using the monitors routinely at night each time when they had learned to sleep through easily.

Ours are 5 (tomorrow ) and 2, and I can envisage us taking the monitors on holiday with us for the next few years. Ds had a weekend away with his daddy recently; they stayed at a youth hostel, and dh took the monitor so that he could go to the lounge once ds had gone to bed.

Oh God - that is EXACTLY what we do {blush]. Poor dd!! The trouble is that if we get up when she cries a bit she thinks it fab and does the same the next night so we're a bit zero tolerance about it (unless she's ill or sounds really upset).

you used the monitor for CC!! OMG - that would have killed me - it was bad enough with DS1's CC - me sitting downstairs, with the sounds 'dulled' by a bottle of wine, without hearing it blaring out over the monitor