When did you start using a baby monitor?

[Bellyrub1980]

I put my 9 week old baby in her crib and left the room with a baby monitor for the first time tonight. I was out of the room for an hour but checked in on her every ten minutes!!!

I just have that nagging thought that I need to be with her constantly till 6 months in case she stops breathing.

But my DP's argument is 'would you notice when you're asleep anyway?' .... And I'm struggling to find an argument to this. He'd like us to put her to bed and have an hour or two of 'us' time alone a few nights a week. Is 9 weeks far too early to do this?

Needless to say, I'm still skeeping in the same room as her tonight!!

That's funny, we've just done this tonight for the first time with my 10 week old. She's my second but I still had to have a sneaky check on her halfway through the episode of Homeland...

She didn't go to bed til 1 am last night and I'd had enough so bedtime routine started tonight. Asleep on boob at 7 PM but kept waking and feeding til 8.45pm. She woke an hour later so am feeding her now. Not too bad for a first attempt, I think she only woke because her white noise switched off.

Heard her absolutely fine over the monitor. I think most people put their babies to bed before 6 months and just do regular checks.

We started using one when dd was 5 months old. We started putting her upstairs at her bed time and we came up a couple of hours later. Until then she was in her Moses basket in the living room. She was in our room at night until 6 months.

SIDS guidelines are they should be with you until 6 months.

I tried this last night but might try to keep her in my room. The trouble is she makes little noise almost crying but not full on and it's impossible to sleep!

My baby girl stayed in her Moses basket in the living room until we went to bed until she was around 6months old, she was in our room then also.
We decided to put her in her own room, but again she wasn't going in there until we went to bed.
I have one of the pads you put under the mattress which sounds an alarm if anything should happen, Which for me had given me huge relief and peace of mind. Is this an option for you?
We are now putting her in bed around 8ish so we can have some 'us' time x

DD 12 weeks, DS 9 weeks. The SIDS guidelines do say they should be with you all the time until 6 months, but I felt this was overkill - I need my evenings and my babies need to sleep properly in the evenings too, which after a certain age they don't downstairs with you.

The guidelines are guidelines not rules and everyone has different levels of comfort for what they find acceptable and what works for them.

DD went in her own room around 4 months as she outgrew carry cot and couldn't fit cot in our room. This was the first time we had her asleep in a different room to us and used the monitor. We had an angel care one with the movement sensor pad but now she is 6 months and a real fidget so we stopped using the movement pad.

I am probably going to get told off for this.. My DD is 14 weeks & has all her naps in her bednest in our room. She goes to bed quite late in the evenings (10pm) but sleeps 12ish hours. I don't have a baby monitor & I don't intend to get one. I just leave the door a bit open - enough for me to peek in & know that she's ok. I always swaddle her, so don't have to worry about her turning over etc. I fully intend to have her in our room for 6m (DD1 stayed 3 years! ).

If you are very worried you should use the sensor pad under her, but I think if she is in your room the risk of SIDS is greatly reduced - not because you are monitoring her, rather because her breathing gets tuned in with yours & so keeps the rhythm going.

Mine does the night noises too & I wake up...DH has moved out to DD1's room as he has had enough of the night time drama!!

You could get one of those 'Angelcare' monitors that have a pad that sounds an alarm if they stop breathing. We have one and I haven't stressed at all about my baby this time around (maybe because he is baby #2 as well though). I like this monitor tho- you can hear things very clearly and the pad is very sensitive and really works.

lol I didn't read everyone else's post- sorry! Lots of people have suggested this I see. It only goes off if the baby stops moving/breathing so we're still using it at 9months old and we used it from birth. x