Turn off the baby monitor

If I've mentioned anything about this topic, please forgive me, but I thought this was a topic I should share with future moms.

Before Aidan was born, I had decided I probably wouldn't use a monitor. I didn't even buy one. I had read/heard too many stories about moms running to respond to every little noise they hear on the monitor and, let's face it, that's just not my style. But I was afraid that if I could hear him, my mommy instinct would kick in and I would be running to his side constantly.

When we brought Aidan home, we kept him in a basinette beside our bed. I ended up moving in the rocker as well and set up camp in my room. It's safe to say that I basically lived in my bedroom - cable TV, ensuite bathroom, what more did I need? Shortly after Aidan was born, I realized that I needed a monitor for when he was napping. Although I made myself at home in our bedroom, there were occasions that I had to hed to the kitchen for a snack (okay, many occasions) and sometimes, if Aidan were napping, I wanted to just leave him in our room. I spent probably an hour at Sears looking at the different monitors and comparing their features. I finally decided on one that had a portable receiver and a mute option with a screen that showed the volume of the sound. This mute option helped a lot during the cry-it-out time. The remote also had a sensitivity option that allowed the receiver to be sound-sensitive, only turning on if Aidan made a sound, and I could pick how loud of a sound. Perfect!

The monitor was perfect for when Aidan was napping. I would exercise or even just watch TV (more likely) without having to stop and mute the TV to hear if he was crying. So far, so good. (insert random picture of Aidan and I)

I don't know why, but for some reason I had in my head that Aidan would sleep in our room for the first few months. I didn't know that Aidan would grunt in his sleep. He doesn't do it anymore, and I'm not sure why he ever did, but when he was first born he would grunt in his sleep for up to an hour straight - loudly. Okay, time to move to the big boy crib. At about 3 weeks old, Aidan left our bedroom. I thought the transition would be hard for him, but it didn't seem to make a difference, he still slept for up to 3 hours in a row! (I do NOT miss those days....not at all). Because I still had to get up through the night to nurse, I left the monitor on "sensitive" so that it would kick on if he made a loud noise. Oh wait, those GRUNTS are loud. But still, I lived with it so that I wouldn't sleep through his nursing needs.

As those of you that have read my blog know, Aidan went through a crying phase. One night, Aidan was crying his eyes out in his room, on the second floor, when I went down to the basement to get away (aka do laundry). In the basement, I could still hear him screaming. That was the last time I used the monitor at night. I realized if I could hear him from the basement, there was no way his screams wouldn't wake me up from across the hall. I think that decision helped us both get a better sleep.

Now I rarely use the monitor at all. Now and then I'll turn it on to see if he's fallen asleep yet, or if I think I hear him crying I'll turn it on to check that it's not a "phantom cry". My advice to other moms that are feeling stressed - just turn the monitor off. Allow yourself to be "off duty" now and then, or you just might go insane.

The End :)