Baby Monitors & Baby Slings

If you are near the babies room I would suggest not even bothering with the monitor. I had one with both of my children and ended up unplugging them and never using either of them. It kept me up all night trying to listen for the baby to cry or just listening to the static and other noises coming from the monitor. I had a BabyBjorn carrier and loved it when my son was a baby. Now that he is older I LOVE the fabric hip sling. I ordered it off of Ebay - it was homemade and just a big piece of fabric with rings. I have seen a lot of people use them with infants, too.

Hi - I have a 2 month old, and I use my HotSling all the time with her. It's awesome! They have a website at hotsling.com, but I got mine off of ebay for about 20.00 less. Good luck!

I got a video monitor as a gift at my baby shower. It is the Safety 1st brand and works very well. My daughter is now 2 and we just moved her upstairs and the monitor works great in my bedroom downstairs. I loved having the monitor when she was an infant because I could watch her while she was trying to fall asleep and it made me feel more comfortable. Good luck and congrats on the new arrival!

We have a basic Fisher Price monitor- (nothing fancy) and it has been great! We have no problems with it and it was given to us about 3 years ago and its still going! As for a sling, check out Hotslings.com, these are great! A little pricey but you can find them cheaper on ebay. I started carrying my little in it around 3 months- and she loved it!
Congratulations!

J.,

The Summer brand (http://www.summerinfant.com/videomonitors.htm) is one of the only video monitors out there, and it's not the greatest in quality. We have that one, but we turn the sound down b/c it's hard to reduce the static. [Keep in mind, we purchased it about 3 years ago for our first child, so the company may have improved the quality.] We then use a Graco sound monitor to hear when the baby stirs or cries. This combination seems to work well. The video monitor and sound monitor need to be on opposite sides of the room b/c of the interference.

Hope this helps!

God Bless,
A.

I went through three monitors before finding the AngelCare monitor by BebeSounds. What sets this one apart from the others (besides better reception) is that it has a motion detector that goes under the mattress. You have to follow the directions for installation carefully or it gives off false signals, but once you get it adjusted correctly, it works great.

The motion detector sets off an alarm if your baby stops moving (aka breathing) for 20 seconds. I did not sleep at night, even though she was in the same room as us until I got this monitor. It really works ! There were a couple of times it alarmed because she had moved too close to the edges, but all worth it just to get a good night's sleep.

The unit works without the motion detector attached too, for when they are older. The others all had loud feedback no matter where I had the monitor in my house. I get very little feedback on this one.

Hope this helps.
Johanne's Mom

With baby monitors check to make sure that you don't have one on the same frequency as your cordless phone. The phone will interfere with the monitor. We have a video monitor and love it. When my daughter is crying I can look to see if she really needs me to come in or if she is just crying to cry. I don't think I could live without the video monitor after having one. My daughter is almost 2 and we didn't get it until she was 5 months old. You'll love it when your child goes through the separation anxiety stage.

Hi J.-

I know that trying to decide on all of the baby gear can be really overwhelming. For me it was the car seats and strollers that gave me headaches- you want to buy the best for your little one, but money is also an option. Turns out that most of it doesn't matter. You'll have lots more STUFF than you'll ever need!
As for baby monitors, I have an Evenflo Whisper Connect- was very inexpensive and works great. Is also small and very portable so I can take it with me when I travel.

For slings, I tried several- and love these: http://peainapodslings.com/
They are a pouch sized to fit your body, have padding in the right places for the baby, and really cute fabric choices.

Good luck!

I have the Fisher Price Sounds and Lights monitor. I love it! I did a ton of research before deciding on this monitor. One of my friends has a monitor with a screen. She said that it is horrible. I read poor reviews on the visual monitors. As for the wrap. I love my Moby Wrap www.mobywrap.com for newborns. My baby is 13 weeks old now. I'm planning to use my hotsling as he gains more control. He screamed his head off when I tried to put him in a pouch situation. But, I think that he's going to be ok with some of the positions for older kiddos. He loves the Mody wrap because it's like a big hug. It's just like I am holding him, but I don't have to use my arms.

I second the Hotsling - we love ours! She's 9 months now, and it's just so handy and easy to use :)

Also, you might look into a getting a Mei Tai as well - they're just as usable with a newborn (though I did prefer the sling when she was younger), and are great for when you're out walking around for a while. Especially when they get older and heavier, as the sling puts a all the weight on one shoulder and a mei tai spreads it around evenly.

I searched forever for baby monitors! I returned probably 10 of them because we couldn't sleep with them on. For the non-video style monitor we used the Sony Baby Call. It has two settings...one on all the time and one voice activated. It is awesome for sleeping at night if you are a lightm sleeper. We actually purchased a second one and run it on separate channels with our second child.

Niether of my kids liked the slings so I would be able to help you there!

Good Luck!

For the past 2 years the Fisher Price monitor has worked GREAT for me!

I would highly suggest a monitor called "Angel Care/Bebe Sounds" which I bought at Babies R Us. It has a sensor that goes under the crib mattress and senses the baby's breathing. If they stop breathing for 15 seconds an alarm goes off. I set it for "ticking" so you hear a constant tick and know your little one is fine. I think you can opt to not have the tick but I liked it. You can set it to regular monitor as well and comes with 2 remote speakers. I used this with my daughter who is now almost 2 and as a first time mom it gave me such peace of mind. My daughter has slept in her crib since day one and I never had to worry about her not breathing. It was worth the extra money! Hope this helps!
M.

www.newnativebaby.com
It is the best baby sling! My New Native it a size 4. I paid $40 for it. I also have a hot sling, but it is too small. It is a size 3. I paid $75 for it. I even went by the size chart and went to the Dallas store to make sure I was getting the right size. I told the ladies at the store that I thought a size 4 would be more comfortable, but they said that it would be too big. It did not feel too big. Now I am stuck with it. Anyway, I went by what they said, but I ended up getting a new native too and love it! I also use a snugli.

I don't know much about baby monitors - I don't use one but if I did, I'd probably get one where you can wear the receiver on your wrist, just because that seems more convenient to me.

As for slings, I got mine at Mammasmilk.com, and both my daughter and I loved it! They have some great patterns and they are very comfortable. They range from (I believe) $45 for a cotton sling to $75 for a silk one.

Good luck and congratulations!

I have the Fisher Price Sounds N Lights monitor and I love it. My friend has the same one and she loves hers. The only problem I've ever had is when my cell phone is near the receiver and it rings it causes the monitor to make that white noise. Other than that, it picks up loud and clear...I can even hear my baby breathing through it. As for a sling...I used the Baby Bjorn carrier, but I'd like to try a sling with my next, so if you find out about any good ones, let me know!!

I had a baby bjorn with my first, which i hated. My son gained weight so quickly that the straps would slide. I think i used it a handful of times and that was it. Plus it killed my back! I LOVE the Hotsling... it is the best and you can wear it so many ways so that you can find the most comfy way for you. and you can even carry toddlers in it!

Hi!
I will also say the Hotsling is the greatest!!! I love mine...I used it with my first from newborn to almost a year and then got a Mei Tai!! I'm now using the same sling with my newborn daughter and love it still!! I got mine from www.chickabeez.com

Good luck!!

http://www.shop.com/op/~Fisher_Price_Sounds_146_n_Lights_...

Mine is Fisher Price, not exactly like this, but similar.

I went nuts b/c even with the monitor, I still thought I heard the baby crying, even when he was fast asleep. I really liked how I could see the light pattern on the monitor that indicated my baby's sound volume. It kept me sane.

I bought my sling from Kangarookorner.com and love it. It is adjustable which is great as you loose weight. My son is 9 months old and still loves being it in.

Good Luck and Congrats,
J.

i have the summer day/night video monitor (http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-2/qid=118130817...) and i can't say enough good things about it!!!! the only downside is the price ($169.99), but the picture is clear, it is portable (i take it on every trip) and it is wonderful to be able to see if my daughter is truly awake or just shifting around in her sleep (made a HUGE difference in my life!!). i have suggested it to all of my pregnant friends and everyone who gets one absolutely loves it. also, the customer service is fantastic. on of the buttons stopped working properly (the entire monitor still worked) and they sent me a brand new one, no questions asked, no paperwork, no hassle at all, no cost to me whatsoever. if you can handle spending that much on a monitor, i can definitely say it has been worth it over and over again :)
good luck

Hotslings are great and are made here locally. I love them.

http://www.hotslings.com/

I love my Over the Shoulder Baby Holder sling. Its very versitile. I was advised to get a sling with padding b/c otherwise it will start to hurt your shoulder, esp. as your baby gets bigger. I'm really glad I took that advice. I got mine used on Ebay and it was in perfect condition. They run about $60 new.

My absolute favorite sling for a newborn is a Moby Wrap. Their website is http://www.mobywrap.com and the cheapest place to get it (free shipping) is http://www.thegoodmama.com

I also love my Maya Wrap Ring Sling, http://www.mayawrap.com , and my Mei Tai made by http://www.meitaicarrier.com

I think the wrap is the best for a newborn because it is so secure. The ring sling was also fine, but it wasn't my favorite when my baby was very small. I wouldn't have been comfortable with my Mei Tai until my baby was past the newborn stage.

I also have a baby Bjorn and another sling that was bought for me at a Target or Walmart. I hate them both. They are easy to find, but miserable to use.

http://www.thebabywearer.com has wonderful information on all types of slings.

I LOVE my Hotsling, which is pricey but well worth it!! It is very slim and streamlined. Not at all bulky. They are also fit to your body! They have a website, but I went to a store that carried their products and tried one on before buying.

Try:

http://www.hotslings.com/