When Doug and I registered for the video baby monitor, we got a lot of unsolicited feedback.
"You'll never use that thing!"
"WE didn't have those when YOU were kids and YOU turned out just fine!"
"That's a little over-the-top, don't you think?"
Well, the truth of the matter is that we do use that thing. We've used it for every bedtime and naptime since Daniel was born. We didn't take it to Corpus with us for our first family vacation and regretted it every night we were there. We did take it to Phoenix for Thanksgiving and praised God for it every night we were there.
I recognize fully that baby gear today is not what it was 30 years ago - or heck, even 5 years ago. I know we got by without convertible car seats, video monitors, and bottle warmers. I know we survived when our parents fed us peanut butter before 1 and shellfish before 2. I know that Daniel doesn't sleep any better because of it. But I do. When we went through cry-it-out (all 55 times), I could take a quick look and know that he was ok. When he started crawling out of his crib, I could flip a switch when I heard a thump to verify that it was indeed just his foot banging the wall. How many saved trips into his room have there been because I was able to look at him without disturbing him? How many nights have I been able to push a button and know that a feverish baby was sleeping soundly? How many times would I have barged into his room to check on him (and of course woken him up) had we not had the monitor? Countless, I tell you!
How many absolutely hysterical things have we heard our child say that we would have never known about without the monitor? Just tonight, he was lying in bed saying, "Mater says 'Ka-chang!' Chick says, 'Ka-choo-ga!'" That's hilarious! A few weeks ago, Daniel was singing "Row, row, row your boat" in his sweet, sleepy little Daniel voice. In the mornings, I don't bolt into his room the moment I hear him stir. I grab the monitor and watch him stretch, play with his dragon, and talk to himself about his breakfast before I bother getting out of bed myself. Some of these memories are the ones I cherish the most. And nothing - nothing - compares to coming home on Mama's Night Out and hearing Doug read Daniel a bedtime story and say a bedtime prayer. Nothing could even come close to the sense of pride and love I feel for Doug as the father of my child when I hear him earnestly pray with our son. Go ahead and call me terrible - he knows I'm listening.
The problem with the monitor is not that we'll never use it or that it's space-aged or that it's something completely unnecessary. The problem is turning it off. I see the off switch. I understand the concept of pushing it and going to sleep. But something just won't let me do it. I tried to the other night and couldn't stand it for more than an hour. We've been teased by family that we're going to sit around watching Daniel after he's gone to bed for 15 years and that it'll be a violation of his privacy. While I don't think that's true, I do believe it is time to turn the monitor off. I'm just not sure I can or that I truly know how.
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Oh, how I wish we had the video monitor! I really wanted to get one, but the Irish side won out. We have the kind that sets off an alarm if they stop breathing which sounds great...but it went off with false alarms EVERY night once she got to be about 5 months old. I finally disconnected the sensor.
ReplyDeleteI read a blog post from a mom who used the video monitor for her 4 year old and managed to catch him before the took to drawing on the wall with his crayons! = )
I hope I can manage to turn it off before Daniel is 4, but if not, maybe I'll stop some travesty like crayons on the wall. :o) The goal is to have myself weaned off of it before another one comes along. We'll see whether that happens or if we shell out another $100 for a second video camera. ;o)
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