Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Can you see me now?


I think I've made it pretty clear that I'm going to keep a watchful eye on Kaylani when she's older. No boys, no sleepovers, no nights out, no excuses. And it's also been pretty clear that Mommy doesn't agree with me on these points, and we're going to run into some issues in the future when she helps Kaylani get out of the house and starts to cover for her. But before my blood pressure rises even higher thinking about Kaylani and boys, there is one thing that Mommy and Daddy agree on, and that's the decision to install a video monitor in Kaylani's room.

A couple of months ago we held off on buying a video monitor because we thought it was unnecessary. Back then, she was in her crib and barely moved, so the only reason to have a video monitor would be so we could stare at her without disturbing her. And after doing some research on video monitors, $300 was too steep of a price to justify staring at her while she sleeps without disturbing her. After all, I could stare at her while she slept for free as long as I was quiet! But this past week, things changed.

Kaylani has a Fisher Price Aquarium that we put in her crib sometimes when she's being fussy and won't take a nap on her own. It snaps on to the side of the crib and she can stare at it until she gets bored and falls asleep, at least that's how it's supposed to work. What Mommy found out one day was that Kaylani likes it so much that she somehow wiggles her way closer to it so she can press her face right up against the aquarium. So when Mommy came back into her room and saw her with her cheek up against the aquarium, we thought we should revisit the video monitor idea just in case.

Another reason in favor of the video monitor presented itself this past week as we started sleep training Kaylani. Since the sleep training that we chose involves leaving Kaylani alone (read: crying) in her crib for 5-10 minutes at a time before we go back in the room to calm her, we have no way to see what's actually going on in there. Hearing her cry is painful enough, so adding the constant worry that something might actually be bothering her (other then tiredness) is too much. Actually, the real reason that this put us in the video monitor market was because after Kaylani would stop crying and fall asleep after 10-15 minutes (normally), Mommy would make Daddy go in the room and check on her to see if she was okay.

And when the latest Babies R Us circular came out and had 15% off any monitor, we went out and splurged. We bought the Summer Infant Complete Coverage Video Monitoring System, which includes the video camera (of course), a 7" flat planel color viewing monitor, AND a handheld color video monitor that we can carry around with us! What really sold us was the additional handheld monitor since a large part of what we do includes going downstairs while Kaylani is sleeping in her room upstairs.

It's been 2 days since we've installed the system, and it's pretty much the greatest thing ever. Not only does it allow us to check on her while she's sleeping to make sure that she's actually sleeping and okay, but it also allows us to stare at her while she's sleeping! I have to admit that for the past 2 days, I've turned on the handheld monitor downstairs before I leave for work just so I can take a quick peek at her in the mornings (Mommy used to yell at me if I tried to sneak into her room because I could have woken her up).

But there are some downsides to having a video monitor. For starters, it also means that in addition to hearing her cry herself to sleep, you also end up watching her cry herself to sleep, and she just looks so sad and lonely. Plus, since it's in a night vision greenish and black and white tone, it looks even more sad and lonely. Also, we've now started to wonder if she actually sleeps as long as we think she did. On a few occasions, Mommy has looked at the monitor to find Kaylani moving around silently. Sure she's quiet, but she's clearly not asleep.

All in all I'd say we're pretty happy with our purchase. Sure I wish we didn't have to dish out $254 for the monitor (after coupons), but early reviews show that it was well worth the money. And what Daddy is secretly hoping for is that Kaylani will remember the day we installed the video camera in the corner of her room and take that with her as she grows older. Because the moral of the story is that you can't get anything by Daddy. That is unless you have Mommy's help. Sigh.

So while we stare at the monitor and wait for Kaylani to stop crying and fall asleep, you can stare at pictures from the last couple of days which include Kaylani's newest playmates, Aadi and Aidan who came over to visit today!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

They come very handy! :)

Tom Sherman said...

Big Jonny is watching you... and if any boys appear they are going to disappear.

JonnyTam13 said...

You betcha! Though if any boys did appear, I'd have to give them a little bit of credit for figuring out how to sneak through the bars I'm putting on her windows when she's older...