Peace of Mind with the Nanit Monitor

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It is hard to put into words the anxiety I felt while pregnant with my son in 2019-2020 without sounding like I'm fear mongering. My first pregnancy earlier in 2019 ended in a loss, and at eight weeks pregnant with this one, I experienced bleeding from four subchorionic hemorrhages, lasting well into the second trimester. It was months of holding my breath and waiting for the other shoe to drop. And because that wasn't enough to push my nervous system over the edge, let's throw a global pandemic in the mix for good measure, shall we? 

At a time when I expected to heavily rely on the love and support from my community, family, and friends, government officials around the globe expected everyone to isolate from each other. I cannot express in words the relief I felt when my son was finally here. Pregnancy was over; we made it to the finish line! If you're a parent, I hope you're laughing now, because as anyone knows, birth is just the beginning.

At the time when my husband and I brought our son home from the hospital, I didn't think we needed a baby monitor. After all, we lived in a cozy "two bedroom" apartment in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago. Be real George. (I'm now talking directly to the owner and landlord of that apartment.) That second "bedroom" was an alcove where we managed to squeeze in a desk. My boss at the time generously gifted me with any crib of my choosing, and we opted for the Stokke Mini Crib, simply because there was no room for a standard size. So given all this information, why in the world would we need a baby monitor when we're all in the same space?

Oh wait, what's that? First parent anxiety induced insomnia??? We're at home with the new baby. I need to heal. Everyone needs to sleep. And what do we do? Stay awake and watch him breathe because we were scared of SIDS. Everyone from our birthing instructor (from a class we took over Zoom) to the midwives, pediatricians, and lactation consultants had scary SIDS stories to share. And so we watched him breathe while he slept.

Fast forward to a kind soul on the internet recommending we get a baby monitor that can sense the baby's breathing and alert us if any changes occur. I didn't even know such monitors existed! A million thanks to that person, wherever they may be. We opted for the Nanit Smart Baby Monitor & Flex Stand, so it was still small enough to not take up any room, and we could move it around.

If you opt for the Breathing Motion Monitoring, there is a Breathing Band which goes around their stomach over their pajamas, or there is a sleep sack, swaddle, and pajama with the built in Breathing Band you can purchase. The consensus is these items only work while they're in the tiny potato stage, because too much movement or rolling over can cause false alarms.

The mobile flex feature proved to be the perfect choice for us later in the toddler years when bubs was on the move and at that point we'd moved into a larger apartment. It especially helped soothe my anxious spirit when trying to encourage independent play! I left him in his bedroom to play, and I could keep my eye (and ear!) on him through the monitor from another room. 

I don't claim getting a baby monitor will ease ALL your anxiety. We are parents, after all. And one day those little babes will go to school, out of your sight. But if any of my first time parent fears resonate with you, I encourage you to allow a tool to help lighten the load.