Monitors in bedrooms - what age did you stop?

Am pondering this one due to Imogen's current early morning singing habit!

With Archie, I can never remember having the monitor on in his room overnight.  Once we moved him to his own room we left his door and our door open, so any noises could be heard easily.  He was always very capable of shouting loud enough if he needed anything

It's been a bit different with Immy.  She's always been such a quiet little thing - not a shouter - so the monitor is left on overnight so we can respond to any grumbling/upsetness.  Also, being number 2 child, we need to keep her door closed so that Archie isn't disturbed.  She sleeps beautifully now (11 months) - she settles like a dream and I cannot remember the last time I needed to get up to her in the night.  However, she is going through a habit, and I'm sure the lighter mornings aren't helping, of waking at 5.45am and singing/talking to herself.  I'm awake from that point onwards.  She doesn't cry out for anyone and is quite content, but is bloody noisy, even with the monitor down at lowest levels.  I'm starting to think about turning the monitor off, maybe just in the early mornings, but not sure whether it's the right thing to do.

Can you tell me what time you stopped the overnight monitor with your LO/s and why you made the decision to stop.

Thanks x

We're still using one with A, so I'm not much help, but is there an in between you could try, like moving the monitor away from her or you to make it a bit quieter? 

We stopped at a year (also with a child who slept through and used to sing contentedly in the morning).

Thanks both.

We have a huge bedroom and the monitor is currently at the other end, so I'm not sure I could adapt that any more to help.  Motherhood has just made me such an unbelievably light sleeper.

I'm thinking the compromise may be to continue leaving the monitor on through the night but turn it off when she starts singing, and once I am comfortable that she is happy and not needing anything.  It may just allow me to get an extra hours sleep.

We don't take the monitor to bed with us because J's room is next to ours, so sadly, once she starts singing in the mornings, I wake anyway

I used to be such a deep/heavy sleeper that nothing would wake me. I now wake if she so much as coughs/sneezes in the night!

We stopped using it overnight from as soon as he moved into his own room.. Our bedroom is right next door so we can hear him if he cries but didn't want to hear every shuffle/sleepy noise. We still use it for when we are downstairs in the evenings and during naps though (he's 19 months) as I wouldn't hear him crying from downstairs.

We also get woken up with singing every morning.. This mornings "wind the bobbin up" and "twinkle twinkle" were less cute at 6am

I tend to wake up and press mute untill I defrost enough to accept that he's not going back to sleep and I will have to get up and take him downstairs. 4.45am this morning. Gah. Does anyone use black out blinds? Do they help?

With Matthew we stopped the overnight monitor about 18 months old & had our door open instead, if he was ill we used it though. We had it on again for him when Lauren was 1st born as our door was shut at night. then he went into a bed & was quite capable of coming in to find us.  With Lauren we stopped when she started sleeping through (about 14 months) & only use it for naps or if she is ill.

Is having your door open at night an option?

Sue

We've not used ours since we moved house in September so M was 7 months. She shouts loud enough when she wants to be heard! 

im sightly deaf in my left ear so depends which side im lying on if i can hear so i still use monitor.

the girls are in together, i think i will stop when i move abi to a big bed and she can get up herself.

I worry if they are ill in the night i wont hear, at least holly can now come into us if there is somthing wrong.

sam,x

monalisa, we have blackout blinds but tbh they were cheap ones and they still let the light in round the edges. I have bought a Gro-Anywhere Blind, which is like a travel version with suckers to stick on the window (they sell them on bumpto3) and it is FANTASTIC no more early waking for us!

thanks everyone

and thanks mrs aspiring for the info on the gro anywhere blind - looks really good and I'm definitely considering getting one.  Immy does already have a black out blind in her nursery but it's not up to much and I really think the early morning lightness is not helping with her dawn chorus!

Just to say we're still using one for S, and prob won't stop till Sausage arrives!

I intend to use one for Zoe for a long time yet (she's 14 months), however we have a slightly different situation.

Zoe sleeps on a seperate floor to us as we are in a townhouse and I am not happy leaving her door open as it is a fire door and so, in the event of a fire, by having it closed it gives her 30 mins more protection if we can't get to her.

IWO we are having the exact same problem with P! I tell H to at least turn the monitor down but he says he 'likes to hear her' and then manages to sleep through the singing and squealing while I lay there awake contemplating whether to get up or not!

I couldn't get rid of it though as I wouldn't hear her quieter noises in the night and would worry. 

I think I'll look at that blind too.

Sympathies! x