Do you hear what I hear?

Baby monitors are an extra set of ears- that allow you to keep tabs on your sleeping baby. The most basic type of monitor is an audio monitor. It operates within a selected radio frequency band to send sound from the baby's room to a receiver. Each monitor consists of a transmitter (child unit) and one or more receivers (parents units)

The biggest challenge for a monitor is to transmit the sound over a distance with minimal interference- static, buzzing, or any other irritating noise. You need to make sure that you keep your monitor away from cell phone, computers, and cordless phones. So try to move things around to get the best reception. Overall interference is the biggest complaint that parents have about monitors.

Some monitors also have lights, like the photo show above, which show the baby noises- it's nice if you need to make a phone call, you can turn the sound off and still see if the baby is crying- the louder the baby cries the more lights light up. If you live in a large home having two receivers can be helpful- you can keep one receiver in one place and the other receiver in another place.

To minimize the possibility of interference purchase a monitor that operates on a different frequency band then other wireless products in your home. Generally cordless phones run a 2.4GHz frequency.

The most popular monitors are:
Evenflo, Graco, Fisher Price, Safety 1st, Sony, Summer Infant, and The First Years- they range in price from $15-$200. Remember the more expensive the monitor does not always equal a better monitor.

Adoption Leave, Short Term Disability, and Day Care- OH MY!

As we continue our preparations for our adoption journey today it was finally thinking about what happens when the baby comes home and what happens when we have to go back to work, how does this new baby fit into our lives?

The day started with calls to human resources at John's work- and much to our surprise John gets paternity leave, a lot of paternity leave- all paid at 100%. He gets 12 weeks of paid adoption leave starting when the child is placed with us. WOW! How great is that?! On the other hand I get NADA! Because my firm is less then 50 people they are not required to offer us FMLA, so all I get is my vacation time. So luckily John can be a stay at home dad until the baby is 6 weeks old and is old enough to go to day care. I have to admit, I think he is really excited about that!

I also took a tour of a daycare center today. I think I found a good one- its a large day care center around the corner from my office. They do not have a waiting list- which is good for us. They take children from 6 weeks up to kindergarten. The location is great, the price is reasonable and the facility is clean and taken care of. Each child has their own mini crib- and their own cubby- in which bottles, formula, wipes, and snacks are kept. They are also kept with children their own age, which is great for socialization. All in all I am very happy with my first visit- and it's defiantly the front runner right now. The fact that it's so close to my office is great- if anything happened I would be close by. It's hard to find a place that you think is good enough to leave your child all day- but its the choices that every mother must make.

The Rancic's Season 2

The Rancic's are back and it's better than ever for season two! From the previews it looks like season two will focus on Guiliana and Bill trying to get pregnant. There are several scene's are the doctor's office and then poor Guiliana having a negative pregnancy test. Having been there and done that I cannot help but wonder if the Rancic's are infertile? Guiliana is 36 years old, so her clock is ticking- and Bill is 38 so they need to get moving if they are going to have kids. They have been married for over two years so if they have been trying since they got married they meet the definition of infertility- no success after one year of trying.

I hope they have kids- I do not wish this journey on anyone, and they would make such cute babies- they are both so attractive. I am so looking forward to season two which premieres in January 2010.

Wait, hold up! There is a infant seat in my house!

John and I are in the final stretch of our adoption classes. We have one more class on Saturday and our final home visit this week. We have checked everything off on our lists and our house is 100% child safe! I got a killer deal on a Graco car seat- I had several coupons and a cyber monday deal so I jumped on it. So now we have a brand spanking new Graco infant seat in our house- I don't even know what to do with myself. I feel like I need to call Fed Ex and tell them that they made a mistake, and it was delivered to the wrong house.

So we are busy researching cribs, mattresses, toys, and other baby items and getting ready for the holidays- it's very busy at our house!

I have to admit that I have never felt better. I will keep everyone updated. Happy Holidays everyone! Enjoy and be safe!