Karen writes: "I have a 6-month-old and have yet to buy a baby monitor. I can easily hear when my baby cries since our house is small. Plus, I just don't want to be 'on duty' all the time. Am I allowed to get by without one?"

It's OK to skip the baby monitor if you can easily hear your baby. Just remember, that for the first several months of your baby's life, he is crying because he actually needs something. In fact, I never had a baby monitor when my two girls were infants because of a similar situation. My house wasn't huge and I wanted some down time. After the first few months, nothing terrible happened without one, so I considered the coast clear, and went along merrily monitorless.

But I'd like to invite responses from others. What do you think? Is a monitor a must-have, even if you really don't want one? Has anyone been saved by a monitor they didn't think they needed (until something happened)? Any other monitorless parents out there? Any parents out there with more than one monitor?

See our report on baby monitors for more information.