What baby monitors are available for new borns

Up until a week ago, we had been using our Tommee Tippie Baby Sensor Mat Monitor.   It was given to us as a present and we've been using it since Max came home from the hospital.

It finally gave up on us on Saturday night, the night the supermarkets shut by 10 p.m. for Sunday trading!

So Daddy was sent out to hunt down a new monitor and managed to get to Asda (13 miles away from us) with 10 minutes to spare and picked up a new monitor.

So that night we were now using the Tomy Classic Baby Monitor... and it lasted THREE DAYS!!  On Tuesday night when we put Max to bed, the thing just kept beeping!  Out came the instruction manual and the beeping was to inform us it had lost the connection - it was in the next room!

Mummy's turn to venture out!  So at 9.30pm, I didn't fancy the trip to Brighton and thought I'd go to the local Asda which is only a few miles away as we now know they stock monitors.  When I got to the local Asda the ONLY monitors stocked were the Tomy Classic!  Not happening.

So in the freezing cold, mist and tired eyes I drove over to Brighton and was greeted with way too much choice!  Usually, I'd relish in all that choice but I was tired and not in the mood for shopping.

So now we are 3 days in with our Lindam Digital Clarity and so far so good!  I rather like that it has rechargeable batteries and the little unit can be carried around.  I like that there is no interference crackling through and I love the fact I can use it as a walkie-talkie - not that I actually probably will.

How long did your baby monitor last, is 16 months acceptable?