Off-Label Cell Phone Use

Recently, I was home alone with the sleeping babe and I needed to take the garbage downstairs. Since we live in a loft, we don’t have a baby monitor. In an inspired MacGyver Mama moment, I improvised a baby monitor using two phone lines. I called my cell phone from the cordless home phone, and then put the cordless handset next to the crib. With the cell phone on speaker, I listened to the sweet sound of silence.

This make-do baby monitor would be useful for those times when you go on vacation and forget the baby monitor—just use two cell phones set on speaker. Most family cell phone plans have unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes, so there’s no worry about running up the bill.