I’ve been stalking two items on eBay for the last week or so…a keyboard/mouse to go with the new computer in our bedroom…and a baby monitor. Since we’re internet junkies anyway, we always try to do our research before we buy something. So I scoped out amazon and other sites to see what people had to say; then I hit up the world’s marketplace (eBay) to get the best deal.

The baby monitor choice had already been narrowed because Stefan did research on them when we first assembled our layette list (I just realized I’ve never shared our list but probably should). But the Philips Avent baby phone we previously liked now has a bigger, better, bigger brother that people seem to love – SCD520.

Features I like include the range of 330 meters and the fact that I can talk back to Mackenzie (or whoever else might be in the nursery) via the little handheld unit. It’s rechargeable which is always useful and, while some people prefer a unit with two receivers, I don’t really see the point. Unless you just forget one of them or don’t really want to carry it around with you. Hopefully it will be here in the next week so I’ll let you know the verdict after a bit of use. I saved 10 euros on ebay vs amazon…and €35 over retail. Yes, I like that.

The keyboard was a slightly more interesting issue. Wireless was the foremost requirement. No surfing the web with cables in bed. We’ve had a few Logitech trackball mice in the past and loved them so why not another one? They’re certainly easy to operate while holding in your hand. The keyboard just needed to have the media PC functions since the remote component is another 50 euros to tack on…which would have us paying almost as much just for these three pieces as we paid for the rest of the computer. Not too thrifty. But them I came across the Microsoft Entertainment Desktop 8000 and sort of became obsessed.

And then the €250 retail price slapped me in the face. Not going to work. But eBay didn’t let me down. Buy it immediately for as low as €120…or be patient and finally get it for €87 in an auction. 3-2-1-Mine! We saw one in the electronics store this weekend. It was fantastic. I can’t wait til ours gets here.

The range is supposed to be 10 meters and it works with bluetooth. The mouse and keyboard are also rechargeable which is way better than needing to have a stash of batteries upstairs all the time. You can control the mouse on the keyboard itself which is bound to be helpful when you’re just doing something quickly with the mouse. I also think the backlit keyboard should be really cool in a dark room so we’ll see when it arrives.

Now I’ve moved on to stalking a breast pump and bottle warmers. I think I need to go back to the drawing board with the bottle warmer but have my eye on the Medele Harmony manual pump which seems to be loved by most. I was immersed in breast pump madness earlier today and kinda freaking out that I might choose wrong. But I’m sure it will all work out in the end.

By the way, anyone thinking about getting a used breast pump…reconsider. It’s not really a great idea and you don’t want to accidently pass something on to your litte one because the pump has fungus or something.