Baby Monitors

[Sterla]

DH and I have been looking at baby monitors, and are trying to decide which to choose.

The main ones we've seen have been Fischer Price, Tomy and Angelcare. The Angelcare one detects sound and movement, but also costs a fair bit more than others. We were wondering if the movement detection is worth the extra $, or if the sound detection ones are fine.

Any feedback on any monitors would be helpful. Thanks in advance .

[feeb]

We have angelcare sound and movement Ac401 and love it!! it gives u room temp also and in midde of night I can look at moniter and know that DS is breathing rather than getting up to check him.

Also we have wireless internet and stuff and it doesnt intefere with that.

[~Kaz~]

Hey Sterla,

I don't actually own a baby monitor - nor have I had my baby yet so feel free to dismiss what I'm about to say because I don't really know what I'm talking about in real life yet

BUT - DP and I have had the baby monitor conversation with a few friends who do have children and they have convinced us not to bother buying one. I guess it depends on how big your house is or when you would use it (i.e. travelling and staying in unfamiliar houses might be a different story) but apparently, if the babies room is reasonably close to your room, the kitchen/living area, you will hear about it anyway when the baby cries and needs attention. The monitors are really good/sensitive and they (apparently) pick up on every sound, movement etc. Some of my mates said they hardly used theirs in the end because they heard every little noise and going in there actually woke the baby up more often than not.

I'll also be interested in the replies you get - esp. from those who found monitors invaluable!

[snowchickie79]

We were told not to get one by our antenatal class nurse as parents can become blaise about the alarm going off and response times. Many of the ladies in our class ended up with one anyway. Here are our reasons and my thoughts. The distance between our bedroom and DD's is about 3m (separated by our bathroom) and we have still found it very very valuable.

We have the angelcare sound and movement monitor which also has a room temperature reading.

1) The sound and movement monitors will detect sound (so if baby is crying) and movement (lets you know if baby stops breathing). So the breathing part was a real "piece of mind" thing for me because DD was very quiet with her breathing and when she was having very long sleeps (over 10 hours) as a newborn I would always be checking her to make sure she was breathing. A baby will not necessarily make any noise if it is having trouble breathing so the monitor will solve this by means of an alarm. We've only ever had the alarm go off 3 times (DD is 4 months and these alarms were all early on) and it was due to DD held her breathe and other times incorrect installation. The monitor has a sensitivity setting so if you get false alarms, you simply turn the sensitivity down and problem solved. So for me that benefit outweighed any negative comments I'd heard about parents being blaise about the breathing alarm, simple, if the alarm goes off there is no way that I wasn't responding to that. If the monitor is going off incorrectly, then it isn't installed properly. I've used it in a Boori cradle, cot and porta cot without issue.

2) Although your babies room may be close to you to hear baby cry I find the monitor fabulous when DD is sleeping and I need to do some washing and hang it out. I take the monitor out with me and I can hear if she wakes while I'm outside. I can go and do some gardening, do the laundry, check the mail, bring in the garbage bins and all without worrying that I'm missing her crying. Also great if you want to have a shower while bubba is asleep, you can have a relaxing shower with the monitor nearby so if bubba cries you can still hear it over the shower running (p.s yes I've had many showers were DD has started crying during it and I've had to run in dripping wet, but I would not have heard her if i couldn't see the monitor going off and DD's room is only in the next room to our bathroom). I also take the monitor to my parents place as she sleeps there in a portacot and we spend alot of time out by the pool in summer or in the back room and her room is miles away. At least I can be outside with everyone and will still hear her when she wakes.

The sound detection also has a setting where it can be constant sound being transmitted or only transmits sound when baby makes a noise. The constant transmission is annoying so we just have it set so that it only transmits when DD makes enough noise to activate the sound sensor. Solves that issue as it only transmits noise when there is actual noise and again there is a sensitivity switch for this and also a volume control.

3) Our biggest reason was the room temp issue as we have a fireplace and DD was born late August so it was going when she was young and I wanted to know if her room was too hot or too cold. It's also great with this weird weather as if it's a hot night i don't put as many blankets on her but I can change the min and max temperatures so that if the temp drops overnight, it gives me an alarm and I can go and put more blankets on or take them off as required without disturbing her sleep or her getting uncomfortable.

Personally it was one of the best things we bought for piece of mind and also for us knowing DD was ok, happy and asleep and not needing us when we couldn't hear her. I think the monitor was worth the extra money and I would use it with any future bubbas we have also.

Hope this helps and of course just our experience with the monitor.

[Pandora]

I didnt use one with DS as he was in teh room next door, but i did use it to go outside to hang out washing etc. We'd borrowed it from a friend and decided to buy the angelcare one for this bub, becuase their room is much further away from us, and from the living areas etc

We got the sound/movement/temperature one as well.

[Kailani]

Well snowchickie you have me convinced! I'll add that to the list of things yet to buy I was undetermined whether to get one with the movement and temperature features, but as you put it, the peace of mind and convenience factor have made the decision easy! For me, being the anxious and obsessive person I am, I have no problem spending the extra $$ to keep me from checking on bubs a million times while he's asleep and distracting me from getting anything done. I'm glad I found this thread!

[Arimeh]

Everything snowchickie said.

I don't understand the argument that if you have an alarm going off that you'll ignore it.. hello?? its LOUD!!!! lol

FWIW - We have a babysense breathing monitor and its gone off once in the 2 years we have had it. There was nothing wrong with DS, he had rolled off the sensor pad - so we put both pads in - easily fixed. It hasn't gone off again.

[Sterla]

Thanks for all your replies (esp snowchickie) - really helpful!!! Sounds like Angelcare is the way to go - I didn't even know about the temperature bit.

I've been looking on ebay, might place a bid if I find a decent one, otherwise I think DH and I will pick one up at a store somewhere.

[snowchickie79]

Ah glad I could help. It was something I questioned too but glad I went with my own thoughts and instincts. Yes it has given plenty and plenty of piece of mind and I think it was very worth the $$. I got ours from the same place I bought all my nursery stuff so I got a great discount on it.. Also recommend trying at the Baby Expo's (if there is another one before your bubba is due) as they are usually on special there also. Best thing to do is source the price on it from your local stores and just keep an eye out until you see it on special and then just grab it.. Make sure you get the one with the two sensor pads as when bubba starts moving around the cot, the second scensor will help to make sure the alarm isn't triggered if they move off the sensor pads by accident.

Angelcare do a monitor with the temperature and without. There is one where the temp is displayed on the actual nursery unit so you'd need to physically go into the baby's room to see the temp, whereas my one the temperature is displayed on the parents unit so I can see the temp on my handset.

Arimeh - I completely agree, the alarm is loud and goes off at both the nursery unit and parent unit. The nursery unit alarm is designed to trigger or spook the baby to take a breathe and the parent unit alarm lets us know something is wrong. There ain't no way that I would ignore the alarm no matter what!

Glad to have helped.

[Malyna]

I think Angelcare is introducing a new monitor, with the room temperature and digital display in it - Its going to be a bit more expensive $329 (if my memory serves me correctly), compared to the one that is out at the moment (same two pads, but no room temperature or digital display) which is about $200.... or so the lady at the baby shop, just before xmas told us. We are going for the standard one (two pads et al).. if our tight budget stretches that far!

[feeb]

I think Angelcare is introducing a new monitor, with the room temperature and digital display in it - Its going to be a bit more expensive $329 (if my memory serves me correctly), compared to the one that is out at the moment (same two pads, but no room temperature or digital display) which is about $200.... or so the lady at the baby shop, just before xmas told us. We are going for the standard one (two pads et al).. if our tight budget stretches that far!

This came out in June 2 pads, digital display with room moniter and 2 handsets as I have it its great

[Laranna]

I have the Angelcare sound and movement one too - the one with 2 pads, digital display with room monitor, temp etc.

I agree everything that snowchickie said! DS is still in his cot in our bedroom and I still put the nursery unit on at night even though he is an arms reach away! Just peace of mind really.

[snowchickie79]

Yep the room temp version with 2 pads is what I have and I bought it in July.. I went in May but they told me it was about to be released so I waited till the following month to snag one. Mine wasn't over $300.. From memory around the $240-250 (this was discounted price) mark but they have probably come down a little now as they've been out almost 6 months but if you shop around you should get it cheaper especially if you get all your nursery stuff from the same place, which I did, so they gave me a discount.

[LuluHB]

You've made a great decision - the Angelcare is brilliant.

I just wanted to add that monitors are great for more than just knowing when your bub is screaming. Both my girls generally wake up happy so they don't cry. The monitors let me hear one of them chattering away to herself when she wakes up - lets me have a few minutes to finish what I'm doing but still keep an ear on her so I know how long I can leave her before she gets upset.

[shellsie]

Just wondering if anyone has found the montiors they've used haven't worked properly due to interference from our cordless phones. We bought one from **** Smith a couple of months ago that had a screen on it so you could actually see the baby as well as hear it, but ended up taking it back 'cause there was too much interference. Also have people found they work well over long distances? Our baby's bedroom will be at the other end of the house from ours and we were thinking it would be good at night particularly so we can hear if they cry. Seems that the Angelcare may be the way to go, so just wondering whether anyone has had any issues with distance etc?