Thermometer for baby room.

stovelid

Hi all,

Paranoid dad checking in.

Can anybody recommended a good thermometer to monitor the room temperature for a newborn?

I'm currently using the grobag egg but it seems to indicate that the room is far warmer than it feels to me, and I'd like to correlate.

snellers

not sure if you have purchased one yet but if not I can recommend the BT baby monitor (I think it's the 150 version) - it has temperature gauge on the child unit whioch links to the adult handset....you can set the min and max temp and it will alert you as and when exceeding....loads of other functions as well ....we found some of the cheaper models had the temperature function but the min/max couldn't be changed and also the alert couldn't be disabled - many friends complained about their own units which made us choose the more expensive model

we got ours from Argos (about €120 euro) - was going to get a seperate temperature monitor like the one you purchased but we realised better value for money getting an 'all in one'. The child unit can be controlled by the adult handset and you can put nightlight on, play tunes (including from an mp3 player) and talk to the child remotely (it acts as a two way walky talky in effect which have found to be invaluable when mum wants something!

SarahMc

If you can loll around house in a T-shirt - thats the perfect temperature for a newborn.

Ludo

Agreed snellers...they are great.

But Sarah...I often sit around in a t-shirt quite comfortably while the wife is shiverring on the couch wrapped in a sweater asking why the heating isn't on...women are cold creatures

deisemum

Just a word of warning when it comes to baby monitors, be very careful not to forget they're switched on and that what you say may be heard by those you'd prefer not to hear.

I still cringe when I think back to when we were staying with my inlaws and they'd been horrible to me, hubby and I were "discussing" them in the bedroom our son was in and we forgot the monitor was on and they heard the gist of what we were saying

run_Forrest_run

deisemum wrote: »

Just a word of warning when it comes to baby monitors, be very careful not to forget they're switched on and that what you say may be heard by those you'd prefer not to hear.

I still cringe when I think back to when we were staying with my inlaws and they'd been horrible to me, hubby and I were "discussing" them in the bedroom our son was in and we forgot the monitor was on and they heard the gist of what we were saying

ouch! I bet the temperature in the sitting room became very frosty when you re-emerged! Reminds me of the MacDonald's ad a few years back about the same thing.

deisemum

lol I haven't had any dealings with them for at least 7 years now

stovelid

deisemum wrote: »

Just a word of warning when it comes to baby monitors, be very careful not to forget they're switched on and that what you say may be heard by those you'd prefer not to hear.

I still cringe when I think back to when we were staying with my inlaws and they'd been horrible to me, hubby and I were "discussing" them in the bedroom our son was in and we forgot the monitor was on and they heard the gist of what we were saying

My wife knows a couple that had a similar experience when people were staying over, except that they were on the job. Sure it's happened many times before.

shrapnel222

wow, the thought of spending 120 euros to monitor temperatures in a country where it never gets hotter than 25 degrees or colder than 0 has me baffled :pac:

we just have one of those stick on the wall things to give us an "indication", but as mentioned above, when you walk into a room in a shirt and are comfortable, then you're fine, probably even too warm. Many people have a natural inclination to want it warmer than it should be for babies

Ludo

shrapnel222 wrote: »

wow, the thought of spending 120 euros to monitor temperatures in a country where it never gets hotter than 25 degrees or colder than 0 has me baffled :pac:

Well he is not spending €120 on just a thermometer. It is a baby monitor which happens to have a thermometer along with various other features. Handy being able to turn on and off the light without having to go into the room for example and the two way comms are very handy.

Not obsessing over temperature or anything like that but it is very handy in the evenings when downstairs and wondering if we should turn on the heating. Quick look at the monitor to check temp in babies room and decision made. No need to go up and check it out ourselves and risk waking them up.

Anyway, I dont know what part of the country you live in but it gets colder than 0 where I am during the winter

snellers

yeh as per above comment - it happens to offer temperature gauge as well as normal baby monitor (and many other functions) - I agree not the cheapest on the market but when you add up all the other things we might have purchased (nightlight, cheap stereo for nursery rhymes/music/ remote temperature gauge / two way walkie talkie (ok not essential of course!) ....it worked out pretty good value for money having everyhting controlled and monitored by a single unit.

I can put nursery rhymes and the nightlight on by the adult handset wherever I am in the house if I hear baby crying. I can speak to the baby whilst coming up to see them. (will be even handier when the little'uns can talk/understand). As I medntioned if mum is feeding in the baby room she can talk to me through the monitor (and I can talk back) if she needs anything. (drink/help...etc)
She would otherwise have to call to me or knock on the floor which could in turn wake the baby.

- I personally found it the best solution for our needs

di11on

And also... with baby monitors... make sure that no. 2 hasn't disconnected the power cord of the parent unit because they thought "we weren't using it any more".

Ahhh!

nesf

shrapnel222 wrote: »

wow, the thought of spending 120 euros to monitor temperatures in a country where it never gets hotter than 25 degrees or colder than 0 has me baffled :pac:

It is overkill to have the exact temperature in the room in this country but if you're buying a baby monitor anyway, it's not the worst idea in the world if you gain some comfort from it.

Ludo wrote:

But Sarah...I often sit around in a t-shirt quite comfortably while the wife is shiverring on the couch wrapped in a sweater asking why the heating isn't on...women are cold creatures

Ditto.

LolaDub

Mothercare do a sticker room thermometer for about 6 euro

bored and tired

i never had a room thermometer, but checked babs by putting my hand down her back, if we were out and about or if it was the middle of night, if her back was warm she was ok, too hot and took a blanket off her or a layer of clothing, too cold and put one on.

During the winter i had a sleeping bag brought over from France to keep her warm while i fed her at night, but you can even get those in penneys these days.

You cant keep a room the "ideal temperature", but you can use clothing to insulate a baby,

run_Forrest_run

shrapnel222 wrote: »

we just have one of those stick on the wall things to give us an "indication", but as mentioned above, when you walk into a room in a shirt and are comfortable, then you're fine, probably even too warm. Many people have a natural inclination to want it warmer than it should be for babies

I agree, but even when our little one was a newborn i was inclined to increase the heat a bit, of course i realise now it was not really necessary and probably not good for baby.

We also used those Gro-Bags when she was a baby, the best things since sliced bread IMO, no need to crazy heat in the room because the baby's body temp is kept nice and constant thanks to the gro-bags.

watna

Hmmm, this has been really interesting, after reading this I now know me and my OH can never have babies in New Zealand. They don't have central heating here and I really can't see any way you'd make a room warm enough for a newborn (bar about 5 heaters being in there or dressing them in lagging jackets). In all my moaning about being cold I never thought about how you'd keep rooms warm enough for babies. God only knows how kiwi mums do it!

Guess I'll add it to the list of why we should settle in Ireland in the future!

snellers

we were told to pretty much dress babies in similar types of clothing as we wore in the home. It was suggested that overheating babies is one of the most likely contributory causes of cot death.

Layers of clothing would be the best way to moderate temperature on their bodies as very easy to add/remove.

Only thing I would say about the electronic type of temperature gauge is that it operates in real time...I tested their (babies) room for a week before they came home and was suprised just how much and how fast it (the temp) could change throughout the day. Without it we would have to check the room regularly / their foreheads or backs (potentially waking them up).

as for the concern of someone unplugging part of the unit and no-one noticing I can only say with regards to the unit I own (BT 150) that it alerts you continuously if both parent and baby unit aren't talking to one another - in effect there is no way you wouldn't notice a shrill beep on the parent unit every 15 seconds or so.

Each to their own I say and there are of course millions upon millions of children that have survived without the need for a monitor. I say in this day and age if you can afford it then why not? If it helps me to alleviate many of the uneccessary concerns of being a new parent and allows me to not physically check on baby every 5 minutes, that's not a bad thing!

noby

Each to their own, as you say. Overkill in my opinion. We used a baby monitor on our first (no temp indicator, no tv screen, nothing flash), but not since then.

We also soon realised that our neighbours had the same unit. It was handy to know what they were watching on tv, or what they were arguing about at 3am (although often a baby monitor wasn't required to hear that).

snellers

lol not good listening to others!!

FYI a lot of the new ones are digital (same technology as new cordless phones) so no static interference or picking up others monitors