Baby Monitor

Leatherman

Hi all,

Hope this is in the right place! We're expecting our first in a few weeks and are going through the various list of what we need etc

Anyway I've been trying to get my head around baby monitors, there seems to be a huge variety of products out there at all sorts of prices. We'd prob go mid range.

There are some old threads on this topic but many of the products are new to the market. Is there anyone who has recently bought one that can share the plus and negatives of what they have?

Any advice appreciated.

Expectant Dad

Cottontail

This is the one we have, bought it for about €100. You can get fancier models but this does the job just fine, have been using it for about 18 months now.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Summer-Infant-Digital-Monitor-Temperature/dp/B002IRV3FE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1308138142&sr=8-4

My brother got one that's twice the price, and to be honest, doesn't really seem to do much more than this. They can take pictures of what's on the screen, but really, what's the point?!! We're happy with this one.

Leatherman

Thanks for the reply, that one looks good. What is the picture quality like and is there a different function that you use in the dark?

The other question I have for anyone with experience with this is about wireless networks. We live in a built up area full of wireless networks are there certain things to get or to avoid in this scenario?

Thanks in advance.

Cottontail

pic quality is fine for us, but i haven't seen any other monitors working so have nothing to compare it to. But we can see the baby, we know if he's awake/asleep and we find the pic pretty clear so no problems.
There is a night vision camera on it that automatically kicks in in the dark, you don't need any other functions for it.

with regard to the wireless networks in built up area, I can't answer this as we live in a very quiet estate, most of the houses aren't lived in, our nearest neighbours are about 4 houses away so we never had any problems in this regard.

sillysocks

Would definitely recommend Angelcare monitor. It has a sensor mat that monitors the babies movements and beeps if they don't move for a while (20 seconds I think). Luckily we've never had the alarm go off, find it invaluable, babies have a habit of looking very still when they are asleep so the monitor us very reassuring.
Think Tesco normally have it for around 80 eur.

Don't have any issues with wireless networks on it.

implausible

We used the one from L#dl, €70ish and did the trick. I couldn't believe the price of other ones!

As for the wireless network - when it was on a certain channel, my broadband didn't work, but it only involved messing around with the channels until we found one where the broadband worked and we could see the baby!

Never bothered with the Angelcare, figured it would only make me jumpy. We could hear baby's breathing fine on the monitor.

Leatherman

Thanks for the replies so far, it's great to get some real reviews. I'd appreciate if a few more voices added their experiences and again I am concerned with the interference via the wireless networks so more feedback on that would be a real help.

Many thanks,

part time punk

We just went with a cheapy sound only one but have had no problems with it and it's been dropped repeatedly etc... Have used it for more than 2 years and hoping it'll last for #2 on the way in October.

http://www.tommeetippee.co.uk/product/suresound_classic_monitor_/

To be honest I think sound only is all you really need to hear if they're awake or upset. Follow SIDS advice when they're sleeping and when they're very young you'll be checking them all the time anyway even when they're fast asleep. There's enough other baby products you'll be spending your money on ! But that's just my tuppence worth ...

Evonatron

We also have the Angelcare monitor and it is fantastic especially with the sensor mat, it gives a real sense of security. We have it 18 months and are still using it and will use until he goes into his own bed.

Frank11

+1 for the Anglecare. We have had lots of alarms from this but all due to the little guy pushing up into the corner away from the sensor mat.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Angelcare-AC401-Movement-Sensor-Monitor/dp/B0013FW5G8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=baby&qid=1308317080&sr=8-2

sillysocks wrote: »

Would definitely recommend Angelcare monitor. It has a sensor mat that monitors the babies movements and beeps if they don't move for a while (20 seconds I think). Luckily we've never had the alarm go off, find it invaluable, babies have a habit of looking very still when they are asleep so the monitor us very reassuring.
Think Tesco normally have it for around 80 eur.

Don't have any issues with wireless networks on it.

Leatherman

In the end went for a http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/dcbint/cpindex.pl?ctn=SCD525/00&scy=us&slg=en

Seems great on test, waiting for our new reality to arrive!

whosedaddy?

Leatherman wrote: »

In the end went for a http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/dcbint/cpindex.pl?ctn=SCD525/00&scy=us&slg=en

Seems great on test, waiting for our new reality to arrive!

can you share your first impressions?
Our old monitor broke and we are in the market for a new one. Torn between the Angelcare and this one.. Don't need the sensor mat.

Leatherman

Hi, our baby is only home two days so haven't made much use of the monitor yet, we've barely taken our eyes off her,
My impressions with the monitor are positive, it's neat and straight forward, it seems to have good reception but the real road test awaits.
I'm sure you won't go too far wrong with either so it comes down to taste and price.
Good luck

sillysocks

Leatherman wrote: »

Hi, our baby is only home two days so haven't made much use of the monitor yet, we've barely taken our eyes off her,
My impressions with the monitor are positive, it's neat and straight forward, it seems to have good reception but the real road test awaits.
I'm sure you won't go too far wrong with either so it comes down to taste and price.
Good luck

Congrats on the new arrival! We didn't use the monitor at all at the start because she had all her naps downstairs and was only upstairs in bed when we were. It was only once she went to her own room, and when she started napping upstairs that we started really using the monitor.
Enjoy her!

Tayla

Nothing beats the peace of mind of the angelcare sensor monitor, i've used it on both my kids and it is brilliant.

It's often on special offer in Tesco or sometimes on Amazon, it's actually 58 pounds on amazon at the moment but it's out of stock for 2-5 weeks but in my experience shopping on Amazon, if they say something is out of stock for 2 weeks it never is, they manage to get it from somewhere!!

Nanazolie

I'll second the Angelcare. My aunt lost a little boy of SIDS so to put my mind at ease when I had my first I bought the monitor with a sensor. No incident for the first nine months, and then it started going off. The first time I almost had an heart attack! After a couple of very stressful nights where the alarm had gone off a few times, I decided to keep vigil by her bed side. And sure enough, the monitor stopped flashing and I could see that she had stopped breathing! The alarm went off (it takes 20sec) and she stirred and with a big sigh she started breathing again.
We went to the hospital and she had some tests done and apparently she was having sleep apnea due to a reflux (generated by an intolerance to cow's milk). They praised my choice of monitor and advised that I kept it until she was 2. I will never know whether it would have made a difference without the Angel Care, may be she would have gone back to breathing without an alarm, but I'm glad it was there

I used it for my second child also, and it only went off once because he had slipped to the side of the bed and was out of the monitor's range

whosedaddy?

Nanazolie wrote: »

I used it for my second child also, and it only went off once because he had slipped to the side of the bed and was out of the monitor's range

Thanks. DD is 7 month and she is roaming the cot during the night. I'm just concerned this trigger so many alarms that we will stop using the mat. (but maybe that is just a phase...)