breathing / baby monitors - worth buying?

[flamencogirl]

Can imagine I am going to be rather paranoid about whether baby is breathing when she arrives. Have heard mixed reviews about breathing monitors, is it worth getting one? Do they work, if so any particular make to recommend?

(Also baby monitors generally?)

thanks

I didn't get a breathing monitor because it was mentioned (by a friend) that it might make me more paranoid than I already felt, which was probably true. I wouldn't get one now (last baby was 12 years ago, so never going to happen!) for the same reason unless the baby had some kind of breathing or health issue that needed monitoring.

I did, however, get an ordinary sound monitor and used it in a tiny one bed flat which was totally pointless

If you mean the sensors that go under the mattress, I got a babysense II monitor and to be honest, if it weren't for that, I would never have slept at all.

DS has just gone into a bed and we have finally put the monitor away, but for paece of mind, it's the nest £150 I've ever spent.

peace

best.

finger trouble

unless your baby has medical reasons as to why they specifically need a breathing monitor they are a waste of money dsigned to pray on new parents anxieties. If you are that anxious about your baby's breathing then you need to be getting medical help to deal with that not spending a fortune on gadgets to reinforce it. They (like movement monitors) have a reputation of giving a lot of false alarms.

I had bog standard baby monitor as I struggled to hear baby over e.g. tv otherwise if you have good hearing or a home where the baby is close enough that it isn't a problem then they aren't necessary at all.

Hiya,

I used an apnoea monitor with my 2 kiddies and did find it reassuring, despite a few false alarms.

I wasn't neurotic about my baby's breathing, I just wanted a back up to my eyes and ears.

Make sure you read your reduce the risk of Cot death leaflet that the midwife will give you (or you can ask for it) As long as you aren't using the monitor instead of following the advice contained in that leaflet, then the monitor may give you reassurance.

My DS1 would only sleep for any length of time on his tummy. We returned a regular baby monitor that had literally had a few days' use to John Lewis and bought an Angelcare monitor - it was sort of my compromise in letting him sleep comfortably (thus allowing us to sleep for any length of time!) on his front, without me panicking all the time. I felt very reassured by having it. We used it for DS2 (who slept perfectly happily on his back from the start!) and I have just replaced it for DD who is due soon. I like the reassurance and didn't find it made me anymore paranoid a parent, I don't think.