Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

are 'movement monitors' a god idea for babies?

30 replies

babyonboard · 28/09/2005 14:27

He he..i'm really 'doing the rounds' in various threads today, as i have suddenly panicked about what to buy etc for our upcoming arrival.
I am wondering if the movement monitoring pads that go in the cot are worth getting..or are they just something for overly anxious types. The wee one will be in our room for the first few months, and as our flat is all on one level I will be close during the day.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

bundle · 28/09/2005 14:27

scotlou · 28/09/2005 14:30

wouldn't bother - we bought one for ds but never used it.

flamebat · 28/09/2005 14:30

I had one and loved it. I felt that I would be overanxious, and that it would give me a little bit more peace of mind.

And I didn't check on her any less than I should etc like people always seem to say.

It isn't an essential though - really depends on how much you think you'll worry.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Families General parenting

Original poster

babyonboard · 28/09/2005 14:36

well i am sure i will probably check more than neccesary anyway, as it is my first baby, and we are in a flat so he will only be a door away at any time. dp thinks even a normal monitor is unnecesary as we will hear him right away if he wakes up..

OP posts:

shalaa · 28/09/2005 14:46

Hi we have an angelcare monitor and I love it, gives me peace of mind as i'm a chronic worrier

Original poster

babyonboard · 28/09/2005 14:56

He he..well I like the angelcare one as it looks pretty..!

OP posts:

NomDePlume · 28/09/2005 15:03

I didnlt buy one, I did consider it but I knew it would make me more neurotic, and frankly I was a neurotic enough new-mum as it was

mumfor1sttime · 28/09/2005 15:23

I didnt have one. We have a video baby monitor, which is excellent, bought it on ebay for £30. You can fix camera anywhere in babies/your room, (or can move camera around the house if you prefer)the camera sends a signal with no wires to a small monitor.
We use it a lot, saves disturbing DS when we feel the need to 'check on him'!

Original poster

babyonboard · 28/09/2005 15:38

Ooh..i heard of those too..but..hehe...may as well preserve baby from the 'nanny state' and not have him under cctv scrutiny while he's so young...

OP posts:

chocolatequeen · 28/09/2005 15:41

We had one, a gift from my parents, mostly for them to use while they babysat, to give them peace of mind. TBH, I really liked having it - meant that when i woke in the night, i could see the light flashing (indicating movement/heartbeat/breathing etc) and not have to get out of bed to go and check on him every time. Funnily enough though, when we travelled (which was quite a lot back then)we never took it with us, so didn't feel unsafe without it iyswim.
Think its whether it will make you more panicky, or if it will reassure you - bit of a personal choice!
HTH

chocolatequeen · 28/09/2005 15:42

ours was a movement only monitor - no camera. BTW, how do they work in a dark room? Are they night vision/infra red?

QueenOfQuotes · 28/09/2005 15:42

I guess it also depends on whether you've got a 'wriggly' baby. friend had one for her DD, and she was a right little wriggler (even when tiny) and used to be constantly setting the thing off - she ditched it after about 6 weeks as it was doing her head in, all these false alarms.

mumfor1sttime · 28/09/2005 15:46

It has night vision. They are good, as you dont have to keep running up and down stairs. Also when ds is older, can use camera to spy on neighbours tee hee.....

flamebat · 28/09/2005 15:47

DD would wriggle right the way around the cot, and we never had any problems with her setting it off because of that.

Original poster

babyonboard · 28/09/2005 15:54

Ha ha..at spying on neighbours..sounds fun!
I am still unsure..the angelcare ones look great..mainly aesthetically..but as dp said as we are on one level and all walls are pretty much attached..and thin!.. we may not need any sort of monitor.

OP posts:

Laurasmum · 28/09/2005 15:59

We only used ours once, the night we were in a car crash, very paranoid for days that she had internal injuries and it gave me peace of mind enough to get some sleep myself. Other than that it's a waste of money, we have the AngelCare one, the monitor is grand but the movement detector pad is in the bottom of the wardrobe and has been for two months.

vala · 28/09/2005 16:09

We bought one for DS.
Born 6wks prem. In SCBU for 10 days ? had a few apnoea episodes whilst on the unit ? completely paranoid about it ? when I got him on the ward 2 days before going home, he was supposed to be being ?naturalized? ? no leads and monitors etc?
Didn?t sleep a wink the first night ? sent DP out the next day to buy a monitor ? when the consultant can to see him and saw the damned thing he immediately booked DP and myself in for resuscitation classes stating that there was no point in having the monitor if we didn?t know what to do if it went off ? Excellent point though!!
He set it off a couple of times during the first month or so, but happy to report I never had to apply my newly acquired resus skills.

flamebat · 28/09/2005 16:16

Surely that's madness!

Every parent should have resus classes, especially those who have a child who is more likely to have problems like preemie etc. If you went to check on your child and found them not breathing, would you not need to know what to do then, or was he going with the theory it would be too late then?????

Mad doctor.

Sorry Slightly passionate there.

vala · 28/09/2005 16:29

The theory was, that the sensor would go off within 20 seconds of non movement (not breathing) and one of us would carry out the mouth to mouth and or heart massage if required whilst the other one called an ambulance. If alone with DS in this scenario the procedure was to call for the ambulance first ? then start to resus.
Seemed to make perfect sense at the time.
Like I said, happy to report I never had to use it. DS did stop breathing a few times but self resuscitated each time I picked him up. (typical apnoea results)
I was happy that I felt I had the knowledge and skill to at least attempt to do something other than run around in a blind panic should the unthinkable happen.
Guess it's all about the feeling of security.

Original poster

babyonboard · 28/09/2005 16:31

Yes..I gues it's different with a prem baby who is more likely to have such problems..must have been very reassuring for you!

OP posts:

vala · 28/09/2005 16:37

Well, like the consultant said - what?s the point on KNOWING your baby has stopped breathing if you don?t know what to do about it.

Original poster

babyonboard · 28/09/2005 16:49

I am quite confident about that..having learnt it at girl guides..and then later as an optional first aid course at uni..
but does it differ for babies?..surely you don't apply the same techniques..and will I be taught this?

OP posts:

hub2dee · 29/09/2005 10:34

We use the BabySense II .

I did a heavy google sess on this area before getting it and I believe the BabySense is a much newer design than the Angelcare and is less likely to generate false alerts. It comes with two large sensor pads so can cover a much larger area, more accurately than the Angelcare too.

We are currently just using one sensor in a bedside crib and have had no false alerts in 12 weeks (except when you pick up the baby in the night for a feed and forget to turn it off, but you get pretty good at remembering, pretty quickly !).

The BabySense does not have the 'listening in' feature of the Angelcare, but we can use our phones to do that and our house isn't massive, so this is not yet a requirement as far as we're concerned.

To wake up in the night, glance over in her direction, wait a couple of seconds for the green light to flash (indicates movement / respiration) and then to doze back off to sleep is a joy - especially when she is breathing so quietly you cannot hear / easily see movement.

We don't use one in the carrycot downstairs (where she naps in the day), FWIW.

Seona1973 · 29/09/2005 12:41

I though about getting one before I had dd but decided against it as I would probably have ended up even more paranoid about what could happen.

When I checked the SIDS website, it even says that there is no research evidence to say that they help to prevent cot death:

Do movement (breathing) monitors prevent cot death?

Despite their widespread use there is no research evidence that monitors, also known as apnoea or breathing monitors, prevent cot death. Babies can and do die whilst on a monitor. They are designed to sound an alarm after 20 seconds if they can?t detect a baby?s breathing movement. They may use sensor pads on the tummy, an elastic belt, a pressure pad under the baby or an ultrasound beam. They do not monitor air flow and therefore can not detect a blocked airway until breathing movements stop.

hub2dee · 29/09/2005 13:10

They will not change likelihood of a baby stopping to breathe, they are only a monitor, and have no active 'jolt' system etc. etc.

Nonetheless, I'd prefer to know my baby has stopped breathing 20 seconds after the event than possibly several minutes / hours, IYSWIM.

Statistically, there is no justification / reason to get one, but personally, I couldn't see a reason not to, for us, IYSWIM.

Flip

1 2