When did you stop using a movement monitor?

[GiveMeVegemite]

My DS is almost 14 months and his movement monitor has just about given up. I am so reluctant to stop using one, but figure that it is probably not necessary to use one now he is over a year old. When did you stop using yours?

We used the movement monitor until DS moved out of his cot and into a bed at about 23 months.

The movement monitor bit does actually work with the mattress of his toddler bed, but once he could actually get / roll out of bed it seemed a bit silly to keep on using it.

But to be fair, by then we were really just using it out of habit rather than because we felt we needed it.

Sound monitor bit still in use, we will probably be using that for a while yet as cries from DS's room can't be heard from all parts of the house without a sound monitor.

We gave up on the first night . he was a day old as he was so still he kept setting it off . It was too stressful . He was nine today . He seems so old ! I would say not to worry about getting a new one.

Why ott? Genuine question, why?

We leave our babies alone in their room from a very young age in developed countries. Surely the movement monitors simply allow us to have some form of monitoring our babies during the night? I can't understand why they appear to irritate some people. I mean, most people have sound monitors but I presume that,most,people live in ordinary sized homes where a baby crying can be heard from any room. Why are movement monitors regarded so differently, as being grossly OTT?

OP, we kept ours in until about 9 months, then got fed.up.with the alarm going off as a result of DS rolling around., so we removed it.

With my second, I guess I will do the same.

At 14 months, you are well and truly past the SID peak months, and I think you can be relaxed about removing.

Not yet. He's nearly 4 . I know it's neurotic but he was very premature, had lots of problems and came home with oxygen. I could stop it now but I'd be in there all the time putting my hand on his chest, this way I can just look at the ticker. I know it works because it has gone off in the past for very shallow breathing. He's fine now. Will probably have to stop soon as he's just starting to get out of bed by himself.

I don't mind the view that it's OTT, that's up to you. I know plenty would agree, and I see you touched a nerve but I saw nothing offensive in the comment.

I'm sorry about your DD Lunatic.

I get it Lunatic, there's something a bit PA about it. Not worth the stress though

I'm using a movement monitor for my 6 week old because he has severe reflux and can only lie comfortably on his front (even that is after a loooooong time sitting upright after a feed).

Obviously front lying is dangerous SIDS-wise, so that's why we bought the monitor. So far we've had no false alarms so it's working like a dream. Having said that, we're monitoring manually as well.

But my intention is to stop monitoring when he is of an age to be able to roll over onto his front independently. By that time, I would expect him to be safe laying that way. However SIDS risk is considered highest up to 6 months so I might see how it goes and hang on til then, just because being a prem baby as well as being a boy apparently places him at a higher risk than normal.

Sorry about your loss lunatic

We used one for DS. He had an episode if apnea at 6 weeks and I ended up in A&E with a baby that couldn't breath. Utterly terrifying and turned out to be reflux related. It's can be a serious complication of reflux I discovered.

Stopped using it at around a year, then started again when a friend lost their DS at 14 months from SIDS.

Worth their weight in gold IMO. I would have been a nervous wreck without it.

Sorry for your loss Lunatic.

We used one until DD was about 7 months old and by then the alarm was constantly being triggered by the wriggly worm moving around the cot at night. She's 2 now and TBH would probably still be using it if it was functional for her. Will be 100% using it for DC2 who is due early next year too.

Can I ask what type of monitors people are using? Ours is a baby sense V one with two pads but she managed to roll off.

We used an Angelcare monitor with DS2 until he was about 1 IIRC. It went off a few times when he was teeny tiny, days old (not sure why, I ran in and grabbed him and he was fine; both times were during daytime naps in the livingroom when I'd popped into the kitchen), then never again. Honestly it was a godsend. We got it because DS1 had been ill and spent a while in SCBU as a newborn, and I was, as a result, a thoroughly neurotic parent with him (although we didn't get the movement monitor for him, but we should have in retrospect). I was more relaxed with DS2, despite him having a couple of major illnesses involving week long hospital admissions in his first few months. It really helped me. I think we stopped using it when he seemed like a robust little thing and I was able to relax without it.

We use this one -
Angelcare AC300

It's amazingly accurate and no false alarms yet.

The only thing we had to watch was it can pick up a movement from a nearby draught. The instructions do warn about this and we found it to be true once when we first got it. It picked up the motion vibrations of the pedestal fan on full power, and wind blowing past the curtains at the open window, creating a false reading when the cot was empty. But thats very easy to remedy by either shutting the window and turning the fan off, or by turning down the sensitivity temporarily for that environment.

We use.Angelcare. It's only ever gone off when DS had a chest infection and his breathing was very shallow so I'm confident in it, it's brilliant.