Which breathing monitor?

[BeetleandBug]

Could anyone advise me on which is the best breathing monitor for a neurotic first time mum?

I have come across the snuza hero / halo which clips onto the nappy and looks quite good (also portable for use in moses basket and pram), but i also read good things about the angelcare.

Baby will be sleeping in a bedside crib, so it needs to be good enough to not confuse our breathing too.

Thanks in advance

Take a few deep breaths.

why do you want one? Be honest with yourself at this point.

You do not need a breathing monitor. You really don't.

Yes I absolutely understand why a mother who has previously lost a child to SIDS may want one. But normal healthy baby born into a family with no history of SIDS and where the family follow safe sleeping guidelines do not need a breathing monitor.

A breathing monitor does not keep your baby breathing. The thinking is hat sleeping in the same room as you (including in the daytime) and being able to hear your breathing is what helps to regulate baby's breathing.

Sorry pressed post too soon. What I meant to say is consider the source of your anxiety. There are many things that will cause you to stress/doubt/flap with a new baby however marked anxiety is something to be careful of and keep tabs on. Breathing monitors can fuel anxiety rather than calm it.

I can completely understand why you want one. We didn't have one to begin with, but I found that even though DS started sleeping for long stretches at a few weeks old (it didn't last!), I wasn't able to sleep as I was so worried about him stopping breathing without me knowing. I realise that the monitor doesn't actually change anything, but my reasoning was that at least if something happened I would know, and have the best chance of trying to do something. So that then helped me get some much needed sleep. I had the Angelcare and still use it now DS is 22 months, and will be getting another one for DS2 due in November.

I also have neurotic tendencies though and appreciate it wouldn't suit some people.

Should also add that we had a bedside crib and the Angelcare was fine. You can adjust the sensitivity so that it only picks up the baby's movements/breathing.

Respisense or snuza, both can be used at all times including the car seat.

We were given an angel care monitor for dd2 after we lost dd1 suddenly at 4 days old. It was not SIDS. There was an undiagnosed heart defect so nothing could have been done. A breathing monitor would not have changed the outcome.

I thought I would use the monitor all the time but she is 6 months old and not used it yet. To start with she hated her Moses basket so slept on us a lot or was in and the basket so much it was not worth it. She is now in a cot bed and rolls around a lot so would not stay on the mat for long so no point. The baby monitor part is really good now she is in her own room.

It's difficult not to be anxious but gets better in time. Try not to worry to much and enjoy your baby. The time will fly by.

If you follow the SIDS guidelines that should be enough but if a monitor will put you at ease then use one.

We used the Tommee Tippee monitor with the breathing sensor mat. Found it very good for peace of mind, if it will ease your anxieties then there is no harm in using one.

I have a respisense and find it very reassuring personally.

If you choose to use one, remember it only alerts you to baby forgetting the breathe. You need to know what to do next, god forbid. Both St John's Ambulance and the British Red Cross run Infant first aid courses for new parents which include CPR.

We chose not to use one as I thought it would just increase my anxiety. I was diagnosed with post natal anxiety after DD1 and it was more helpful to me to deal with my intrusive thoughts through ACT therapy rather than give into them.

I think a lot of people are anxious about babies forgetting to breathe, without having clinical anxiety. My DS (who was my second DC) forgot to breathe once. The respisense buzzed and he started again. Not saying he wouldn't have started again by himself, but it was reassuring to me.

My son is on oxygen and came home with a sats monitor. It made my worry and anxiety worse. I was constantly checking everytime it lowered even in normal range; I panicked and started checking more thinking was wrong when he was perfectly fine. It got so bad I had turn the monitor away and swap sides with DH. I lost so much sleep. Even now I find myself checking his oxy monitor every now and then...

Just be careful it doesn't make your anxiety worse not better.

However, we do have the Angelcare and it's great. Can't give any suggestions on breathing monitors as I've never bought one to try out. :) I'd be interested to know if they really work though!

Personally I think having a permanent monitor clipped to your baby every moment of every day sounds like a bit of a recipe for excess anxiety (unless you have a personal history which makes it particularly appropriate). Forgetting to breathe, whilst understandably a big concern for new parents, is only one of a million aspects of keeping your baby safe to, say, toddlerhood.

I can see the value in a monitor at night like the angelcare if it allows you to sleep better, but do you really need an electronic device when pushing your baby in the pram?

My sister had episodes of not breathing as a baby and my DD was prem. For these reasons we bought the angelcare monitor. We never ever used the pad. Most of her first 4 months she slept on my chest; when she was in her Moses basket, the base was too curved for the pad to work; once her sleeping improved and she was in a cot, it seemed a bit late/pointless.

www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lullabytrust.org.uk%2Fdocument.doc%3Fid%3D43&rct=j&q=lullaby%20trust%20breathing%20monitors&ei=YJ8UVMrHJNDT7AaxioD4BQ&usg=AFQjCNHcJNbt5m2GIX6rnfylrpXwxEH8mg&bvm=bv.75097201,d.ZGU

Not sure if that link will work, if not copy and paste into google or google 'lullaby trust breathing monitors' and they have a good factfile pdf on them (lullaby trust is foundation for sudden infant death'. No evidence to suggest they reduce SIDS, some evidence suggests that when parents use them they think their baby is safe and don't follow the guidelines completely e.g. sleep baby on tummy which increases risk, also use can increase anxiety.
CONI and CONI plus completely different, they don't just provide a monitor, you have resus training, regular weighing, diaries to fill in etc. as also forms research on SIDS.
I'm a NICU nurse and we rarely send babies home with them (even in oxygen we wouldn't and would only use a saturation monitor when doing sleep studies and weaning oxygen).

If it reassures you then use one but go onto lullaby trust website and swat up on guidelines and follow those as well. The main risk with SIDS is smoking, whether during pregnancy or when baby is born x

I think OP was only suggesting using it at night? Certainly, mine only got put on at bedtime, DC's generally napped in a bouncy chair/on a person during the day.

Scbu did suggest one for ds. He also had reflux and literally only slept for more than 10 minutes when on his front.
We had a Babysense which had pads under the matress. It worked well and actually did help my chronic anxiety.

trying to be delicate here, but why do you think you need one?

I've had three children and I've never used one, and to be honest, I don't know anyone who has used one. ( that includes parents whose children have been premature/ have serious medical issues/ have a personal/family history of sids)

what's making you so anxious, op? xx

Heart - almost none of my friends know we used ours. I didn't discuss it and only people who babysat ds would have known. We only had a couple of babysitters including close family so just because you didn't know doesn't rule it out.

Hauntednoddycar that's a valid point- however within my group of friends I'm fairly certain- simply because I've had responsibility for their child/children many times- actually, I'm the neurotic mum who won't leave my DC with anyone bar my mum/mil

Mog- the OP referred to use in the pram, which implied more than night use to me.

Agh only just learned about the forgetting to breathe issue, crikey. We'll probably not get one of these mats as I know DH will worry that it will cause me excessive worry but I hope that's the right choice. I'm hoping the first few days at least one of us will be able to keep an eye on baby and after that I should be in tune with changes to their pattern, even if I'm in a light sleep. Not sure if that's a bit naive though?

Angelopal so sorry for your loss.

alliemarg - It really isn't a good idea to get into a pattern where one of you always has to be watching the baby/sleeping in shifts, etc. It will only cause panic when he has to go back to work. And doesn't maximise sleep. Follow the SIDS guidance and you have minimised risk the best ways possible - no smoking, back-to-sleep, new mattress, etc.

Allie - It's not naive. We had a co-sleeper on my side of the bed, and I would just close my eyes and listen to them and DH breathe (ds is on honm oxy but I didn't want to rely on machine 100% to tell me something was wrong) I learnt the noises he made when sleeping were just that, noises, not a problem. After a while, I began to notice and learn what was and not normal for DS, and adjust his oxy/phone Pead before it became a big issue. DD can stop breathing sometimes but starts back on her own, when in hospital and she did we just stimuated her chest or feet with a caress or rub and she'd remind herself to breathe again :)

Does this stopping breathing thing happen to every baby then?!? Do you have to stay awake and rub them awake??

This seems a pretty big thing never to be mentioned in any of the books, websites or real life HCP??