baby monitors

[Arianna1]

Hi there, is there a monitor on the market which combines audio, video and breathing? Or is breathing monitoring always separate? I'm looking online but can't find anything. thanks!

Well they’re always going to be separate pieces of kit as baby sleeps on top of the sensor mat and then obviously the camera needs to be placed where it can see into the crib. But Angelcare do make one where the mat and camera/sound sensor all feed into one parent unit if that’s what you mean. It’s pretty expensive though at around £200.

thanks! what do you think is the most useful thing to have for the first 3 months? just a breathing monitor perhaps, since he'll sleeping next to me anyway?

I don't think there's any need for a monitor for the first 6 months as baby will be with you for all sleeps. You only need it when they move to their own room or you start putting them down for naps in another room.

I didn’t use a sensor mat personally (but saw the above for sale at John Lewis, hence why I know it exists!).

They don’t work once baby can roll over (at least that used to be the case, someone please correct me if I’m wrong) and before that they’re unlikely to spending much time sleeping in a separate room to you. And the SIDS risk, if that’s what you’re worried about, is lowered by you being in the room with them. So they’re very expensive for something that in reality you’ll use for a very small window of time.

But each to their own, if you find it reassuring then get one but I’d go for a separate sensor mat, to be replaced with a regular monitor once baby is in their own room as it will cheaper.

The angel care breathing monitor can be bought with a camera & screen, but they are separate things. A video monitor can be very useful for whenever they sleep in a room where you aren’t, and once they are in their own room. We’ve used breathing from day 1 and video as soon as we put them to sleep upstairs in the evening.
Motorola MBP are good as connect via WiFi abs screen/sound are good but the cables are poor and stop working (the connection), but amazon sends new ones.

Don't think we'd have slept a wink without the sensor mat - found it very reassuring.

You don't really need a video monitor until they start moving but again, reassuring when you do want to check on them.

You don’t need a monitor at all for the first 6 months as they should be in the same room as you for all naps. There is no evidence to support the use of breathing mats, sadly they don’t reduce the risk of SIDS. Once they are in their own room I think a video monitor is useful as it enables you to see if they are actually awake or just moaning in their sleep/trying to escape their cot etc.

Buy what about breathing monitor ?

The Lollipop might have that? We haven't used ours yet but I think they have one on there??

Some people find breathing monitors reassuring and that’s fine...but in reality they are just an unnecessary expense, assuming your baby is otherwise fit and well. They are not generally recommended by health care professionals unless in specific circumstances, as there’s no evidence that they help reduce the chance of SIDS and yet people that use them may then less fully adhere to the safe skewing guidleines for which there is good evidence. Not sure if I’ve explained that well...

The breathing monitor we have is Babysense, which you can buy in a pack with a Motorola video monitor from John Lewis. But in the pack, that specific video monitor doesn’t connect via WiFi. So I’d rather buy them separately: with a WiFi one you can view the camera view on your phone via Hubble app.
The Babysense has two plastic sensor discs that go under the mattress, so can by used in a bassinet with one sensor, then in a large cot with two sensors. It says that way they can’t roll out of sensor-reach. Not tested it with 2 yet, but it is very sensitive and easy to use.