Baby monitors - any advice?

[detachablehoof]

I posted in the baby monitors section but got zero response so I'm posting here in the hopes of some traffic...

I'm looking for a baby monitor to keep an eye on PFB due next month. I thought I wanted a video wifi monitor (and was looking at the Arlo or Motorola) but have a friend who said she found the connection kept dropping out on hers. And what happens if you have a power cut / wifi goes down / you lose your phone? So now I am thinking I want a video monitor with a parent unit instead. I was looking at the BT 6000 or the Angelcare ones, but of course once you are on the Angelcare website you see all the info about their (super expensive) movement + video monitors, and feel like your PFB will most certainly have SIDS if you don't.

Anyone got any pearls of wisdom for me? Is a movement sensor actually useful, or does it just cause extra anxiety (false alarms, worrying about whether it's working, etc)?

*if you don't buy a monitor with a movement sensor

Firstly, you don't need one immediately. You only need one once baby starts having naps/ sleeping in a different room to you.

Secondly, depending on the age, size and layout of your house you may not need one at all- in our house we could hear baby babble/ stir before he set the monitor off!

Thirdly, there is no evidence breathing sensors reduce the risk of sids. SIDS is mainly prevented by safe sleeping guidelines being followed- empty cot, on back, own sleeping space, no smoking around baby etc etc.

Lastly, I've found the Motorola video monitors to be good!

Thank you, that's helpful food for thought. I hadn't really thought about the fact that I won't need it straight away - of course I have no intention of leaving the baby alone for the first few weeks!

We definitely will need one though as we have a big house and I'd like to be able to check on the baby without disturbing it. (hence wanting video)

This was the one I wanted but SIL's hubby has told me he is getting me one so I have no clue as to which one I will be using and I feel it would be rude to ask him to get me this one.

www.johnlewis.com/motorola-mbp853-video-monitor/p1885196?sku=234266830&s_kwcid=2dx92700039301022188&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI65Cd58Hl3wIVBdiyCh02egHGEAQYBSABEgK5TvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I’ve never been sold on video monitors - it’s not like your baby is going anywhere. I suppose they’re useful for when they’re a toddler and you take the sides off the cot, but that’s years away. Besides, if you want to see them when they’re a mobile toddler you’d need to mount a camera quite high up in a corner, which means a poor view of a sleeping baby. For what it’s worth, we did use a video monitor for a bit (a Motorola one). But the battery for the parent unit is pretty crap as it’s powering a screen.

So we just went back to using an angelcare sound a movement one. Angelcare ones are sturdy. We’ve been using ours across 3 babies, so we’ve got 5 years use out of it so far. The movement detection is a nice bit of a reassurance in the early months, and the parent unit had a really healthy battery life (ours gets 10 hours on a charge).

I have this one
www.telephonesonline.co.uk/bt-video-baby-monitor-5000.html

I think it's great. This website also cheaper than elsewhere. I live in a 3 storey house and no problems with connection. My parents live in a very old, huge house with thick walls and, again, no issues. Picture and sound very clear.

Agree with previous poster that you'll not need it immediately - I started using mine when baby went to bed before me.

@woodyoak that website has great prices on BT monitors, thank you!

@paddyf0dder I know I don't exactly NEED video but I'd like to be able to peek at baby without actually having to go in the room.

Angelcare look great, I'd love one of the movement & video ones, but they are pretty expensive (£200+) .... but there again if they do give peace of mind, I guess it's worth it?

I have the BT 6000 and really like it. Just started using it at 6 weeks as my son naps best upstairs in his crib and I don’t want to spend every single nap up there with him. I like the video aspect as I can check he hasn’t pulled his blanket over his face and generally see if he’s moving like he’s awake or just wriggling in his sleep.

It’s £99 in Argos at the moment (£30 off).

This is the picture quality - even with the room dark it’s good enough to see if his eyes are open or closed!

@Darkstar4855 thanks for the recommendation. I had been looking at that one on Amazon, it looks really good.

Another with the BT6000 which we are finding good so far. We got ours from John Lewis on a really good offer so when you decide on the one you want keep an eye out and shop around.

I have the angelcare ac215 I think.... used it a handful of times... early days she was never out of our sight... She started sleeping at 12 weeks... had the monitor on during jab periods... not used it after that... I would honestly go second hand rather than fork out £££ (wish I did) x

I wouldn't recommend the Motorola, having had one give up within a few months and the replacement didn't have enough range to be used upstairs which was a bit pointless.
The BT6000 is the best one we've used but I find it very quiet so I also use a cheap audio at night just in case I'm in a deep sleep and don't stir (we gave an old house with thick walls)
For me a video monitor is an 'essential' piece of baby paraphernalia once they are sleeping alone

I think the advice is that they do not sleep in rooms away from you for the first six months - night and day. So that's quite a long time before you'll be needing it.

We've got a basic sound one but often forget to turn it on. You know if your baby is asleep or awake pretty easily, unless you live in a castle! I find the video ones a tiny bit creepy to be honest, plus if you get a break in the evenings you should be doing enjoyable things rather than watching their every toss and turn.

Also I think the sensor ones can often just wake you up needlessly when you really, really want all the sleep you can get.

I need a video monitor cause altho my 6 month old DD can't sit up yet or crawl, she does wriggle and flip over in her crib and a few times recently when I've gone to check on her after hearing her cry, she is tangled in her blankets and one time the blankets were wrapped around her face! That time she wasn't crying which was worse, I just got a feeling like I should check on her.

We are picking up the BT 6000 today after loads of researching cost, video quality, battery life, charging time etc.

We have an older BT monitor for DC1 and a Motorola one for DC2. We started off with just an audio monitor but when it died we upgraded. Ive found having the video very helpful in working out whether it's the sort of muttering you can ignore or whether it's the sort where you need to go in.

Having two different ones, the feature I'd really look for is a sensitivity / threshold setting. What that means is that you don't get constant background hum from it - it only turns the sound on when the volume is loud enough (you can set how loud that is). Our Motorola one doesn't have it, and the constant quiet buzz is quite annoying.

Husband is very keen to have some sort of breathing monitor so wondering about the clip on snuza sensor, which seems like it would have less false alarms? And then maybe I'll get the BT6000 for once I do stat to leave the baby on its own when it's sleeping. I definitely want video, as PP said it will be useful to see whether the baby actually needs your attention (lost dummy or needs tucking in) or whether they are just fussing!

I was advised against the breathing ones as apparently they don't really help soon enough, but I've never tried one so don't have experience of them myself. You mention that your baby wriggles and gets tied up in blankets which doesn't sound too good. Could you try a baby sleep bag? We use them and find that it stays in place much better however much our baby moves (a lot!)

Agree you don't need one straight away as all sleeps should be in room with a parent until six months. We didn't get one straight away for this reason.

I don't really like our monitor, so won't recommend it - but definitely think video is worth having! When they are learning to sleep alone it is handy to be able to see how they are getting on, without going in an disturbing them. Also now my PFB is a toddler it's handy to be able to see if they've gone to sleep or still dicking about. Also has helped our toddler with going to sleep too as he knows we can see him when we leave the room and that we're still "looking after" him, even if he can't see us.

I personally wouldn't bother with a sensor mat, seems totally OTT, but I know some people who literally wouldn't be without one. Guess it depends on the parent!

Just be careful with that telephonesonline website, they are refurbs.
Another one recommending the bt6000 :) I also got mine from John Lewis on a good deal. Don’t forget they also offer a good guarantee and price match too.
I know that if I just had a sound monitor I’d be in little ones room every time he made the slightest noise. With the video monitor I can see that he’s ok and just having a dream and that I don’t need to go in whenever he makes a noise.
Very happy with the bt6000, the only thing I wish it did have was white noise. It’s got a few ‘lullabies’ but I don’t use them.