Sleeping monitors

[yelyahyoung]

Hi I have seen a babysense 5 breathing/movement monitor on eBay and I was going to buy it to ease my worries about our newborn during the time when I am actually asleep (lol) but upon asking the seller a question they are saying the opposite of what I thought it did.
I thought it monitored the breathing via baby’s movement under the mattress but seller is saying that it is for use when you leave the room and basically if baby were to stop breathing it may not pick it up and sound the alarm because it will pick up my breathing because we share a room? Is this actually how it works? I am wanting it to put beneath her Moses basket (will make a flat surface for it, not just on the wicker) and then continue to use when baby goes in her cot in own room.
Many thanks!

As far as I was aware they monitored baby.
However
I would think carefully about using one.
I bought one and never used it, because I came to the conclusion it would actually make me more nervous.
And the friends I've had who purchased one often had 'false alarms' (alarm went off in the middle of the night, parents woke up thinking the worst, baby is fine)

I would by a new one. It would only pick up your breathing if you were sharing the same mattress. They don't work with co sleepers attached to your bed for example. I loved mine. Gave me peace of mind. I had an angelcare

@Pentium85 how do you know it was a false alarm? Mine went off once in the whole time I was using it. I ran in and snatched her up, asked the midwife and she said sometimes newborns forget to breathe. Who knows if me running in didn't shock her into breathing again?

@covidconundrum

Because I can assume that if it has gone off multiple times (all 3 friends have had theirs go off more than 5 times and have gone in to find baby sound asleep breathing) then baby was fine.

Just my guess though. I personally think they make some people more nervous and heightened.

I highly doubt it went off five times unless they were using it at the age babies are rolling and moving.

@covidconundrum

Not sure why you're doubting what I'm saying?

Just because it didn't happen to you, it doesn't mean it isn't true.

I don't think sleep monitors are a good choice, but I understand why others use them.

They're not as sophisticated or held to as strict safety regulations as epilepsy mats are and the epilepsy mats can give false either way. This will be increased with the baby mats where they go off for no reason or worse give you false sense of security. If gifted one I'd honestly have binned it. It's the same idea as 'home dopplers' and sleepyheads-they give us a false sense of our most precious things safety while putting them at more risk. Remember just because something is marketed as improving safety for children it doesn't mean it does.

OP I think that's the angel monitor you mean they are good but as pp have said you can't use it if you co sleep or have a next to me/side to side crib. They also do set off randomly so may give you more worry than contentment. I've had two angel monitors and one was the high end one it was dreadful. I sent it back. I've seen ones now (possibly called an owlet???) that are similar to pulse oxygen machines and you pop them on the baby's foot/big toe.

I used an Angelcare movement monitor with both of my DC (one monitor lasted for both) and it was brilliant - it's my top recommendation for friends who are becoming parents.

I've found that monitors are one of the (many) things that parents disagree about /play parenting top trumps over. Quite a few parents I've met over the years have almost boasted about how they didn't use a monitor at all, let alone one with a movement sensor. Fair enough, each to their own. .. But it gave me huge reassurance. I loved knowing that if anything was to happen, I would be alerted to it and could try and do something to help. I slept more soundly (well, as soundly as anyone can with a newborn!) because of it.

And I used mine in a moses basket (with a piece of ply under it to create the solid base the sensor pad needs) next to my bed with no problems.

I used an angelcare mat with my last baby when she went into a cot - as said above it can’t be used with a cosleeper. I liked it, we did have false alarms but would rather have a few false alarms than miss a real one. Usually she’d just wriggled into a corner. I didn’t like that you have to have wires near the baby’s cot though.

This baby we use a snuza hero - a little clip that goes onto the nappy. Much prefer it, fewer false alarms and easier to use. We also have the owlet monitor which is good but not as simple to use so I don’t put it on every night.