monitoring baby

[dragonfly1809]

A while ago - sometime during the transition to this board and having baby Oliver - I read a thread, either here or over at the other place. I believe it was uneek who asked the question. It was about baby monitors - movement, sound, video, and breathing..

I wanted to respond then but was so busy with baby, then lost track of the thread.

It's been on my mind, and I wanted to share my opinion.

If you had asked me when I was pregnant with Finn what I thought about all these monitors I would have said that too much is only asking for added stress. For Finn we planned on using a simple sounds monitor and a web cam..., neither of which we even had the chance to even use.
I thought then that the movement monitors and all the glade alarm reports would just make us crazy.

I wish I could change that decision.

With Oliver we are using every monitor available - including the Snuza. I read a number of comments in the original post against the Snuza - calling it big and awkward, a cause for false alarms.

I can't say enough good things about this monitor. I don't think it is too big at all. Oliver doesn't even seem to notice it. ...and he's just a little guy around 7lbs. The part that touches his belly is so soft it just bends with him. It clips firmly on his diaper and blinks a flashing blue light (seen through his sleeper) to show it's working.
We've only had one false alarm when it slipped off his diaper one night.

Most importantly, I can say without a doubt that had Finn been wearing the Snuza he would still be with us. It's as simple as that.

It does give me a little peace of mind, not that any device could replace instinct and awareness, but knowing that if Oliver stops breathing for any reason we will know about it in seconds.

I can't say snymore that there is no such thing as too many monitors. I'll handle as many false alarms as needed if it means that the one time it matters I'm there.

So, if you're condidering monitors i hope this helps - or at least gives you something to think about.

Oliver with his Snuza:

[meladorie]

Thanks for sharing. I'm definitely planning to get the snuza. I guess my main question for monitors is whether I will need them? Liam will be in the pack n play right next to my bed and when he moves to the crib that will still be in our room right next to us. Is there any point for monitors other than the snuza?

[ksyknelvr73]

Honestly, I feel the same way about monitors and I don't care if people think it's weird or too much or obsessive. The Snuza just didn't work for us, but I at least tried it.

For us, we moved both boys to their rooms rather quickly (in their cribs) instead of keeping them in our room. I don't sleep with them in my room - both made a bunch of noise, and I was so paranoid I'd wake up several times to reach over and feel if they were breathing.

I have used an Angelcare monitor with both boys and I' can count on one hand how many times I've gotten a false alarm with it. I used that thing until my older son was almost 2 years old, when we transitioned him to a toddler bed, and DS2 is still using it.

I posted a couple months ago about how it went off and I am 100% convinced that DS2 had stopped breathing. We were able to go in, check on him, and he was breathing when we got in there - but I remain convinced that the alarm triggered him to breathe again. Like you, I will take 1000 false alarms if it means that one of them turns out to be real and I can prevent something from happening.

[threetexans]

We used the Levana Ooma, the newer Snuzu, with M. We are so used to all the monitors in the NICU keeping an eye on her 24/7, that we couldn't sleep. She was a very quiet sleeper too. M slept in our rooms until she was 8 months old. We used the monitor until she was about 7 months. She became way too wiggly for it to stay in position, and it was going off multiple times in an hour.

[threetexans]

Dup.

[yummmy]

I completely agree with monitors. I have the angel care as well and I absolutely hate when we travel and i don't have it. Even though he is right next to me in a pack and play I don't feel like I sleep anywhere near as well because I am constantly worried that if I fall into a deep sleep and something happens there is no way I would know even if he was right beside me. With the monitor I know it will go off if he stops breathing and that sucker will wake me out of a total sleep. We had Levi in his crib in his own room from day one, but we also were very used to the noises from the NICU and all the reassurance that brought. I wouldn't go without one, and they are worth every penny to me. I plan to use it until he transitions to a toddler bed.