BébéSounds Angelcare Movement Sensor w. Sound Monitor w. Two Parents' Units
by Graco Baby
|
List Price: Our Price: $89.00 You Save: $30.99 (26%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $72.00 (click here) Category: Baby Product See more product details |
|---|
Baby Products Reviews of BébéSounds Angelcare Movement Sensor w. Sound Monitor w. Two Parents' Units
Customer Review: It May Have Saved A Life!
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first bought this, I held onto it for a while before I installed it, thinking that it was a frivolous waste of money and that I'd worry more if I had it. At the same time, I was getting very little sleep because I'd spend the night checking on the baby in her bassinet next to my bed.
I finally installed the monitor when she was a couple of months old, and it offered amazing peace of mind. If I woke up and started to worry, I could just look over at the little blinking light if I couldn't hear her breathing. I'd tell myself "if I don't hear the alarm, everything's okay," and go back to sleep.
Scroll forward a couple of months. I figured it was time to move her to her own room and crib, so I moved her and the monitor in.
That same night, I was snuggling in for my first night of sleeping without her in my room. I fell asleep and a few hours later, the alarm went off for the first time ever.
I bolted out of bed and ran into her room. She was curled up in a ball with her nose smooshed against one of the slats in the crib, not moving. As I cleared the door to reach for her, the alarm turned off, making it obvious that she really had stopped breathing and had only started up again as I made noise running into the room.
My eyes are tearing up as I read this, thinking of what might have happened during her first night sleeping on her own. Thank you, manufacturers of the Bebesounds monitors. You might have saved a little, precious life.
She's now sleeping in my room again...might keep her here till she's out of kindergarten. :-)
ADDENDUM: It's a few months after I wrote the review above. I moved her back into her crib about a month ago and we've had a couple more alarm-soundings in the night. As she gets more active, she gets better at wedging herself into the corners, where the monitor doesn't work as well.
While it almost gives me a heart attack to hear the alarm go off and it's tempting to just turn it off, this monitor still offers me peace of mind. I'm planning to stop using it when she turns 12 months, which is apparently when SIDS risk drops nearly to nil.
It would be great if the manufacturers offered this same monitor with a larger sensor pad to accommodate a crib mattress - if it were twice as long, we'd never have false alarms.
Customer Review: Peace of mind with a newborn...especially as new mommy!
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm a new single mom that, of course, freaked at every little thing with my baby. I have to say that this monitor was a life saver! Originally, my dd was in my room in a bassinett and I used just the sensor pad feature, which gave me good sleep...when she would sleep :) Then when I moved her into her room for the first time it also gave me piece of mind, bc I had learned by the 1st few months that this sensor really works! This product is especially useful if you have a baby with medical conditions or special needs. My dd was sick from week one and I often worried she would stop breathing in the middle of the night or vomit so bad (this was frequent) that she would choke. This product gave me the piece of mind to leave her alone in a room to sleep. With that said, I only gave it 4 stars bc there are some negatives. I wish the volume button allowed it to be just a bit lower, bc I wake up at every peep and it only lets you put it so low. It can have static at times, but not nearly as bad as that Fisher Price Lights and Sounds or 900 mhz vibration long range model. I am now seeking for a new monitor bc we no longer need a sensor, so I am selling mine. That shows how well it stands up...I've moved this thing in 2 basinetts (in two different states) back and forth and a crib. One suggetsions, even if your baby goes to sleep near the top of the crib, put the sensor in the middle! I learned the hard way, bc my dd would roll to the bottom and the alarm would go off. Also, FYI...you may have false alarms if your baby moves out of the sensors range and you don't have it set to high sensitivity! Since I wake every 2 hrs for my dd this became a problem...especially if I'd just fallen asleep. HOWEVER, you cannot put a price tag on your childs life and your sanity. If you are concerned about SIDS or if you have an older child that escapes the crib, this is the monitor for you! I've had it for a year and it still works great...even though both receivers have been dropped tons of times and even chewed on by my cats! Worth checkin out! You can always sell it after the 1 yr, SIDS reduced risk age, for a reduced price and then get a lower end monitor. I LOVE THIS THING and there aren't any other US made monitors of it's caliber or kind (sensors only with no sound are available!).Customer Review: The best money you will ever spend- it saved our baby's life!
Summary: 5 Stars
We bought this product thinking it would give us a little extra piece of mind at night so we wouldn't worry about SIDS as much. The alarm went off several times when our baby was about a month old. At first we thought it was malfunctining because our son always seemed fine when we checked on him. One night the sensor alarm sounded and we ran over to check on him and he was not breathing. We gently shook him and he woke and took a huge gasp of air in. It terrified us-- Turns out he was waking up from apneic episodes when the alarm went off -We called our pediatrician, who ordered a pneumogram -
Our son ended up having over 44 episodes of sleep apnea during the pneumogram ranging from 12-18 seconds in a ten hour period. He also had one lasting more than 27 seconds-- which is very scary. Although they consider anything under 20 seconds "normal", his having 44 episodes was considered quite excessive. So our Angelcare sensorpad WAS accurately detecting his sleep apnea - it was catching the episodes that went 20 seconds or longer. I believe that it saved him from possibly becoming a victim to SIDS.
Our pediatrician enrolled our son in the infant monitoring program and he was placed on a portable heart/lung monitor until he was 4 months old. Every night we kept BOTH alarms on-- the hospital grade portable heart and lung monitor, as well as the Angelcare sensor monitor. The respiration light on the hospital monitor flashed AT THE SAME TIME as the Angelcare monitor-- every night I checked it and every night the lights flashed at the same time. This monitor is a GODSEND. Even my son's pulmonologist was impressed when I told him the story. Our son is now 4 1/2 months old and is off the hospital grade heart/lung monitor. Our Angelcare sensor lets us sleep soundly at night knowing that he is okay.
Not only does the sensor pad work, but it is portable. We take it with us when we go on overnight trips - we have used it in friends' cribs that we were using on trips, as well as our own Pack N Play. It also has a sound system with two monitors, which comes in VERY handy.
I have told everyone I know with children about this monitor-- it works and is a must have for anyone having a baby!
Customer Review: Still going strong after two years
Summary: 4 Stars
We bought our Angelcare back in 07 before our son was born. It's definitely paid for itself over and over. While our son is 2 and we've long turned the sensor off, I used it at least up until he was about 15 months old.
We DID have some false alarms, especially as he got older and found his favorite sleeping spot (wedged in the corner of his crib, just slightly off the sensor pad). We also had some false alarms as he started to roll around more in his crib, but it was easily fixed by adjusting the sensitivity on the monitor. Overall, we had very few, the majority of them occurring when he was older, which is when we knew it was time to turn off the sensor pad. Otherwise, the monitor went off once as it was supposed to, when he was a newborn and we have no idea why, maybe he had a bit of apnea, but thankfully, was fine.
I will say, that the first time it goes off, you are in need of some nitroglycerin tablets to get your heart started, because it is an unnerving sound.
I do echo others that say this it's very annoying that you have to turn the monitor off every time you pick your child up when you have the sensor pad turned on. It does take a little time to program yourself to do that at 2AM, but once you do, it become second nature. Now that we don't use the sensor, we just leave the base turned on all the time, since we have to keep it on the floor next to his bed.
We've had very few static issues, mostly when we have too many things plugged into the same outlet, but otherwise, it's been fine. We always set it to the same channel, as it does interfere with our neighbors monitor and the few times I've forgotten, I've heard my neighbors baby cry. Kind of creepy to know we can hear them, and that they can probably hear us.
Overall, this has been a great monitor, and while I'd love to upgrade to the newer model, this one is still going strong, and as long as it works, we'll give this one to our second when its born and get another monitor for our son. I don't regret this purchase at all.
Customer Review: Provides PEACE of MIND ... ALARM SOUNDS if baby stops breathing/moving.
Summary: 4 Stars
I LOVE the MOVEMENT SENSOR aspect of this monitor. I have used 2 of these (one in the crib for nighttime sleeping and one in the playpen for daytime naps) and they work GREAT at detecting when there is no movement/breathing. I used these with both my kids, up until they were both [...] and moved to big boy beds.
I only have two complaints. One is that I wish they would improve the monitors so that there is less interference/static, and more channels. With these monitors, you get lots of feedback and can even pick-up neighbors' babies (if they are using similar monitors). This means that the neighbors can also hear you and your baby. In fact, I always used Channel B because I kept picking up neighbors' babies on Channel A. My second complaint is I wish they would make the sensor that goes under the mattress bigger so that it covers more of the sleep area to prevent false alarms.
My workaround solution is that I also own 2 other monitors ... one with video and one with a greater frequency and less static (that I used in conjunction with this one) and carry around the house.
This monitor allowed me to get much needed rest and things done around the house without having to check the baby every 2 minutes to make sure he was still breathing. I wish more manufacturers would add the movement detection feature to their monitors.
Despite some of this monitor's shortcomings, I still HIGHLY recommend it. Worth EVERY penny for that piece of mind. If you buy more than one set, the monitors are interchangeable and work together nicely. In addition, it is small and easy to carry along with you when you travel. So, you can use it on vacations or when you are away from home, to monitor your baby for added peace of mind.
**PLEASE NOTE: You will need MASONITE BOARD, or some other hard board to place under the crib mattress for the movement sensor to sit on. With the playpen (because it had a hard bottom), I didn't need to use anything. I could just place the movement sensor directly under the pad.**