Angel Care Monitors

Are you getting Angel Care Monitors for your babies? I'm worried because the babies are going to be sleeping in another room. There truly isn't room for even a PNP in our bedroom because it's so small. The babies will be in the room across the hall from us. Thoughts?

ETA: Walmart has two Angelcare monitors. If we do get them, which one would you recommend?

 

With my first (singleton), I brought my daughter home from the hospital and she ended up hating sleeping in the pack n play and the bassinett we had set up for her in our bedroom. When we put her in her crib in her own room she slept great. Since I was paranoid about her sleeping in another room, we bought a monitor that was for sound and had a camera with it and I loved it. I left the sound on all the time and anytime I heard a little noise or just wanted to check on her, I would flip the monitor on; I kept it right on my night stand.

We plan to buy two similar systems for the twins so we have a camera on each baby.

 

I have plans to get a regular monitor (sound or sound/video), but I'm wondering specifically about the Angel Care monitors to prevent SIDS. Supposedly these have an an alarm that goes off if it doesn't detect breathing for 20 seconds. I'm pretty sure our babies will be preemies since I'm already on bedrest and I think SIDS is even more of a concern with premature infants. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on that.

 

I'm getting the Angel Care one. It's gotten good ratings and I like the sensor thing, so I'm getting it!

 

I've been debating gettting a couple of them. They seem really cool, and my sister really likes hers. Her's went off, and she jumped out of the shower and ran into her son's room and grabbed him. She's not sure whether or not he wasn't breathing, but she was glad when he started crying.

My boys will be sleeping in my room, so I'm not sure I need them. And then when they move to thier own room, I hope they will share a crib, and then, I don't think the angel care monitors will work well. Two babies on one pad? One could stop moving, but the other one would be fine, so the alarm wouldn't sound. So I think I would always be paranoid anyways.

My sister says that if my boys don't sleep together, than I have to get one for each of them. So, if your twins aren't going to sleep togther, I would get them. I don't know which model to get though.

 

Hi Beth, we are planning on using the Angel Care monitors....yes they do work well. They alarm if there is no movement for 20 seconds....You are correct that preemies are at a higher risk for SIDS....also Multiples fall into that category.

I didn't however know that Walmart has the monitors...I just added it to that registry....I already had it on my Target and Babies R Us ones. Thank you for that information!


Take care,

Missy

:wavey:

 

Nope didn't have any monitors. Sometimes insurance will cover them if babies happen to be in the NICU and it is recommended they go home with them so if you happen to have them early, your insurance may cover the cost to rent them. The NICU would give you all the information.

 

nope - didn't get them...I have a Sony BabyCall monitor that when you turn the sound up you can hear them breathing...mine slept in the same crib for the first month, after that they were in swings for 3 months till they outgrew their colic and then at 4 mos there was no way I could put them in the same crib...

I've heard that the AngelCare monitors can be a bit of a pain because there could be nothing wrong, but if your baby doesn't at least twitch every 20 seconds it will go off and scare everyone constantly during the night....just something to think about...

 

hi, my friend had her little boy at 29wks and spent 3 mths in hospital. She swears by hers.

She had the type that has an alarm that goes off if it detects no movement for 20 seconds and ticks to let you know its working and things are fine.

She also tested it with a doll(eg no movement, no breathing) and the alarm went off everytime. She had it under a mattress protector and all and it still worked fine.

I'm not sure if your baby has to twitch every 20sec(i could be wrong), i think it is sensitive enough to detect breathing, thus i have purchased two for the whole sids thing.

I bought two even though i will be sleeping them together for a while. The units are made up of two pads which are connected by wires(big enough i guess for when your baby can roll around etc). I intally thought i could use one for the both of the twins...but i got to thinking that would be defeating the purpose. If i use only one unit while the twins are sleeping togther in the same cot, then if one stops breathing, the alarm won't sound as it will be detecting the breathing and movement from the other baby....would this be right?

anyhow, it came highly recommneded to me, i have bought two. Costly, but the peice of mind will be worth it as like a prev poster said premmies and multiple are at higher risk for sids.

Goodluck, and do whatever you feel comfortable with!!

 

that would be my concern with the Angel monitors too -- when you co-sleep your twins the sensors would pick up the one twin.

Also a warning that if you have a FAN GOING in the room it can fool the sensors into thinking there is movement !!!

Heather

 

Hello,
I am a Dr. and that is why i decided to post in this thread: if the babies sleep in your room you will not be suddenly awoken when they stop breathing (if not monitored). Most SIDS cases happen with babies in the parent's room, in the stroller, even in their arms! I would not make it dependent on where the babies sleep to get a monitor or not.
But once you decide to get a monitor you have to ask yourself how much you want to use it... are you just going to use it for night sleep? Only for sleeping in their beds?? Or are you going to carry that things wherever you go?
I know of at least 4 kids who came to me to check for genetic diseases at 1 year old because of failure to thrive and they had failed to thrive because the parents in their anxiety had "tied" them to the monitor constantly for the first year.

Now my personal story: My boys were 31 weekers and I (having read all the literature on the planet about SIDS) was extremely anxious. I had them on a Pulsoxymeter (that is a monitor that measures the amount of oxygen, you attach it to one foot, and the monitor is not very big, sort of as big as a big radio, very portable but I only got them because I was staff in hospital) every time they were asleep for the first 6 months (which meant carrying those things with me everywhere at all times).
We had about 15 false alarms a day which made me scared and I would run to see what happened and it was just that when the monitor doesn't pick up certain things for a while it just beeps. It interrupted my boys sleeping pattern and we to this day have difficult sleepers (they are 4) and to be honest they calmed me a bit but scared me more.
With my daughter I decided (with my husband) that I would just have to accept that some kids do die of SIDS but doing other stuff we were already preventing it.
So we do not smoke in her presence (well we don't smoke at all but we don't let people smoke around her), she sleeps on her back when she is in her crib and the buggy, her bed has bedlinen that is transpirable, no cushions, no toys, only her in her babygro.
And so far we have had a great time with her. I feel less anxious and I do not have to carry too much stuff with us, I do not fear missing an alarm, and don't run to false alarms every day many times. It makes a much more relaxing time to have a child who is not monitored.

So you have to consider a lot of factors before you get some monitors and make sure that it will really serve it's purpose. Also read the guidelines the hospitals give you on how to prevent SIDS (good temperature, no smoke, no pillows and blankies, well ventilated and NEVER a baby on their tummy in their beds).
Millie

 

I had 31 week preemies, but did not get Angelcare monitors. We do (still) use a FP Sound & Light monitor, and this worked wonderfully for us. They did sleep in our room until they were 3 months old.

I have heard of the Angelcare monitor giving lots of false alarms.

 

we have an angelcare monitor and have only used the sensor part for the first two nights, it kept going off, the babies didn't stop breathing, it was a false alarm. it went off once as both babies were crying, go figure. we tried adjusting the sensitivity, but nothing worked right. we still use the monitor portion of it (it was a gift so we can't return it) but the motion portion is a piece of junk IMO.