updated: Thursday, July 19, 2007
Angelcare Movement Sensor & Sound Monitor review
How much is peace of mind worth to you? How about $90? This is probably one of the most useful baby products we own. We received it as a gift off our our registry, and would have happily purchased this for ourselves had we not gotten it (thanks Arlene!). We highly recommend it to all of our friends, as it will truly help them sleep better at night.
SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is an acronym that is thrown around a lot. Having recently finished my core pediatrics rotation, I've learned that it is a major worry of most new parents out there. It's the whole basis for the Back-to-Sleep campaign (putting your baby to sleep on his/her back, rather than letting them sleep on their tummies). In any case, it's a legitimate and real fear that most new parents have, and there isn't much you can do to alleviate the worrying. That is where this monitor fits into the picture.
Like most baby monitors out there, this one allows you to listen in on your baby if you are in a different room. However, it also has a movement sensor that is placed under the mattress, which sets off an alarm if no movement is detected after 20 seconds. Sounds a bit hard to believe that the monitor could detect a baby breathing, but it really works. It has an adjustable sensitivity (we keep it at the factory-set standard) that you place between the crib mattress and a hard, flat surface (our crib sits on wire springs, so we got a large piece of particle board with a hole drilled for the cord at the hardware store (around $10) to place beneath the sensor pad, as recommended by the manufacturer. They now make a board you can purchase for around $15, but we haven't seen it and so cannot comment on it. You can do a Google image search for BebeSounds Angelcare® Masonite Board Model #ACM04 to see what it looks like, and Amazon.com carries it for about $14.
The alarm is pretty loud, not unlike a hospital pager or high-pitched alarm clock. It's startled me when I've forgotten to turn it off when I picked up my baby from the crib, but at least I know that it works. Also, when M started to roll around the crib at night, the alarm would sometimes go off in the night (freaking me out) and I'd run in to find him curled up in one tiny corner of the crib, out of the sensor's reach. There is a "tic" feature that ticks continuously as long as the pad senses movement. We never used this function. It also has two channels that you can try in case there is interference. We've noticed some static noise and buzzing on occasion but adjusting the placement of the parent unit usually takes care of that.
As he got older, we'd use it only with sound and not movement (like a traditional monitor). With that function, you can also glance at the parent unit to see a string of lights that are lit according to the detected sound of the baby. Now that he's two and sleeps in a toddler bed ("big boy bed"), the monitor has been passed on to A.
A few things to note about this monitor:
1. When you turn off the base unit and one of the parent units is still on, it emits a loud static noise that can be annoying. To address this, rather than turn off the monitor, I just switch it to sound only.
2. We got the model with 2 parent units, which is nice because we can keep one downstairs and one in the bedroom. There are only 2 AC adapters though, so we use 4 AAA batteries in the downstairs unit (which makes it more mobile). Battery life is pretty good - it really depends on your usage I guess. For us, we mostly use the AC-powered parent unit in our bedroom and the other one on occasion, and I find we have to change the battery about every 2 months.
There are some newer models available on the official site but I have not seen them in stores. A rechargeable unit appears to be available as well (or at least rechargeable batteries). That would be useful.
Update (7/19/07): Amazon.com is now carrying this monitor at a great price.
Useful Links
BabyCenter Store (search for Angelcare)
Angelcare official site
Amazon.com Angelcare Monitor product page
