Baby Monitors - confused!

[JustBabyNMe]

Hello! - First time mummy :)

Just looking at baby monitors and they range from £5 - £105 ? Surely they all do the same thing?

Babys room is next to the living room and i live in a small bungalow so don't need anything fancy with long distance etc as no stairs and not many rooms!

As a single parent and scraping by on the couple of pennies i have... does anyone have any reccomendations for a baby monitor? Just need one to hear when baby is crying etc - probably going to buy 2nd hand

Are there any particular brands bettter than others? Are battery or electric better or a combi of both incase of power outage?

Just wanted your advice/opinions before i head for ebay or a bootsale to pick up any old one for a couple of quid! Thank you

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Hello!

We've noticed this thread is quite old and some of the product recommendations are a little out of date. We've spent weeks speaking to parents and testing out baby monitors. Read our reviews to see which product was crowned best baby monitor.

Hope that helps!

MNHQ

[Oodhousekeeping]

I like plug in ones. Have just got new ones that plug straight into the socket ( no wires). Apart from the sensor mats/videos I don't think there's much difference.

[forevergreek]

I like the video ones. As then you can check on them which disturbing. I mean I still go in and check once asleep, but often I would hear shuffling about and on video I could see they were asleep but just wriggling etc, but opening the door at this point might have woken them

[JustBabyNMe]

because i'm living with my parents until i can aford to move out again - was living with partner up north but now moved back home... so i guess i'll be disturbing her anyway because were sleeping in the same room!

[Snowflakepie]

Some have fancy features but if you're not bothered really its not worth it. Only thing I would say, the batteries in the rechargeable ones do seem to lose their charge quickly so you have to keep them in the stand to work. That may not bother you but just be aware if you are looking second hand. My original tomy was about £75 and lasted 1 year with decent battery and then another year on the stand before breaking completely. Now have a BT 300 which I got on offer for about £30 in boots, does the job well without much fuss. Digital are worth it if there are other wireless things in the house that might cause interference, for example wifi, doorbells, etc. Was tempted by a video monitor but really it's not necessary, DD is now 3 and you get quite good at being quiet opening doors!

[Dogsmom]

We've bought an Angel Sounds one which lets you know if they stop breathing too, not just if they wake up which for us was really important.
They are expensive new but we paid £35 off ebay.
We're on a tight budget too so have had to prioritise where we spend the cash we have and have bought most things 2nd hand.

[forevergreek]

Not nessesarily. We share a room with x2 little ones, but still loved the video monitor. Small flat too but like I said it meant I could
Check when moving around but not sure if awake. If def asleep they won't stir. In fact it is more
Usual the older they are. So up to 6 months they don't move much/ stay close to you, but at 1 year I could see whether they were happily playing in cot or actually asleep ( so I knew how long they actual napped for as opposed to played with rabbit!)

Everyone's different though. Ours was a called 'summer'. I was fairly pricey but a gift, but I have seen on eBay since for £20 or even less ( some people never use), but i also liked to see on monitor that they were awake after nap etc and get them out before crying began, they never really woke and started crying and this may ( or may not) be a factor to that

[PeggyL]

Hi, personally I would really recommend the BT one that's about £60 (Kiddicare is such a good, reasonably priced website for baby stuff, might be cheaper on there), it's not a video one (I thought this might make me neurotic!) but the sound quality is amazing, we are on a different floor to our son (now 2 and a half) and can actually hear him breathing if hold it to my ear. Good luck, it's all such a minefield!

[JustBabyNMe]

Thank you everyone! I found a motorola one on ebay - It's £20 and plugs straight into the wall. One in babys room and one in the lounge or where ever you want to put it... have anyone use these before or had any experience with motorola?

[Oodhousekeeping]

One I've just got is Motorola. Not used it yet though

[Marcheline]

I like the idea of the angel sounds one, I mainly want a monitor to check that the baby is still breathing, rather than for hearing her cry - DD1 was so loud we could hear her wherever we were! Didn't have a monitor last time but worried about SIDS this time after hearing more about it.

[Dogsmom]

That's why we bought it Marcheline, I'm a first time Mom and maybe a bit paranoid but I like the reassurance of having a monitor let us know if she's stopped breathing.

On the reviews some people said it can occasionally go off in a false alarm but I'd rather have a mad panic and dash upstairs for a false alarm than the alternative.

[Namechangefornamethread]

From our experience then just make sure whatever you buy is still working. The main complaint with many seems to be that they get quieter/ stop charging after a year or so, so check what you are buying carefully.

[Marcheline]

Exactly Namechange - I have read so many of those reviews that I really worry about whether or not they'll work and can't figure out which to go for!

Dogsmom - how has it been so far re battery life / interference etc?

[Permisson]

I have the cheapest BT one off Amazon, tis amazing- I can hear DD breathing if I turn it right up!

[Heavensmells]

I've got the Motorola one. It works fine, sound is good and ds is 2 floors up from us when downstairs. We've been using ours 8 months and there have been no problems.

[notasausage]

If you live in a small house and your hearing is ok then I personally wouldn't bother with a monitor at all. You will hear your baby start to cry no problem in a small house. I can hear mine as soon as she wakes even if I am downstairs on the other side of a 5 bed house. We had a cheap second hand one with pfb but quickly realised it wasn't needed. Presumably you'll not have the tv/music/Hoover on loud when your baby is sleeping anyway.

[TheSecretCervixDNCOP]

SIL has the motorola plug in one, its quite good yes. :)

[Dogsmom]

Marcheline - we haven't used it yet, DD is due in 8 weeks.

[Marcheline]

Oh I see, I do like the sous of it though so will do some online investigating. Thanks!

[Twattybollocks]

I personally like the digital ones, the non digital are prone to interference from the electricity cables and tend to buzz which drives me nuts. We inherited a non digi one from my older sister for first baby which I replaced within weeks with a second hand bt one from eBay. It was fab, stopped charging after a year or so so I just replaced the batteries and it was fine again. Used it for dd and gave it away to a friend as we weren't planning any more.

[bitbot]

Another vote her for the angelcare movement sensor and audio monitor.... None of that getting close a d checking the baby is breathing that I am sure I would be doing thousands of times. We used it in the crib and now the big cot for 8months every night and not once had a false alarm. Only time alarm goes off is when I pick dd up and forget to turn it off....reassuring it works though! It defo gets my vote

[matilda101]

I'm with notasausage - I don't think you'll need one, you'll hear your little one if they're in the room next door. I personally think I'm better off without one as I only hear my dd when she actually wants something I.e. she's not just mumbling. Sometimes I hear her crying when I'm doing something and by the time I get to her a few minutes later she's gone back to sleep so sometimes it's best not to be able to hear every moan and groan!