Wednesday, March 20, 2013

SIDS Monitors

When Elliana was just a few months old, I had read a tragic story of a baby that was just a couple weeks older than her who had passed from SIDS. Of course we had all heard of it. SIDS. Of course I knew what it was. SIDS. But something about that story just completely changed my thought process. What am I doing to prevent it? What am I doing to catch something tragic before it occurs. Is that even possible?

No blankets, no pillows, no stuffed animals. Check. No sleeping on belly. Check. Appropriate temperature in room. Check. No smoking. Check. Checking on her frequently. Check. Check. Check.

Now. What about at night? When I was sleeping as well. What would I do then?

That same night that I had read this particular SIDS story was the same night that I went online, opened up google, and typed in "SIDS prevention." That is when I came across these two monitors and instantly, without skipping a beat, I made my purchases.

Yes, they came with a small price tag. But was it worth it? Absolutely. Although they are in no shape or form monitors that prevent SIDS, what they do though is monitor and make you aware the minute your baby stops breathing. And when that happens? Time is so of the essence.

And with our second baby being born, I was reminded again that life is too precious. And I was thankful that again we had these two devices to help us better sleep at night. Do we ever truly sleep peacefully as parents? Probably not. But it gives us that extra little assurance.

I will tell you about the two monitors we use {in addition to our video and sound monitors}. These are solely for SIDS monitoring and although they have two different functions, they both work for the same purpose.

Number One. Snuza Halo Baby Movement Monitor A little clip that goes over the diaper {or pants} of the baby and monitors the breathing pattern. If the baby were to stop breathing for whatever reason, it vibrates to stimulate them, if then the baby doesn't start breathing again, a loud beeping sound goes off and won't turn off until you manually turn it off. Are there false alarms? Yes, mainly when they are older. However is it the best thing ever to be invented and lets me sleep better at night? Absolutely.

I wish that this product was made more known to moms. When I posted about this two years ago, I got an overwhelming response from women who had never heard of this product. Moms were purchasing. Grandmothers were purchasing them. New moms, old moms. First time moms. Second time moms. And now when I started posting pictures again of G man wearing the snuza, there were so many comments of moms who loved their snuza and how it let them sleep better at night. And still there were some that were running to buy them.

They retail for around $100. The battery lasted us the whole time with E {up until a year old when we took it off} and we purchased a new battery when G was born. It should also last us until we are done. Batteries are about $12.

Number Two.Angelcare Baby Movement and Sound Monitor. I know you may be asking why in the world would I need to purchase two monitors. Because I want to have as many "eyes" on my baby as possible. So this monitor is essentially the same as the snuza, except it goes underneath the mattress. This is why I have both, because E didn't start sleeping in her crib until she was 5.5 months old, and G probably won't either until then. This monitor also acts like a sound monitor and monitors the temperature in the room as well.

Me, personally, I would suggest having both {if in the budget, and only if you are crazy like me. Crazy is key}. The snuza we stopped using around month 8? And the Angel care around 1 {simply because Elliana moved around too much in bed.} However, if at this time you can only budget one, I would definitely recommend the Snuza. Mainly because it is portable with the baby, whereas the Angel Care stays underneath the mattress or sleeping surface.

So there you have it. Our two monitors that we use to monitor SIDS. We have two other monitors that we use {video and sound} and although it may look silly to have four, and although other people may have zero {and that is totally okay too!}, this is just something that we are comfortable as a family in doing.

Call us paranoid, call us crazy...

I'd like to call us just being us. Parents.

And... product happy=purchase happy= husband married the shopping queen.

11 comments:

  1. We have the Angel Care monitor in our daughter's crib (she just turned 2 last month) and I don't know how we "survived" w/o it when my son was born (he'll be 6 in May). It gives us so much more peace of mind. We plan on using it for as long as we possibly can and when #3 comes along, we plan on purchasing another one AND a Snuza this time, too. We didn't know about it until after she was too old for it. Thanks for sharing about these!! Even if it helps just 1 parent, guardian, grandparent, etc. learn about these amazing products then it was worth it!!

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  2. Our only monitor is an old fashioned (sound only) monitor my mom bought for $1 at a garage sale. I didn't even think we would ever use it, since we lived in a small apartment when Lucia was born, but we did for a few months. I guess I'm not the worrying type!

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  3. After seeing these both on one of your previous posts we added them immediately to our registry and if we don't get them at our showers they will be the first things we buy ourselves!! Thank you :)

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  4. All of my friends use the Halo and the Go and swear by them. It is the one thing that they've told me is an absolute must have for my baby and swear by each version! So glad you're spreading the word because most people haven't even heard of the Snuza!!

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  5. We use the angel care monitor and have since he was moved into his crib and it really does give such a piece of mind. We only had a couple false alarms but we still use it and he's almost 15 months old. If I could use it til he goes to college I would.

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  6. Thank you so much for introducing me to the Snuza. It gave me such peace of mind, especially since he refused to sleep on his back after four months. I too read about a baby that passed from SIDS and since then I have been super paranoid. It never hurts to be too careful.

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  7. I just purchased the vetch video monitor that you have with dual cameras. I can't believe I didn't do that sooner, I love it! Although I don't like that you can only get sound from one room at a time. Maybe I hooked it up wrong????

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  8. We have the Angel Care and LOVE it! It was the only thing that kept me sane when E was little. We are using it again with Baby A, as soon as she gets to the crib. I am always shocked when people don't have a SIDS monitor... I don't think it's an issue of being worried or not- whether or not we are worried, all of our babies are at risk for SIDS in some way. Seems like the only monitor to have in my opinion.

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  9. Josh had a little brother die of SIDS when he was 6 months old. Both of these products will DEFINITELY be on our registry/in our house one day! I've already scoped them out at Target!

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  10. I'm definitely getting one. This is my third child and I'm constantly paranoid. I'm not sure how I survived the paranoia with my other two. Thank you for this post Becky!

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  11. Oh I am definitely the same way! I didn't buy the angelcare for my son (he's 9 months now) but I literally never slept until he turned 6 months. I kept him in our room right next to my side of the bed until 8 months (everyone thought I was nuts) and I would just stare at him sleeping and wake up a billion times. I know it's not the healthiest, but I was so paranoid too... I think it's the nurse in me. You know all of the things that COULD happen and makes you crazy! But I have never heard of the snuza.. definitely buying that for baby #2.

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