I’ll admit that we didn’t bother with a baby monitor for Dexter. As per the usual advice, he stayed in our bedroom with us for the first few months, then graduated to his own room when we felt confident he’d sleep through the night. We lived in a two bedroom flat with his nursery located neatly between our lounge and our master bedroom so we were always able to hear him cry (and trust me, he cried a lot).
We did have a Angelcare system, but the sleep pad bugged the hell out of me, and I was constantly unplugging the device as the lights kept waking me up. In any case, due to the layout of our home, it felt like overkill.
With Heidi however we’ve found a baby monitor invaluable. Now we’ve moved into a large three bedroom house, there’s more distance between us and her when she sleeps so we’re not always able to hear her easily. Add into the mix an over-excited toddler who seems a little confused as to whether he loves or hates his baby sister, I also can’t have the two children in the same room as one another or he’ll be apt to smother her in kisses… or her blanket.
The Tommee Tippee Digital Video Baby Monitor with Sensor Pad has therefore been a godsend.
This monitor is literally rammed with features:
- Infrared night vision camera
- Movement sensor pad
- Adjustable sensitivity settings
- 3” colour screen
- Baby’s room temperature display
- Up to 300m range with out-of-range indicator
- Two-way talk back
- Pager to find missing parent unit
- Baby night light controllable from parent unit
- Channel auto-select
The camera on this monitor is among the best I’ve used. The images on the screen are so clear, even in the pitch black (in daylight, the video is colour, switching to infrared when it gets dark). It’s also much simpler to position the camera unit to get a good angle of Heidi as you can tilt the camera up and down freely (with other systems, I’ve either had to pop the camera within the cot itself, on a bedside unit, or lower than the cot mattress). Given Heidi’s nursery is weeny with little furniture, Tommee Tippee’s camera is therefore ideal as it can live atop her windowsill.
Once the camera is aligned, and you’ve set the monitor up (see the above video) you simply press the ‘on’ switch on both units.
TIP: don’t turn the camera on with the parent unit in the same room, the feedback will wake baby.
You’ll be able to view baby as she peacefully sleeps from any other room in your home. There’s also an option to zoom in a little if you’re not 100% certain she’s awake and needs her mummy. If baby makes a noise (you control the sensitivity) the unit immediately springs to life and you’ll be able to hear her through the parent unit. If she’s having a right paddy and needs a little reassurance, there’s a two way talk-back option on the parent monitor that allows you to whisper that you’re on your way.
I’m also a big fan of the temperature indicator (there’s a display on both units). We previously used a Gro-egg for this but I’m not convinced on its accuracy. I’m terrible at gauging temperatures so find it reassuring to know that her room is comfortably ventilated.
Additionally there’s a nightlight function (low, medium and high settings) on the camera that negates any need for additional lighting in the nursery. This is ideal for Heidi who has only just moved into her big girl room away from mummy and daddy.
To be honest, we rarely bother with the sensor pad. Heidi is a real wriggler and does 360 rotations and covers every inch of her cotbed with baby drool every night. The detachable sensor pad has 3 settings (low, medium and high) and slots comfortably under baby’s mattress. You can opt to monitor baby soundlessly (a little light will flicker to reassure you baby is breathing) or choose to hear her. It will sound an alarm on the parents unit if no movement is detected from baby after 20 seconds. Although there’s little danger of this with my little gymnast, I can be a little forgetful at 2am, 3am and 4am (thanks Heidi) and have forgotten to turn the feature off a few times. This has woken up Craigy who was none too pleased.
I can see the benefit of the feature though. For anxious parents it adds another dimension of reassurance. Baby monitors have certainly come a long way since the days of old, and sensor pads are generally regarded as the ultimate in baby safety. Reading around the web to check out other parent’s opinions, they get 5 stars from parents whose children are asthmatic or have breathing difficulties. There are inevitably a few reported instances of it going off for no reason (or indeed, baby rolling off the pad), but I’m sure any parent would agree this is preferable to sleeping through when your baby is in trouble.
Finally, there’s rechargable batteries in both units. Whilst running on the mains, you’re also charging up the units, ready to be used mains-free later on. This makes it the perfect option for taking on trips and holidays where your plug sockets might be poorly located.
The Tommee Tippee Digital Video Monitor is available to buy from most major UK retailers at an RRP of £199.99. I appreciate this is a fairly significant investment for any cash-strapped parent, but it is competitively priced if you compare it with other brand’s best-in-range monitors (Angelcare’s AC1100 Video, Movement & Sound Monitor is £249.99). It’s certainly given me peace of mind, and you cannot put a price on that.
To find out more, or buy directly from Tommee Tippee, head over to TT’s website. Tommee Tippee will also be more than happy to answer any questions you might have over Twitter or Facebook. Of course, I’m also more than happy to discuss any aspect of the monitor with you if you leave a comment on this post.
