What Mother (sorry, and Father) wouldn’t do their utmost to protect their newborn baby? For my little bundle of joy (or should I say screams!) I bought the Johnson and Johnson InTouch Reassurance baby monitor. I needed a baby monitor and this had the added extra of being able to buy a sensor pad that would enable me to detect every movement of my baby, even every breath that she took.

Cost
====
Expensive at £89.99.


Purchased From
============
Tesco’s


Who can put a price on a baby’s life! The worry of cot death must weight heavy on every new parent’s mind.


Statistics: -

* 80% of Cot Deaths happen between 1-6 months
* The peak time is between 2-4 months
* Only one out of every seven cot deaths occurs after 6 months of age
* The risk of Cot Death is very low over the age of 1 year


Although no one can guarantee the prevention of Cot Death, in recent years, certain factors have been proved to greatly reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

These include: -

* Placing your baby on their back or side to sleep
* Don’t smoke and avoid smoky atmospheres
* Do not let your child get too hot
* If you think your baby is unwell, contact your Doctor


So alongside these points, I thought that having the Sensor Pad as well, would give me extra reassurance.


What you get
==========
One Baby unit
One Parental unit
One Sensor pad with connecting cable
Two low voltage mains adaptors
Instruction Booklet
Demonstration and baby safety Video
Baby Resuscitation card
Warranty card


“InTouch” is the first baby monitor, that can measure your baby’s sound, the temperature in your baby’s room and also your baby’s breathing movements using a remote receiver.

The sensor pad is placed between the mattress and the cot base, and it the
n monitors your baby’s movements, it is so sensitive that it can detect every breathing movement.

You can use the sensor pad until your baby is able to move around freely. Then it is possible they could move off the pad. The monitor also incorporates a thermometer that accurately measures the temperature in your baby’s room.


Fact: -
The ideal temperature range for the room should be between 16 c and 20 c.


On both the baby unit, (which I don’t want to state the obvious - but it stays in the baby’s room!?!) and the parental unit (which - take a wild guess where that goes?) can be used up to a distance of 150 feet (50 metres). A flashing green light and an optional audible “tick” sound, register each movement your baby makes and if no movements are detected for more than 20 seconds, then an audible and visual alarm is activated. Although, from time to time babies may breathe unevenly and a lack of breathing may be quite normal. On the parental unit, a moving light display means that you are able to see, as well as hear when your baby makes a sound. An illuminated electronic display clearly shows the baby’s room temperature and also a low battery or out of signal warning signal.

Unless you switch the unit off altogether, the safety volume control ensures that you cannot turn the volume too low, and you should always hear if your baby cries. Also on the baby unit is a soft touch on/off night light, which is both reassuring for your baby and also practical for you. It offers ample light for you to check on your baby without disturbing them. The audible movement alarm on the baby’s unit can be switched on or off, and having a two channel option avoids possible interference from other baby monitor transmitters in the area.

When you no longer wish to use the sensor pad to monitor your baby’s movements, then the monitors can be used just to check the sound and the
room temperature in your baby’s room. Both the baby and the parental units can be either mains or battery operated for maximum convenience and portability. For added reassurance, if there is a power cut then the mains fail safe feature automatically switches to battery power.


Baby Unit
========
* At-a-glance thermometer guide located on the antenna
* Integral night light
* Two channel select switch to avoid interference from other monitors
* Optional alarm if baby does not move for 20 seconds or more
* Extra sensitive microphone monitors the baby’s sound and transmits the sound to the parental unit
* Mains or battery operated


Parent Unit
========
* Illuminated electronic display, shows the baby’s room temperature and also includes low battery and out of range warning signals
* Moving light display means you can see as well as hear baby’s sounds
* Alarm sounds and lights up when no movements are detected for more than 20 seconds
Flashing light and audible “tick”, confirm each movement your baby makes
* Mains or battery operated


Sensor Pad
========
* Optional ultra slim sensor pad, placed between cot base and the cot mattress to detect every move made by your baby
* The sensor pad can be used with mattresses up to a maximum thickness of 12cm (5” approx). It is not suitable for use with coil/natural mattresses.


The InTouch Monitor can also be purchased without the sensor pad and costs £55.00 approx.

The decision is up to the individual parents, but I came to the conclusion, that if I was placed with the same decision again, I’m not sure whether I would buy the unit with the sensor pad. Apart from pushing up the cost, I never really got the use out of mine. Unfortunately my daughter never slept that much (cheers Chloe!), and when she did, it was mostly with me, as she just wouldn’t sle
ep in her cot. As it is only recommended for use until they start moving around (6 months approximately), because then they could quite easily move off the pad (which would keep activating the alarm), it didn’t really warrant the extra cost as it only really got used a couple of times.

At the end of the day, if you want peace of mind, then this is the product for you, but for the money I think you are just as well just purchasing the monitor on its own.