Angels watching over them (Safety 1st Angelcare Monitor)

Member Name: wishywalshy

Product:	Safety 1st Angelcare Monitor
Date:	02/02/03 (4490 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Peace of mind, excellent clarity performance, good range

Disadvantages: Price maybe!!!!

Angelcare baby monitor by Safety 1st.
Designed to monitor your babies movements and to alarm if no movement is felt by the under mattress sensor within 20 seconds.
Crystal clear reception on 2 channels, with adjustable volume and audible pip representing movements.
Both mains and battery powered and costs around 60 pounds from reputable baby stockists and High street stores.

***Please note, these devices do not prevent cot death, they do however provide considerable reassurance to somewhat sleep deprived anxious parents***

With so many baby monitors on the market one could be forgiven for asking what the difference really is.
They all listen out for your baby, nearly all are portable and depending on what you want it to do can range in price from 20 to 140 pounds, some have digital reception and some pretty nightlights, and a select few have movement monitors.

Deciding which monitor to buy this time around was hastened by the premature arrival of my daughter.
With 4 other children at home I didn?t have the time to do my homework on the range available, as I normally would when spending anything over a tenner.

Hiding in the local classifieds was an ad for an Angelcare sound and movement monitor complete and working for twenty pounds.
Deciding that my choice was made I made arrangements to collect.
With no box or instructions the units were self explanatory.

Consisting of a two small white plastic units which, when combined sit nicely one on top the other to resemble an Angel(I guess that is where they got the name from)Both units can be mains(Both adaptors supplied) or battery powered (PP9 9volt, not supplied)and have clear easy to read markings and switches.
The top part of the combined unit is the parent part(receiver)with a nice circular aerial(Nice to hang the monitor up out of the way),in which the mains adaptor sits nice and snugly on the side.
There are two channel for maximum cla
rity of reception and for privacy(Do be warned however we have on occasion been able to pick up the signal from a neighbors alarms so they are not quite as private as I would like.)
Each unit has a small green light which is illuminated when the alarm is in use. There is also a battery low/power failure light

The child unit (Transmitter) is very easy to set up and to install.
This part of the monitor will pick up the slightest noise made by your child with crystal clear clarity.
Powered by mains/batteries this unit has the option to use with or without the sensor mat included in the package.
Fitted with an upright ?Rubber duck? type aerial the unit is unobtrusive and completely portable.

The sensor mat is about 20cmX40cm and a couple of cms thick which is large enough for the transition from crib/carrycot to cot.
Supplied with a long cable for connection to the transmitter, sensitivity can be adjusted according to your needs (or paranoia) with simple turn of a dial on the base of the unit.
This mat is incredibly sensitive and reacts at the slightest movement with a satisfying click.
If movement ceases for 20 seconds or more an alarm sounds to alert you. The alarm will not turn off until there is some movement or you physically turn it off by the switch.
There is a switch which allows the sensor monitor to be turned off and the unit to be used for sound only.

Happily settled into her carrycot with monitor attached Eden seemed oblivious to the constant unobtrusive uninvasive monitoring that she was receiving. A far cry from the previous two months.

The reassuring constant tick tick tick allowed me sleep peacefully safe in the knowledge that if anything happened I would have a least some warning.
It does not annoy me or anyone else in the house, it is more noticeable if it is not being used, I suppose it is a case of what your ears become accustomed to.
Even with the volume turned completely do
wn it is still possible to hear the tick of movement.

I constantly use the monitors and could not bear to be parted from them, so a recent trip to Sweden saw them go international.
With the use of a travel adaptor they worked absolutely fine
Then? on our way home tragedy struck, the baggage handlers were just a little too rough with the carrycot and our return the sensor pad just didn?t want to work anymore.
Obviously I had bought it secondhand and had no guarantee.

After an anxious night I decided that if I bought another Angelcare monitor system I would at least have two listening units and spare mains adaptors.
Hotfooting to town at 9am precisely I hit Index as the doors opened.
Now reduced by 10 pounds I happily took it home.

As I opened the box I noticed a few subtle changes to the previous design.
The overall parent unit looks very similar with the halo aerial, but is now a little smaller and more oval.
Instead of a single green in use light there is a series which allow you to ?see? your baby crying without listening to it.
The unit in now powered by mains or 4X1.5v AAA batteries.

The baby unit is a lovely new design. Although these new units do not fit together one on top of the other, the cloud transmitter looks much nicer than the old design.
It does very much as the old version did, but again is powered by AAA batteries instead.
The clarity seems even better than the old version although feedback is possible in a small house.

The units all work with each other, both old and new, obviously saving the need for constant moving of the adaptors and parent unit.
The range is excellent and keeps a good signal for at least 100 metres, more than adequate for the standard family size house and garden.

Eden does sometimes set her monitor off though, she has been known to have sleep apnea(Where she does stop breathing for a few seconds, common in premature babies), beli
eve me the alarm is loud enough and at the right frequency to wake you from even the deepest slumber.

I really could not live peacefully without this gadget.

This type of monitor is not designed to prevent cot death, latest information recommends babies sleep on their back with their feet at the bottom of their bed, known as feet to foot.
They should also be kept away from smoky environments.
Do not use a quilt until your baby is at least a year old.
Pillows are also a big no no until a year.
Secondhand mattresses are also believed to be dubious, if in doubt buy a new one.
Mattresses need to be turned and if covered with waterproof backing thoroughly cleaned to reduce risk from bacterial growths or mould

I would have no hesitation in recommending the Angelcare sound and movement monitor to anyone having a baby.

I can?t actually think of any disadvantages to this product, even the price is what I would call reasonable.
Advantages, yes there are several Ranging from a reassured nights sleep to great reception and from easy to use units to pretty designs; these monitors really do have it all.

Thumbs up Safety 1st.

Summary: