I never thought that buying a baby monitor would be such a hard thing to do. I thought it would be much like a phone and all you really had to pay attention to was the mhz and the range. Well, four monitors later and I finally found one I really, truly love.
The first monitor I received as a gift. It was the Angelcare monitor with the plastic piece that you put under the mattress that alerts you if your baby stops breathing.
My overall feeling on the Angelcare monitor was that I liked that it had the temperature of the room on it. Other than that, I found that the breathing sensor went off all the time no matter what sensitivity it was set on. At first the breathign alarm going off made my heart just jump, but soon it was so commonplace that it was more an irritant. Everytime I checked on my daughter she was breathing fine and sound asleep. So it did not take me long to just disconnect the breathing sensor and not even use it. I also found that the handset lost connection to the base a lot. An alarm would sound letting me know that the handset was not receiving the signal. The sound also cut in and out which was also irritating. The monitor also went through batteries like crazy. For such an expensive monitor, I thought it would have been better than it was.
I soon replaced the Angelcare monitor with a Safety 1st portable monitor.
This monitor was pretty good. For some reason though it just did not seem to last. After about three months it just would not work anymore and I was out shopping for another new monitor.
I purchased another Safety 1st monitor (Item # 49241). I cannot even find this monitor listed anywhere anymore. I think that it was old stock left on the shelf. I know why now as I got this monitor home and it only took a couple of nights before I just could not stand the hissing sound that came out of the handset. The hissing sound was disturbing my sleep and leaving me exhausted the next day even though my daughter was sleeping through the night.
So there I was again, off to buy a different baby monitor. Finally, I found a monitor I absolutely loved. If I was to suggest any monitor to anyone, I would suggest this Fisher Price monitor.
I love how crystal clear the sound is. It never looses connection with the base. The sound does not cut in and out. It is so sensitive you do not have to turn it up that loud. If I turn it up loud I can even hear my daughter’s clock ticking away and the clock is hanging on the wall across the room. I purchased the one with two handsets. It is nice to have the second handset. The handsets are also rechargeable. I would not buy a monitor unless it was rechargeable. The amount you save on batteries is unreal. I like that it has the light indicator as well as the sound. The monitor is so quiet when there is no noise that the lights let you know that it is actually on and working! This monitor also has ten channels so there is really just a slim chance of anyone else being on the same channel as you.
My tips then for your baby monitor shopping is as follows:
-Buy one that has a rechargeable handest to save money in the long run on batteries.
-Buy one that is crystal clear or the hissing sound is going to drive you crazy.
-Buy a monitor with multiple channels so if you are picking someone else up you can just switch the channel you are on.
-Buy one with two handsets. It is nice for each parent to have a handset in case you are in different parts of the house.
-Buy one with a light and sound indicator. That way if it is a quiet monitor the lights tell you it is working.
-Buy a monitor with a good range or the alarm saying it is not connected to the base will drive you crazy.
Really I would recommend the Fisher Price monitor I bought. It has a lot of what I needed in a monitor.
I hope that this helps you when you go to buy a monitor. I tried buying the inexpensive monitors at first, but in the long run it just ended up costing me way more.