Does Anyone Know If the Graco Angelcare Movement Sensor Is Worth Getting?

I know this is going to sound bad, but I know a lady whose baby died of SIDS and after that she became sort of a SIDS expert. She was told that if the baby were to stop breathing, it would be too late by the time the device sensed it and you were able to get to the baby. The latest advice on SIDS is to have a fan on in their room when sleeping, so that is a good choice, too. Best of luck!

Yes it is worth it. My daughter had sleep apena and it work great. I was able to sleep at night. I even bought one for my brother-in-law for their new baby and will buy one for my sister-in-law too.

A.,
I have used the Angelcare monitor for both of my girls and I give it as a gift for all my close friends with their first babies. My first daughter was born a month early and I was scared to death that she would stop breathing so I bought the monitor. After adjusting the sensitivity I have never had a false alarm for the monitor. It has only gone off when my older daughter pinned herself so far down her crib that the monitor couldn't "find" her movement and then I was happy to come in and reposition her. The recommendation I have is to put the sensor pad on top of a thin piece of plywood/board (I used two of those Pergo-type floor boards) under the mattress. This is what the manufacturer recommended and it has worked for me. I love my Angelcare monitor and would definately recommend it. The only negative thing is the receiver monitor tends to be a bit louder than others with static.. but my monitor is 4 1/2 years old and they may have fixed this problem. I just saw these at Babies R Us two days ago and they have 2 models: $89 and $130... I would just stick with the $89 one... it works just fine.
Good Luck!!
C. O

Dear A.,

It's worth it, if it gives you peace of mind!

Congratulations on the new baby!

C.

We did get false alarms quite often, so did my BIL and his wife. Both of us were using the plywood too. Our false alarms started when our son was about 5 months old and he started liking to sleep on his side. We tried increasing the sensitivity, but then the monitor would sense movement anytime we walked by the nursery or the furnace kicked on. That being said, we are due with our second in November and we will definitely be using it again. I slept so much better knowing that if it wasn't alarming, my baby was breathing. We actually got used to the false alarms-we would get up and check on him then be back to sleep in five minutes knowing all was well.

HI A. -
I have to agree with most other responders here. We got this sensor for our daughter almost two years ago and we are planning on using it again with our baby that is due in June. We rarely got a false alarm and the recommendation to use a piece of plywood is right on - we did the same thing and it really works. I would definitely buy this monitor again and I highly recommend it. It did help me sleep a little better and at this point - that is probably worth the $90 to you!
Good luck heading back to work!

HI A.
I have two of the Angelcare movement sensors. I love them. I still us them and my kids are 4,6,9. I used it for them as a baby and was able to sleep much better. I then started using it again when my kids were toddlers. I used it when the switched from crib to toddler bed. The reason I used it at this age is because they use to get out of bed when I was sleeping. The sensor would sound because there was no movement in there bed. I would then know that they were up. I still use it on my 9 yr old. He has autism and sleepwalks at night. I feel so much better knowing that the alarm will sound 10 sec. after he gets out of bed. Our pediatrician has been telling other families with toddlers and sleep walkers to us this sensor also. I would buy it again; I have loved it from day one. And the fact that you can use it for different reasons as they get older is worth the money.
K.

I LOVED IT! We purchased ours almost seven years ago when our daughter was born, so they most likely have changed in some way since then. We had a nephew that was a victim of SIDS and this product gave me piece of mind and allowed me to sleep as peacefully as one can with a baby.

I don't know how it works with the sensor pad under the mattress. It doesn't seem possible that it can detect their little breath, but IT DOES! I nursed both of my children (they are now 6 1/2 and 4) so there were many times in the middle of the night that I would take them out of the crib to nurse, just get sat down and the alarm would sound because I forgot to turn it off.

You can also turn off the sensor detector and use it just for sound if you are traveling and don't want to take the whole system with you (again, I had purchased ours seven years ago, so might have changed). My brother now has it, so it has been working a long time.

There were maybe around three times that one of my children wiggled their way into a corner where the sensor pad didn't detect them and the alarm sounded. But I wouldn't let that deter you. All the positives largely outweigh this one negative. I would highly recommend purchasing the system. If you have more children, you will definitely get your money's worth. If you only use it for you daughter, I'm sure you could sell it at a garage sale in a year or two and get a good portion of your investment back.

A.-
I don't know about the movement sensor but I have a monitor system and on my end it picks up him rolling over - you can hear the bed creak a little and hear him moving his legs on the sheet. It picks up all the little noises he makes in his sleep too. I have to keep it on the lowest volume even tho it is on my dresser about three feet away otherwise it will keep me up hearing all his sounds. It is the same monitor system I used for his 5-yo brother. There are three parts. The monitor that goes by his bed (or in it when he did not move around so much), and two portable end-monitors. There is also a cord so that you can plug one of the portables into an outlet instead of using batteries. Anyway, this has worked great for me! Hope this helps for you -
J.

When our daughter (premie) was born we were advised by the hospital not to get one of those monitors because of the high rate of false alarms.

I used it for both my babies and it was the only way I could sleep at night. When they get older and can roll during the night they roll off of it and the alarm goes off alot but I kept using it and getting up just because that's what gave me peace of mind.

We had it with our son as an infant and I really did like the peace of mind. The first time I got to sleep for 5 hours straight I woke up in a panic that something was wrong, but then my next thought was, no the alarm didn't go off, he must be fine. We probably only had 5 times the alarm went off in about 2 years. A couple of times he was scooted to the very edge of the crib, but a couple of times we didn't know why it went off. It could be that he wasn't breathing and the alarm startled him. Also, read the directions, if you are getting a lot of false alarms you can adjust the sensitivity. I think it's really worth it.

I had it for both of my kids, and loved it! It was just great peace of mind so that I could sleep a little better when my son actually slept!

Hello A.. My son Zachariah did die of SIDS at 4 months of age, March 27, 2007. After Zachariah passing we were pregnant again and I asked my doctor about the Graco Angelcare Movement Sensor and she said to buy it. I did end up buying it and I never used it so I took it back. My reason for not using it was for the fact that I did not want to have to rely on a machine that can produce false results. I also learned in my SIDS group that your chances of SIDS happening again is the same for the first. Sorry, for the mixed advice, just do what is in your heart and always put your baby to sleep on her back.

Jenn

I have one and I used it for both of my kids every day until they turned one. I was not able to sleep sound at night when I moved my babies out of my room for fear they would stop breathing at night. Before I got one with my daughter I would wake up multiple times each night to check.
The Angelcare monitor worked great, you can see the little lights showing that my daughter was breathing even if you could not tell by peeking in the door.

The only time it went off unnecessarily was when my kids started rolling and they rolled all the way to the far end of the crib, then the movement sensor could not register that they were moving. I was happy to move my kids back into the center of the crib and go back to sleep. I felt that if my kid forgot to breathe it would startle them awake and make them take a breath to prevent SIDS.

I did everything in my power to make their cribs a safe place to sleep, no bumpers, no blankets, sleep sacks, a fan circulating air, and the Angel Care monitor. I loved it! It made me be able to sleep sound without worrying about SIDS between the nightly wake ups until they are able to sleep through the night.

A.,

I don't know anyone who has this particular sensor. I do know several people who have used the insanely expensive ones ($50,000) from the hospital because their premie frequently stopped breathing and they had to have one in order to bring the baby home. The consistent review from every parent I talked to was that there were many false alarms. It scared the heck out of the parents every time it happened.

Now this was a few years ago, so I guess it's possible that the technology improved dramatically, but I doubt it improved that dramatically. I had a friend purchase a "Doppler" kind of a device to listen to their baby's heart while she was pregnant. Again, it didn't work anywhere near as well as the expensive ones the OB has and instead of being reassured, my friend was constantly in a panic because she couldn't find her baby's heartbeat. She finally just gave it away.

I wouldn't waste my money unless you are sure that they work accurately. Otherwise, you will get even less sleep running in to your daughter's room on every false alarm. I remember how hard it was not to worry when they are so little. I just reminded myself that SIDS is rare, especially when parents follow doctor's instructions.

Good luck,
S.