When Poppy was first born, I used to stare at her for hours as she lay in the white Moses basket next to me. She looked so tiny and perfect. She was a good sleeper. She was up every three to four hours, but would soon drift off after her milk. Thanks to our trusty Tommee Tippee Prep Machine, it only took a few minutes to prepare a bottle so our nights were relatively stress-free. However, even when she slept I was on high alert. She was so still when she slept, plus she’d make this gagging sound every few minutes like she couldn’t breathe. Even though my midwife explained that she was just a bit mucusy, I was constantly freaked me out by the gargling noise because it sounded like she was struggling for breath. My husband is a really deep sleeper so it didn’t affect him, but I was constantly checking that her little chest was raising or poking her to make her wiggle. Thankfully, I was sent the Snuza HeroMD*; a medically certified portable baby breathing monitor.
This tiny gadget is a great investment if, like me, your baby’s irregular breathing patterns keep you awake at night. The device simply clips on to your babies nappy and alerts you if their breathing rate is 8 per minute or less. It also vibrates after 15 seconds after breathing stops and lets out a high pitched alarm 20 seconds after breathing stops. It’s relatively easy to set up as the instruction guide outlines the steps very clearly. If you have a tendency to lose the instructions (like I certainly have) you can download the manual, which is available in several languages here.
I used this device during Poppy’s first three months. There’s no clear evidence to suggest devices like this help prevent SIDS but it never seemed to cause her any discomfort and it gave me the peace of mind I needed. Let’s face it, a new parent needs all the beauty sleep they can get and when I’m stressed, she’s usually stressed too. We’ve had a few false alarms that have scared the life out of me, however, these were my fault as I either positioned it incorrectly or knocked it off during a feed. This gadget is by no means a necessity but it will help give a new parent, that suffers from anxiety, the reassurance they need to enjoy the first few months with their baby without constantly panicking throughout the night. It’s also worth noting that because the Snuza HeroMD picks up external movements it’s not suitable for co-sleeping, bedsharing or when the baby is in motion i.e. in a car or buggy.
The Snuza HeroMD is currently available at Amazon and currently retails for £72.99.
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