One of the baby safe sleep recommendations to reduce the risk of SUDI (sudden unexpected death in infancy) is to supervise babies under 12 months when they’re sleeping – both day and night.
Of course, we can’t be watching them 24/7, so that’s when baby monitors come in. They’re useful parenting tools that allow us to check in on bub regularly when we’re not right beside them.
It’s natural for parents to worry about the safety and health of their children. The problem arises, however, when baby monitors actually increase parental anxiety levels, rather than providing them with comfort and reassurance.
Obsessively checking the monitor, day and night, and waking at every sound their baby makes or background sound the monitor detects, adds unnecessary stress, confusion, worry, and often impacts the sleep of parents who are already struggling with exhaustion.
Using baby monitors to provide peace of mind instead of added anxiety
There are countless smart baby monitors on the market, and which one you choose (and whether you decide to use one or not) is a purely personal choice. But, if you’re undecided on which monitor, or you’re not happy with your current one, here is a list of features to look for that will give you peace of mind instead of adding anxiety. Look for a smart monitor that:
- Senses everything, but only shares with you what is important to you, so you can get on with your day or get more restful sleep.
- Has the function for you to customise your baby’s comfort levels, so that it only notifies you when there are any changes in your baby’s sleep environment.
- Can separate baby noises from background sounds, such as traffic, dogs barking etc.
- Features light, temperature, and humidity sensors (so you don’t have to worry if your baby is too hot or cold).
- Has a two-way talk back feature so you can soothe them with your voice from another room.
- Blocks out startling household sounds with calming lullabies or white noise.
- Includes a safe and secure connection so that you can be rest assured that only you (and your loved ones that you share it with) can see and hear your baby.
5 more tips to reduce your anxiety when monitoring your baby
- If you’re going to be carrying the monitor with you when you move around the house, set it to only alert you when you need to be (and not every little sound).
- Move the monitor just out of arm’s reach (or give it to your partner), so that you’re not constantly checking it all night long, allowing you to get some much-needed rest.
- Turn the volume down so that you don’t feel alarmed hearing all the unusual sounds your baby makes during sleep as they move through cycles.
- Ensure that your baby’s sleep space meets all of the safe sleeping guidelines day and night.
- For complete peace of mind, the best solution is to sleep beside your baby at night (as per the Red Nose recommendations to room share for the first 6-12 months). You can hear them, physically check on them quickly, and go back to sleep. Whether you have their cot in your room or you make up a bed in their bedroom.
