OT: Need baby monitor recommendations

[SadieKate]

As many of you know, my dad isn't doing so well. Cancer has come back and we don't know whether his confusion has to do with it or TIAs over the last two years. Anyway, he's frail but still somewhat ambulatory. He has fallen in the bathroom in the middle of the night or needs a pill in the middle of the night and can't wake my mom. She's worried that he may wander since the confusion comes and goes.

I recommended she get a baby monitor which she thinks is a good idea. So, any recommendations?

I'm not sure how these things work. Can you get two pairs that can be set to the same frequency? I assume they need to be plugged in to an outlet so constantly moving with them is a pain in the patootie.

My dad will get up in the middle of the night and go out to the living room to watch TV so he tends to hang out in there and his bedroom (with an attached bath). Mom has her bedroom and a separate office. It would be good if she could listen in from either room and hear him in either of his two rooms.

Is there a better option?

Thanks for all your help, mums and caregivers alike.

[SadieKate]

From my googles, it looks like Graco's digital iMonitor gets the best review. Customer Service only has an email address so I can't find out until (maybe) Tuesday if I can buy 2 pairs and set to the same frequency.

http://www.gracobaby.com/catalog/product.aspx?modelNumber=2795DIG

Anybody have experience with this monitor?

[Kano]

I can't say for certain -- I think there are multiple monitor/single receiver units out there, BUT

I got one for my sewing room a few years ago. My machine is cool. It works by itself, and I can wander off to other parts of the house and forget about it, but then I get nothing done. So, the monitor. Anyway: my girls had no secrets when I was monitoring my machine! Didn't matter if they were in their bedrooms or the bathroom, and I could even keep an ear on the laundry room. That bugger does a lovely job of listening in on about 1600 square feet for me, all for about $25!

(some day, my son in law might figure out that they don't have to be within inches of baby to pick up baby sounds!)

Karen in Boise

[Bikingmomof3]

SK,
I am sorry to hear this about your father. I think a baby monitor is an excellent idea and I think they sell them with more than just the base and receiver (like when I bought them). It has been over 13 years since I bought a set, but the one I had was the cheapo kind and it picked up noise from many rooms (ie. the base was in the nursery nd you could hear everything in the ajoining hallway, bedroom, and bathroom).

[SadieKate]

Thanks all. I just downloaded the instructions for the digital Graco imonitor. It says you can change channels to find the least interference. I'm assuming that I could buy two pairs and set both to the same channel to give us 4 units operating on the same channel.

I can buy a version with two parental units but it only has one baby unit. In this case, the "baby" is mobile and won't remember to carry his monitor with him.:rolleyes: I think the two pairs will be best of I can set both to the same channel/frequency.

[Bikingmomof3]

Thanks all. I just downloaded the instructions for the digital Graco imonitor. It says you can change channels to find the least interference. I'm assuming that I could buy two pairs and set both to the same channel to give us 4 units operating on the same channel.

I can buy a version with two parental units but it only has one baby unit. In this case, the "baby" is mobile and won't remember to carry his monitor with him.:rolleyes: I think the two pairs will be best of I can set both to the same channel/frequency.


Unless they work differently than a decade ago, you should be able to hear from any of the units.

4 units will definately pick up any noise. :)

Edited: Just saw the price-wow times they are a changing...mine were maybe $10 and I thought that was a lot. (off I go repeating, I am not getting old....)

[SadieKate]

Those are digital units. That's why the cost. But they shouldn't pick up other neighbors conversations or transmit my parents'. Or interfere with cell phones and wireless networks, etc. This seems to be a huge problem with the old analog devices.

[Bikingmomof3]

They look like good devices and you would not want interferance. Technology was not so advanced when I had the boys. They should help give your family some peace of mind.

still muttering...I am not old....

[slinkedog]

Hey SK... I'm so sorry about your dad. My heart goes out to you and your family.

I just wanted to add that you can get video baby monitors, and I have some friends that bought them, for various reasons. They are pretty expensive, but I just thought you might be interested in the video with the possibility of him falling down.

[Quillfred]

SadieKate

Sorry to hear about your dad. I know how hard family illness can be. I hope you remember to take good care of yourself throughout.

I wanted to chime in about monitoring your dad with a baby monitor. I'll be the first to admit I'm not well versed with them but aren't they essentially just an amplification unit (at least they used to be)?

When I've worked on floors with people having dementia, we used a device called a bed monitor. They send a noise when disconnected from from the bed as in a person getting up out of bed. They can be loud and obnoxious--wait, hear me out--but maybe they have gotten more sophisticated and have volume controls. Unless the baby monitor would send an alarm signal I would be worried about sleeping through the sounds. Here are a couple of links though I am unable to recommend a particular product.

http://www.healthsafe.org/products.ps.alarms.RT.new.html

http://www.fallcare.com/productoverview.html

Best to you.
Quill