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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
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    OT: Need baby monitor recommendations

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    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.
    Frends know gud humors when dey is hear it. ~ Da Crockydiles of ZZE.

  2. #2
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    Aug 2003
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    Bendemonium
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    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/pro...Number=2795DIG

    Anybody have experience with this monitor?
    Last edited by SadieKate; 09-02-2006 at 02:37 PM.
    Frends know gud humors when dey is hear it. ~ Da Crockydiles of ZZE.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Boise, Idaho
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    1,104
    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

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Ohio
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    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).
    Jennifer

    “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
    -Mahatma Gandhi

    "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."
    -Aristotle

  5. #5
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    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. I think the two pairs will be best of I can set both to the same channel/frequency.
    Frends know gud humors when dey is hear it. ~ Da Crockydiles of ZZE.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Ohio
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    Quote Originally Posted by 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. 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....)
    Jennifer

    “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
    -Mahatma Gandhi

    "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."
    -Aristotle

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    Location
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    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.
    Frends know gud humors when dey is hear it. ~ Da Crockydiles of ZZE.

  8. #8
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    Jul 2006
    Location
    Ohio
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    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....
    Jennifer

    “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
    -Mahatma Gandhi

    "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."
    -Aristotle

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    San Jose, CA
    Posts
    1,485
    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.
    fides quaerens intellectum (faith seeking understanding) - St. Anselm of Canterbury

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    325
    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.p...ms.RT.new.html

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

    Best to you.
    Quill
    Yes, SHE can.

    "Angels fly because they take themselves lightly"
    Gilbert K. Chesterton

 

 

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