Before the birth of my second son I set out to buy a new baby monitor. While browsing the store I came across the Angelcare Movement Sensor by BebeSounds. This monitor was the best money I have ever spent on a baby product.It has provided me with a peace-of-mind I never had with my first son. The monitor has both a movement and sound senor which are designed to detect your baby’s slightest movements, even those made from simple inhaling and exhaling. The best feature of the Angelcare Movement Sensor is that if does not detect any movement for twenty seconds, an alarm will sound. I actually tested this feature out because I was skeptical on how the monitor could detect anything through the baby’s thick mattress. The monitor passed every test. It really can detect the slightest movement even through the mattress, but is not overly sensitive to detect non-baby movements. And there is also a sensitivity setting so you can adjust to your homes conditions (wood floors feel more vibration = lower setting, carpet detects less vibration = higher setting). You really should test this out before putting a leap of faith into the monitor, but once you do I can promise you it really does help you sleep a little sounder at night.

The Angelcare Movement Sensor comes in three parts (motion sensor pad, nursery and parent unit) and is extremely easy to install. There are three settings on the nursery Unit. One setting is for sound only. Another setting is for sound and movement and features a “tic” sound every time baby moves (I passed on this option because my son was a light sleeper). The third setting is for sound and movement without the “tic” sound. This is the setting I use. I have experienced a few false alarms at night and let me tell you, I have never jumped higher or run faster in my life. But it only happens when the little guy scoots himself to the top of the crib and the senor did not pick up his movement/breathing.

Note: this is not a medical device nor can the Angelcare Movement Monitor prevent SIDS. For more information, please visit AngelCare.

This review has been written by our first guest writer: Kimmylyn - you can find her at Jogging in Circles.

Popularity: 5% [?]

I have some dangerous tables in my house which I purchased before I even thought about having children. The coffee table and end tables in my living room are wrought iron and granite with square edges. I needed a relatively stylish way to baby proof these tables all the way around and not just on the corners, so I ordered three black Toddler Shields, one for each of my tables. The black color does a good job of blending in with the furniture in the room. They are super easy to clean - you basically just wipe them with a rag. They come with extra foam padding which you can place in the corners too. I believe the Toddler Shield has done a wonderful job of protecting my children from sharp corners and edges.

The Toddler Shield comes in two colors: cream and black; and in three sizes: S(60-140″), M(141-192″), and L(193-270″). It fits all shapes of tables from square to oval or round. The material is non-toxic and flame retardant. You can purchase the Toddler Shield online at many of the baby safety stores, or you can purchase them through Amazon.

Popularity: 2% [?]

I recently went to my local grocery store after they remodeled the whole place, changing around where everything was located. I was so upset when I looked for my Hyland’s Teething Tablets and they were no longer on the shelf in the baby aisle where they used to be. Why the dissappointment? Well, Hyland’s Teething Tablets have been one of the most effective remedies in my household for relieving teething related crabbiness. And currently my 9 month old is in the throes of teething crabbies right now, which is why I ended up scouring the grocery store for another half an hour, before I finally found them in the pharmacy aisle.

Hyland’s Teething Tablets are a homeopathic remedy for the temporary relief of symptoms of simple restlessness and wakeful irritability due to cutting teeth. The tablets dissolve almost instantly when placed under the tongue. The Hyland’s Teething remedy is also available in a gel version which you just rub on your little ones gums. I’ll be honest - I don’t pretend to know how they work, all I know is that I have a happier little guy after giving these to him. I usually give these to my little one right before it is time to take a nap or bedtime, and they seem to help calm him down (i.e. he stops crying and is able to settle to sleep much better).

Hyland’s makes many different homeopathic remedies for babies’ ailments, ranging from colic to bedwetting. For more information about Hyland’s Teething Tablets or any of their other homeopathic remedies, please visit Hylands.com.

Popularity: 2% [?]

My 2 year old recently got over quite a bad illness where his temperature was soaring above 104. My husband and I had to monitor our son’s temperature constantly because he has a history of febrile seizures - about every four hours we would have to take my sons temperature. Worst of all, this bug lasted well over 2 weeks and my youngest son caught it as well! We were lucky enough to have bought the Exergen Temporal Artery Thermometer a few months ago to have on hand. Our children would never be able to sit still enough for either a rectal or underarm reading, so with all the many temperature readings we went through just recently, it was nice to be able to non-invasively and quickly read our children’s temperatures.

The Exergen Temporal Artery Thermometer uses infrared technology to allow you to sweep the thermometer gently across the forehead and get a very accurate temperature reading in less than a few seconds. It’s also extremely quiet, letting off very soft “beeps”, so typically it won’t wake your child up when using it while he or she is sleeping. It takes a few tries to get the hang of how to use the thermometer accurately, but once you do it becomes the easiest and quickest way to measure your child’s temperature day or night.  Also, because the Temporal Artery Thermometer is used externally it is sanitary, reduces the spread of germs, and is easy to clean.

For more information about the Exergen Temporal Artery Thermometer, please visit the Exergen Website.

Popularity: 5% [?]

There are times when you wish you could see what is going on with your little one when they are in bed without wanting to disturb them. For example, the past few days my son has been sick, and we have the Summer Infant Video Monitor setup in his bedroom overlooking his bed. I was able to comfortably and discretely watch my son while he slept without coming into the room and waking him. It was a relief to see him sleeping soundly. I have been using this monitor ever since he was born. It has given me peace of mind to be able to “see” instead of just hear what was going on in his crib or bed.

The Summer Infant Video Monitor has a nighttime function that automatically kicks in whenever the room gets dark. A small LED light gives off enough light that you can clearly see your child in the darkened room. The 5 inch display is sufficiently large that you can see a lot of detail. There is a sound function so that you can also listen to what is going on, and the screen has a convenient on/off function where you can turn the video off yet still have the sound portion of the monitor off. This way you don’t have to sleep with a bright screen staring you in the face at night.

Overall, the Summer Infant Video Monitor is a great item to have if you want to monitor your child day or night,and have the peace of mind being able to see them and know what they are doing. For more information on this and other video monitors by Summer Infant, including the dual camera and portable screen monitors, please visit Summer Infant’s Website.

Popularity: 3% [?]