Lightweight and accurate

I think this is a cleverly designed monitor that really goes out of its way to prevent false alarms and put parents’ minds at ease. There’s still some room for improvement, but it’s mostly minor. One thing that really annoyed me was that if you don’t use a specific branded Panasonic battery, it voids your warranty. While it’s a minor issue, I really don’t approve of that kind of forcing people to buy a certain brand of battery. For that reason and the other minor problems, I did remove a star.

It works really well, though placement is key. You have to make sure it’s only used when baby is still (no car seats or cribs with vibration etc) and it must be placed above the belly button. If you’re getting a false alarm, pay attention to your placement. First, the alarm will attempt to ‘stimulate’ baby into moving through vibration and if it still doesn’t detect movement or breathing, it will set off the ‘emergency’ alarm.

I don’t mind that it doesn’t text to my phone (the device is self-contained), but I do think the emergency alarm could be a lot louder. Heavy sleepers or those with big houses, could easily miss it. That being said, if you have a noise-activated baby monitor (something most paranoid parents will have), it wouldn’t be an issue at all.

The other thing that might cause a problem for some people, is that it won’t work with all clothing types. It can be clipped onto a diaper, button up romper, or used on the pants waistband, but if you have a zip up romper or a one-piece that fastens at the back, for example, it won’t be able to be used. If you know you’re planning to have a device like this, it might be worth planning baby’s pajamas around the idea that you need to clip this above the belly button.

I was impressed by how small the device was. It looks bigger than it is, in the product photos. It’s really lightweight and didn’t cause any distress. I like that it comes with two batteries, but do wish it was rechargeable, given the price point. The buttons are well designed and easy to press, yet still stiff enough that they won’t accidentally be activated.

In conjunction with a noise-activated baby monitor, I think this is a great way to give yourself peace of mind, but make sure to follow the instructions well, especially if you’re getting false readings, as I found this to be very accurate.