The Tommee Tippee Video, Movement & Sound Monitor Review

Baby Monitors are an essential piece of equipment.

I am sure we have all given the range available to us a lot of thought before we have decided on 'the one' that we want to help us safeguard our sleeping babies. I know that I certainly did back in 2011 when I was in the market for a monitor. I took into account a number of factors and even read other peoples reviews on them. 

Did I want a video monitor? For a while yes I did, but then I talked myself out of it as I had images of just siting there watching my sleeping newborn. In the end I ended up with a movement and sound monitor but always lusted after the video monitor I let slip me by.

I was sent the Tommee Tippee Video Movement & Sound Monitor to review, and couldn't wait to make the transition from audio to video. I was intrigued to see exactly what my little guy gets up to when he is left to his own devices.

The monitor is really easy to set up and once up and running provides crystal clear sound. You can hear absolutely everything, from the moment your little munchkin decides to awaken your cosy slumber with the wails and screams for ‘Mumma’ and ‘Dada’. Or even the happy giggles when they wake up in that absolutely glowing mood.

But not only can you hear them. You can see them.

The video monitor is amazing. I am not going to beat around the bush, I really rate it. When we received the monitor we were having some trouble with Leo's sleep. I found the monitor in-valuable at this time as it let me see absolutely everything that Leo was doing. I could see Leo standing up in his cot and I could hear him screaming so i knew straight off that sleep was certainly not immanent. 

That night Leo screamed for 1 hour and 45 minutes. He stood up screaming at me for what felt like forever. I wondered if he would give in and go to sleep as we hadn't had to practice controlled crying for a very long time.  Eventually he sat down in his cot, and then lay down before he fell asleep and slept all night long.

I was going into Leo and soothing him and then retreating back to the washing up, I felt more confident knowing that I could glance at the monitor to see how he was doing. I could see the progress he was making and when he FINALLY went off to sleep, I was really proud of myself and my video monitor.

I have put together a short video that shows the monitor in use, it shows you just how great the night vision camera is and also how loud my toddler can scream when he wants to. It takes you through the motions of my night the evening he cried for 1 hour and 45 whole minutes, but don't fret it has been edited and is by no means that long! 

You will also see the talk back function as my little man tells me he wants 'more' meaning he wants his milk bottle topped up...and finally you will see the kitten jumping around in Leo's bed, solving the mystery of Leo's laughing after the lights go out.

The Tommee Tippee Digital Video Movement & Sound Monitor comes with a pad. The Pad is installed under the cot mattress and is designed to detect your baby’s movements within the cot. If there is no movement for 20 seconds an alarm is sounded to alert you to a potential problem, meaning you can get in there pronto.

I have found the sound clarity absolutely brilliant with this monitor (along with the video), I can put Leo to bed and come back downstairs to hear him chatting away to himself before he succumbs to his sleep. You can alter the sensitivity depending on what you want to hear, if you don’t want to hear absolutely everything in the room you can simply turn down how sensitive the monitor is to sound, or if you are like me and want to hear everything that is going on you can put it on the maximum setting.

I have had absolutely no problems with reception, and throughout the whole house I have full signal thanks to the 300mm range. 

When Leo wakes up from his nap it is lovely to be able to re-assure him before I get up the stairs to him. making use of the two way talk back. My old monitor didn't have this feature and it has done wonders in keeping Leo calm. We have had our up's and down's with Leo's sleep and just being able to settle him without having to physically go into his room has been super.

Admittedly we have had a few false alarms with the movement pad, it has gone off in the middle of the night and woken us all up, Leo included as the alarm sounds in the baby’s room as well as on the parent listening device. 

I can't quite fathom why it has gone off sometimes, granted Leo does move around the cot a lot and for the most part has been completely off the mat before it has sounded. On a couple of occasions though he has been right on the mat and it has gone off for seemingly no reason. I do need to have a proper look at the settings to see what is going wrong here.

That said though, I would much rather have a false alarm than the alternative, and it is safe to say that when the alarm does go off, it WILL wake you up and get you in there. Each time it has gone off I have been up and out of bed before I have even opened my eyes.

Another time you will hear the alarm is if you neglect to turn the monitor off before you pick baby up out of the cot, you do soon learn to switch it off before you take him out, after you have been caught jumping out of your skin once or twice when you have forgotten to do so.

We have actually taken the mat off Leo's cot now that he is two whole years old, but I think it is a great idea and something that definitely provided me with the reassurance I needed in those early months. If and when I do have another baby I will certainly be re-using this.

The nursery unit has a night light which omits a calming glow into the room, it doesn't shed much light but is enough for you too see the monitor and not disturb the sleeping child. The nursery unit gauges the temperature in the room and displays it on the parenting device unit. I have found this feature really helpful in keeping Leo the right temperature. I always worry whether he is too hot or too cold, so it is nice to be able to glance at the unit and know for sure.

I have found this bit of kit really easy to work and fit into our lifestyle, besides the false alarms we experienced I think the monitor is really great. I will never be able to go back to a audio monitor again as I have found it so incredibly useful. I love being able to keep an eye on Leo when I physically can't be in the room with him.

I do highly recommend this baby monitor and you can currently pick it up for £126.00 on Amazon at the point of writing this review. 

Disclaimer: I was sent the Tommee Tippee Digital Video, Movement & Sound Monitor for the purpose of this review. All views and opinions expressed are my own and have come from my personal experience with this product.

Now That You Are 2...

Now you are two you seem so much bigger.

Surprising me each day with new words that you hear.

Just today you said 'Yes please' for the very first time,

right after I said it to the lady in the post office.

I had to double take to make sure I had heard you correctly, 

but you said it clear as day. 

Even the post office lady agreed.

You still need at least one nap a day,

and on some days we can still squeeze in a morning nap 

as well as one in the afternoon.

On days like today where we don't fit in any, 

you become the grumpiest toddler in the world.

You demand milk and blankie and refuse to eat your dinner. 

Your latest party trick is headbutting objects, 

tables, chairs or whatever you think may grab my attention.

You will soon work out beautiful boy that this will continue to hurt your head,

but that blank look I give you when I do glance over will not be the attention you crave.

Since you turned two your temper tantrums have indeed been spiking on the terrible two richter scale,

but through the head banging, the tears and the ear piercing shrieks, I will always stand you back up on your own two feet again.

Now you are two you are telling me more so what you want, and exactly what you do not want.

We seem to cross wires when you tell me you want Macca Pacca and really want Mike the Knight. 

You are biting holes in your milk bottle teats again... 

Then complaining that the milk isn't flowing as you would like.

Little man we really wont be buying any new teats now that you are two...

My advice is stop chewing them as once they are gone...They really are gone this time.

You are experiencing your first proper summer, 

getting the chance to play in the paddling pool and relax under the sizzling sun.

You are discovering ice lollies and water slides, 

and hating when Mummy slathers you in sun cream. 

Each new day is a new adventure, and you were so excited when Tigger joined you outside for the very first time today.

Tigger chased you, you chased Tigger.

in and out of your pop up play house, 

around the garden until Tig disappeared into the confinement of the bush.

Since you turned two you have tuned in more to the way your body works,

if your enjoying some nappy free time you tell me when you need a wee.

You say 'Mumma' and look down between your legs, 

and I ask you pronto if you need a nappy on, 

because I know you will refuse the potty or accidently pee on the floor.

You tell me 'Yes' that you do need a nappy, and then lie down on the floor

as good as gold for me to put it on.

The next step is trying to convice you about the potty, 

but you are doing so well with knowing when you need to go.

One small step at a time...

Since you turned two Leo you have taken to calling out the anatomy of Mummy.

Just the other day in the middle of a supermarket you grabbed my top and shouted at the top 

of your voice 'BALLS'.

I have to thank you very much for going around the supermarket 

grabbing handfulls of 'BALLS'.

I am sure you made the day of the other shoppers!

A Boy's Best Friend

We are just over a month in since Tigger, our Bengal Kitten moved in.

We have had 5 weeks together, getting to know each other. 

All the while we have been keeping a watchful eye on the toddler...

and the kitten.

Trying to work out how they will get along, 

how they will behave towards one another.

Leo spent the first couple of weeks completely over the moon excited, 

excited that a CAT was living in his home.

The excitement was expressed in many ways, chasing poor Tigger around as he darted here and there, playing with the kitten toys as Tig's jumped high into the air, and then there's even the excitement on Tigger's behalf as he chased Leo around the house.

One thing has become immediately apparent in these 5 weeks,

and that is that both Leo and Tigger are BIG TROUBLE.

Tigger follows Leo around like a shadow, getting involved with all of Leo's games. 

Leo follows Tigger around and try's to crawl along the back of the sofa, climb onto his wooden play kitchen and even climb up the cat tree!

These two are going to be the very best of friends.

I put Leo to bed the other evening, tucked him in just like I always do. 

I then retreated downstairs with the baby monitor and began to do the evening chores.

Then... I heard laughter. Leo's laughter coming through the baby monitor, 

not the sounds of a sleeping baby that's for sure.

I wondered what on earth could be so funny?

Then I saw the answer to my question in the form of a pair of glowing eyes, 

gleaming at me on the infrared camera. 

Cat's eyes.

Tigger had managed to jump into Leo's cot and thus caused all of the infectious chuckles. 

He was jumping all around just making Leo chuckle that little bit more.

I worried that Leo may get scratched and thought I should retrieve him quickly.

But I stood there watching the baby monitor.

Eventually I retrieved him, Leo was so excited about the kitten's adventure in his room.

There had been no accidental scratches in all of the excitement. 

In fact Tigger seems to be incredible with Leo for the most part, 

it's just me and Luke that get the excited scratches.

In 5 weeks we have had one accidental scratch, and Leo didn't even cry.

He did however get his very first plaster as the scratch fell right where his sandals do up.

It hasn't all been plain sailing though. 

There have been moments that Leo has lost his temper and lashed out,

sometimes raising his foot as if he intended to kick poor Tig.

In each instance he has been told in no uncertain terms that it wasn't acceptable behavior.

I needn't have worried though, Tigger soon showed Leo how he wouldn't tolerate it.

Tigger wrapped himself around Leo's leg and showed him with his pointy teeth and needle type claws, exactly why you shouldn't take your temper out on a cat.

Of course Leo let out a little squeal and demanded his 'Mumma' be by his side. 

Tigger did it in such a way that there was no scratch, no awchie to kiss better. But it certainly left Leo with a lesson learned at the end of it.

For the most part Leo and Tigger get along like a house on fire. 

They follow each other's lead.

Leo pretends he is a kitten, and crawls around on the floor.

Leo laughs as Tig eats a fly and chases a spider, he laughs when his not so little kitten mis-judges a jump and takes a little tumble.

Leo has perfected his 'meow' so that he can join in the vocal sing song.

And most importantly he is enjoying the experience of having a family pet. 

He is bonding and learning how to behave with an animal. 

He is learning to love his furry friend and I can see them being the very best of friends as they continue their mischievous ways, together.

Confused By Car Seats?

Confused by car seats?  Mark Bennett, car seat safety expert from BRITAX explains the new regulation called ‘i-Size’ that all parents should know about.

To put simply, i-Size is a new regulation for child car seats that will make it easier for parents to choose and install the right seat, making travelling safer for children.

One of the most significant changes parents need to be aware of, is how long a child should remain in a rearward facing car seat.  Under existing laws, parents could switch their baby from their rearward facing Group 0/0+ seat into a forward facing Group 1 seat when they reached 9kg or approximately nine months.

The new i-Size regulation means parents will have to keep their baby rearward facing until they are at least 15 months old and the move will be based on the size and age of the child rather than weight.  The new length and age classification will help make it easier for parents to check that their child is ready to be moved to the next stage car seat.

The new regulation is also about the reinforcement of ISOFIX seats use, which are easier to fit correctly and safely than those secured with the car seat belt.  Only a third of belted seats are fitted correctly which can have serious implications in the event of a crash*.   Side impact collisions are one of the most severe types of collisions on the roads** and for car seats to adhere to the new regulations they must pass the newly introduced side impact safety standards.

Why is this regulation coming into force?

Well there are a number of reasons, but in a nutshell, parents are too keen to move their babies forward facing on the premise they believe their child will be happier facing forwards rather than waiting until they have actually outgrown the seat.  Parents are also unaware babies are much safer rearward facing in the event of a collision.

Below 13kg a baby’s neck is not yet that strong and keeping your baby rearward facing for as long as possible (up to at least 15 months) will help protect their vulnerable neck in a frontal crash situation.

So much research evidence has built up on this from crash testing that the EU has introduced this new regulation to keep babies rearward facing until 15 months. BRITAX has accompanied and strongly supported the development of i-Size right from the very beginning.

So how does it affect you? 

As soon as i-Size approved car seats are on the market parents will be able to choose between a seat that abides by the older ECE R44/04 regulation or i-Size. The current ECE R44/04 regulation is not replaced by i-Size, and instead will continue in tandem until 2018. The introduction of i-Size simply means that consumers now have an extra option when buying a car seat for their baby/toddler.

When should you change to forward facing?

Here are some guidelines on switching:

Don't do it just because your baby's feet are pushed against the car's back seat.

Wait until your baby is closer to, or ideally at, the maximum age (15 months) for her rearward facing seat than the minimum weight (9kg) for the front facing seat.

BUT do move them if their head is protruding over the top of the Group 0/0+ seat. If they outgrow the seat in height but have not reached the minimum weight for a Group 1 seat, you should then invest in a combination Group 0+ & 1 seat. That is simply the safest option.

You can already consider purchasing a combination Group 0+ & 1 seat as your baby’s first car seat from birth. DUALFIX and MAX-FIX from BRITAX will allow your child to travel rearward facing until they reach 18kg.

What is the current law when it comes to car seat safety?

The law requires all children to travel in an appropriate child restraint until they reach 135 cm tall or their 12th birthday (UK, NL, DEN) or 150 cm tall or their 12th birthday (GER, AU, CH, IT, CZ) – whichever comes first. It is the driver's responsibility to ensure this is the case.

Under the existing laws, parents could switch their baby from their rearward facing Group 0&0+ seat into a forward facing one when they reach 9kg (around nine months old).

Now the new regulations, called ‘i-Size’, have come into force mid-July 2013, parents that purchase a child car seat approved under i-Size will have to keep their baby in a rearward facing seat until they are 15 months.

There will be no change to the overall law about child seats being compulsory to the age of 12 or 135 cm/150 cm tall.

*Farid Bendjellal, 6^th International Conference on Protection of Children in Cars – Munich 2008

**Casimir “Child Car Passenger Fatalities – European Figures and In-Depth Study”; Alan Kirk; Loughborough University, UK; Conference:  Protection of children in cars, Muncih, 2011

Disclaimer: I have been able to bring you this information as a Britax Mumbassador. It is part of my role to share exciting brand news with you all, and I have not received payment for doing so.

This Sunny Weekend We...

Summer has finally descended upon us. 

I write this post with a lovely shade of red upon my shoulders. The lobster look that tells me I probably shouldn't have started pulling weeds from the garden this weekend.

Leo has spent each day in and out of the paddling pool, watering the garden with his watering can and eating ice lolly after ice lolly (or Oio Oio Oio as he has been calling them).

He has been known to peep through the hole in the fence to spy on the neighbours kids as they have played out in the garden. Leo has stood and listened to every word they have said and then in typical parrot style, repeated word for word back to them. 

We accidentally discovered how fast the slide can be when you are soaking wet, and enjoyed it so much that we just had to do it all again! 

We have bought our first pair of sun glasses and actually enjoyed wearing them. 

We have had our first little cat scratch that required Leo's very first ever plaster to be applied just so that it didn't rub against his sandals.

We have ridden on our balance bike and taken in the glorious sunshine... and then of course retreated back to the paddling pool!

This weekend we even ventured to the Forest of Dean with Leo's Granddad for a whole new adventure. We hired bikes and a child cart and took off into the great un-known. All be it with a less than happy 2 year old who was not sold on the whole cart aspect, but less than 5 minutes in the crying was replaced with giggles from the bumpety bumps. With that said...I could have done with sitting in the cart on the way back...

Today on the hottest day of the year, I had the only child in the world who still wanted to snuggled up with his blankie. Leo was sweltered and even when he fell asleep in the car and I took blankie off of him, the little terror awoke and pulled it back over him! 

I can think of no worse comforter at this time of year then a cot duvet...

This entire weekend has been dedicated to the great outdoors. We have marveled at the sun as it has been a rather long time since we last saw one another. 

Sunshine, please stick around.

We have much more planned for you yet!

Mortgage affordability, is it something young parents should think about?

I know this is a subject that have I have given a lot of thought even before becoming a parent, being able to put a roof over my families head and provide that same kind of financial stability that I have always had. 

Lets face it, in this economic climate many of us don't have the odd £20,000 hidden down the sides of the sofa (unless they will accept payment in cheerios, we have lots of those down there thanks to the toddler) which of course immediately puts a big hurdle in your path on the deposit front. 

We have sought out advice from every corner, we have learnt so much about the different mortgages available to us and explored every avenue in our quest to get on the property ladder. I have to say that the advice we have been given has explained exactly what is involved with a mortgage, which for me was in-valuable as before I didn't have a clue between fixed rate and variable.

Luke and I spent a lot of time gathering mortgage quotes and in order to get the ball rolling we needed to find £20,000 to put down on the table. To us this is a lot of money, money that we quite simply don't have. I am sure I am one of many people in this day and age who can quite simply say they cannot afford to buy, and realistically renting is our only option right now. 

The mortgage we qualified for back when we were enquiring was in the region of £130,000, which in our area wouldn't actually buy us much. We would be looking at a 2 bedroom house with not a whole lot of room in any which way about it. 

It is really easy to get an idea of a ball park figure you may be looking at on a mortgage. I have found the Halifax mortgage calculator is really useful to get an idea into how much you may be looking in terms of repayments each month. You can input certain details that will tell you how much they may be able to lend you.

There is so much information available to call upon and guide you through the process of being first time buyers, but until you have the deposit money firmly in your pocket actually getting a mortgage behind you can seem like a million miles away.

I think this is a subject that all first time buyers do give a lot of thought, and I certainly think it is something that we should all be thinking about to some extent. Dreams for the future and making dreams a reality, carving the way for our little ones and making a family home that is ours are all things that I want for my family.

So for now we are renting, but one day we will have our very own home.

Success is not a destination, it's a journey

On July 25th 2013 I will have been back at work an entire year.

This year has seen me grown in un-expected ways, it has highlighted dreams I didn't know I had and made me realise that I don't want to stay in my current place of work.

There are so many reasons that have brought me to this frame of mind...

Office Trolls..

Change..

Growing up....

The realisation that I couldn't just wander back into my working shoes after a maternity leave of 13 months. 

How I was actually disposable and wasn't in as such high demand as I had once thought... My oh my how I came tumbling down off that pedestal I had placed myself upon.

Working life as I knew it was far behind me. Changed forever.

So you can imagine my surprise when I head into the office after a long weekend to find that I need to fill out an internal company profile. A profile similar to LinkedIn that can be viewed by the entire organisation worldwide. 

A profile that wants me to share my hopes for the future, my aspirations for the next couple of years...

Of course I sat there stumped.

Stumped because I have so much that I want to achieve in the next two years. Stumped because I could never write it down on my internal work profile....Stumped because it would mean telling them that I want to leave. How I want to leave sooner rather than later. 

I want to make big changes in my life and carve a career that I can be proud of. 

I don't want to stay put in my 'comfortable rut' just because it is the easy option.  

In the next 2 years I want to have resigned, gathered up enough work experience to re-write my entire CV, and I want to be in a new job pushing myself forward so that I can succeed. I want to have to have taken the chance on that fork in the road and see where that yellow brick road will carry me. 

After all if I don't put myself out there now, I never will.

Success is not a destination, it's a journey and I am more than ready to grab life with both hands.