How To Buy The Best Baby Monitor?

Congratulations on your newborn!

Taking care of your baby 24/7 can be daunting at times however with the help of technology, things get much better these days. Gadgets like baby monitors allow you to keep an eye (or ear) on your baby, while allowing you to continue with other aspects of your life.

Baby’s Natural Sleep Cycle 

Babies often wake up temporarily during a sleep episode as part of their natural sleep cycle. Sometimes they may cry or make some sound for a few seconds before drifting back to sleep. As parents, as much as you love your baby, you wouldn’t want to be checking on your baby every so often when there really isn’t a need for any intervention.

Invest in a baby monitor 

Nowadays, many parents invest in a baby monitor that suits their needs and budget to give them a peace of mind knowing that their baby is sleeping soundly. There are a wide myriad of baby monitors available – knowing how to buy a baby monitor that fits your needs and budget will definitely help give you that extra sleep & smile on your face!

Where do I begin?

In this article, we’d like to take you through 3 main considerations to help you select the monitor that best suit your needs.
 
These 3 considerations are:
1. Types of monitors
2. Primary capabilities of monitors
3. Features of monitors

3 Main Types of Baby Monitors

First of all, there are 3 main types of baby monitors to consider depending on what how you would like to hear and/or see your baby.

1. Audio baby monitors – only voice function
2. Video baby monitors – voice and vision function
3. Sensor monitors – voice and sensors function to detect your baby’s movements, heart rate, oxygen level, body temperature, or position. (it can also include vision function)

1. Audio baby monitors. This used to be the most common type of baby monitors however as the prices of video monitors go down, more parents prefer to be able to see their babies as well. Audio monitors work by placing a transmitter unit in the baby’s room while parents/caregivers hold onto a receiver unit to hear the baby’s sound.

2. Video baby monitors. This is the most preferred type of baby monitor by most parents. It works by placing a transmitter unit that comes with a camera function in the baby’s room and connecting that with a receiver unit that has a small screen to allow you to watch and hear your baby.

3. Sensor monitors. This is the newest type of baby monitors which come with a sensor mat to rest your baby on. This high technology mat detects your baby’s movement, heart rate, body temperature or even oxygen level and transmit these information to the receiver unit. For an instance, if the baby does not move for a certain duration of time, an alarm will sound to alert the parents to check in on the baby. 

Sensor Baby Monitor

4 Primary Capabilities of Baby Monitors

​Second of all, you’ll then need to consider what primary capabilities of the baby monitor you would like to have.

Primary capabilities refers to:
1. Range of the monitor
2. Wi-Fi & online connectivity 
3. Number of transmitter and/or receiver units
4. Ability to filter background noise
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1. Range of the monitor. ​

​This refers to how far away a receiver can be from the transmitter unit before it loses signal. Typically, the range information provided by most manufacturers refers to an “open field” range. This means that the monitors are tested for their ability to receive signal where there are no obstructions between the transmitter and the receiver unit.

But, the range that should really matter to you should be the distance between where you’ll be placing your transmitter unit and where you’ll be bringing the receiver unit in the house. On top of this, you will also have to consider the fact that walls is an obstruction to the signal transmission.

Each home is different and has its own floor plan to consider. The majority of monitors work up to 90 feet and up to 5 walls thick, which works for most homes. Video monitors tend to have shorter range than audio monitors so it is very important to focus on “indoor range” when purchasing baby monitors. Another way is purchase a unit from a retailer that allows you to return for a full refund if the unit doesn’t work so that you get to test your chosen monitor in your own house.
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2. Wi-Fi capability of the monitor. 

​Do you wish to be able to access your baby’s audio, video and/or sensor information even when you’re not in the house? Do you wish to send your baby’s monitor information to your parent’s or in-law’s too? If this connectivity feature is a must for you, then you’ll need to purchase a baby monitor that allows you to connect to the internet. The transmitter unit will record and upload the information online so that you can keep track of your baby’s movement without having to hold onto the receiver unit. The information can be sent directly to your mobile phone and you get to access the information from an application. However, do note that the upload speed relies heavily on your internet speed and this may result in a delay in transmission at times.

Photo credit: Summer infant baby monitor

3. Number of transmitters and receiver units.

​There are a few ways to consider this factor:

1. Do you have more than 1 location in the house that you’ll be letting your baby sleep in? If yes, then you probably may need more than 1 transmitter unit unless you want to be moving the transmitter unit from room to room.

2. Do you have a pair of twins (or more babies) and you would like to have more than 1 transmitter unit in the room to monitor them?

3. Do you have more than 1 primary caregiver for your baby and you’d like them to have access to your baby monitor’s information at the same time? If the answer is yes, then you probably may need more than 1 receiver unit.

If you have a baby monitor that has Wi-Fi capabilities, you will allow multiple people to have access to the monitor’s information without having to hold onto the receiver unit. However, do note that there may be a lapse in transmission due to internet speed and this may not be the best way to check in with your baby in real-time.

Most baby monitors have additional transmitters or receiver units that you can purchase so you can always top up on the number of units you need in the latter stage. Having said that, it is always better to be clear if this capability is important to you before you finally decide which brand or model to buy.

4. Ability to filter background noise. 

​The ability of your monitor to filter background noise cannot be over-stated. Tuning out background noise not only allow you to accurately monitor your baby’s needs without any false alarm, it can also reduce static interferences which may otherwise interrupt your sleep at night. The best baby monitors are tuned specifically to sound frequencies of a crying baby and would not produce any hissing sound that is caused by interference. 

You can check the manufacturer’s specifications to see if the monitor has this ability to filter background noise. Different brands uses different terms to describe this feature such as: background noise filter, microphone sensitivity, sound activated, voice activated or sound sensitivity. They all refer to the same thing.

Some monitors are equipped to operate this feature from the receiver unit so that you can check if the monitor is working properly by turning off this sound filter briefly and turning it back on before you go back to sleep. There are also some brands that allow you to adjust the monitor volume so that you can turn up the volume when required. The ability of your monitor to filter background noise cannot be over-stated. Tuning out background noise not only allow you to accurately monitor your baby’s needs without any false alarm, it can also reduce static interferences which may otherwise interrupt your sleep at night. The best baby monitors are tuned specifically to sound frequencies of a crying baby and would not produce any hissing sound that is caused by interference. 

You can check the manufacturer’s specifications to see if the monitor has this ability to filter background noise. Different brands uses different terms to describe this feature such as: background noise filter, microphone sensitivity, sound activated, voice activated or sound sensitivity. They all refer to the same thing.

Some monitors are equipped to operate this feature from the receiver unit so that you can check if the monitor is working properly by turning off this sound filter briefly and turning it back on before you go back to sleep. There are also some brands that allow you to adjust the monitor volume so that you can turn up the volume when required.

Photo credit: mulan @ Flickr

5 features of baby monitors

Once you’ve considered the type of monitors you’d like to have and thought through the 4 primary capabilities as above, you can start to evaluate the different features that would suit your needs and budget.

Overall there are about 5 different features to consider:
1. Night vision feature
2. “Talk back” feature
3. Sound activated light feature
4. Room temperature monitor feature
5. Battery life & alert feature

1. Night vision. By using infrared technology, monitors with video capability can continue to record your baby in darkness. Most video monitors would be equipped with night vision feature however, always remember that not all night vision function are made equal! Some monitors have such blurry night vision images which render it useless when you need to see what your baby is doing in the middle of the night. Often, you end up going to the baby’s room to check on your baby instead! When choosing a baby monitor, invest in a brand that offers high quality night vision images. This will definitely save you a lot of frustrations at night!

Samsung SEW 3035W BabyVIEW Baby Monitoring System
IR Night Vision Zoom 3.5inch

2. “Talk back” feature. We call this a separation anxiety saver feature. Most new mothers will have separation anxiety when they are away from their baby. Even for a few seconds. The ability to not only see and hear your baby when you are not next to him/her, but also be able to talk back, to sing him/her a lullaby or to tell a story is something that can help reduce some of this separation anxiety.

3. Sound activated light feature. Sometimes parents/caregivers may get distracted while vacuuming, cooking or working at the computer to miss faint sounds on the baby monitor. To ensure enough attention is given, many manufacturers include a sound-activated light feature that will give a flash when it detects noise. This helps to grab attention from the task at hand to glance at the monitor and know that something is going on.

4. Room temperature monitor. This feature may seem trivial to some, however some babies are very sensitive to room temperature changes. If you are particularly worried about your baby overheating, or if you are concerned that your baby may catch a cold, then monitoring the room temperature will gives you an ease of mind. Some brands of monitors will merely display the room termperature reading on your screen, while some brands will alert you when the temperature gets too hot or cold.

5. Battery life and alert feature. The most convenient thing about baby monitors is that this gadget allows you to monitor your baby without being in the same location as your baby. This means that you need to rely on a receiver unit wherever you go and trust that it is operating all the time. Therefore, it is very important to get monitors that comes with rechargeable battery with good enough battery life of over 7 hours or more. Some monitors are only compatible with AA batteries and we recommend you to stay away from them due to the inconvenience of replacing the batteries.

In addition to battery life, it may be worthwhile to consider monitors that will alert you if the battery is running low. This may seem like a common-sense feature however, you’ll be surprised to know that some brands do not have this feature and you’ll be very sorry to learn that the battery on your receiver unit has run out.

Conclusion
We hope that the above 3 main considerations will give you a clearer picture of the types & features of baby monitors that you’ll need. After you are aware of your requirements, the next step is to look for products that will suit your needs and balance that with your budget. No matter what type of monitor you are looking for, there are many options available at different prices and quality which will satisfy your needs.

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