You are probably getting close to your due date and trying to get every item you need for your little one and one of the biggest most important items is a baby monitor that works great for you and what you need.
There is nothing like having peace of mind when your little one is sleeping, it is nice to know they are okay without checking on them a million times and waking them up. You can check conveniently on your monitor without looking like a crazy momma!
When you have a newborn there is always the fear of something happening to them especially if you suffer from anxiety anyway then it is so much worse, that’s why you need a good baby monitor to help you out so you check on them as much as you want!
You may enjoy reading this article on how to deal with anxiety as a mom.
What are the best baby monitors out there right now and which one will work for you?
I put together a list of baby monitors just for you of the best baby monitors for 2018 from ones with wifi to video monitors, everything you are looking for is right here. We are going to break down all of the good ones and show you what we love and don’t love so you don’t have to search all over to figure it out for yourself. Also, I will share with you the one we use and love!
This post contains affiliate links see *disclosure for details
What Are The Best Baby Monitors
I’m going to start with the audio monitors and go into the video ones after that. We actually use both in our sons’ room due to one having a night light on it and it plays the music that he loves and I can hear him if he starts crying. The video is on wifi and goes to my phone, not sure if it can alert me we actually haven’t played around with it enough to know (lol and our son is almost 3) but we can see him and talk to him through the video monitor. We have always had two monitors so we never really thought about it.
Best Audio Baby Monitors
V Tech Digital Audio Baby Monitor with High-Quality Sound-DM111
This is a super simple monitor that’s been upgraded from the old school baby monitors, it no longer has white noise that you used to hear in fact it is crystal clear.
Has a 5 level sound indicator bar so you can have it muted and still keep an eye on sound.
It takes batteries so you can change them whenever you need to unlike the one we have, it goes dead all the time and has to be plugged in constantly.
Why We Don’t Like It:
The downside to this one is that you can’t talk through the monitor to your baby, if that isn’t a problem for you then it is a great monitor!
VTech DM221 Audio Baby Monitor
This one has crystal clear sound but you can also talk through it to your baby. Comes with the 5 level sound bar so you can visually see if your baby is making noise and also has rechargeable batteries that last up to 18 hours or you can simply use AAA batteries. You can clip it to your belt and be up to 1,000 feet away and it still works!
Why We Love It:
We love it because it has rechargeable batteries, has a long range, you can talk through it to baby and the loop on the monitor doubles as a night light for your little one.
Philips Avent DECT Baby Monitor with Temperature Sensor and Night Mode, SCD570/10
This monitor guarantees 0 interference and clear sound with a range up 900 feet. You can talk to your baby, it has a night light and plays lullabies all while monitoring the temperature in the room. It has a vibration alert when on silent and also sound activated lights and comes with a docking station for the rechargeable parent unit.
Why We Love It:
This is the new version of our monitor and we love it! The only difference between ours and this one is the way it looks and the docking station they added (ours has a cord you plug into it). What I love as I said before is the night light and the lullabies as well as how closely it monitors your baby. One little squeak and it goes off lol! This has been the best audio baby monitor and we highly recommend it!
Best Baby Video Monitor for 2018
Here are the best baby video monitors that work really well and have a 4 or 5-star rating. As a parent, you may be a little leery of having your child online with a WiFi connection and I totally get that so here are safe monitors to connect your cameras to that won’t be online.
Baby Video Monitor-HD WiFi Camera
This is the monitor that we have and we love it! It has a clear picture all the time, rotates and move side to side as well with zoom in feature. Works on our WiFi and we can check in on our phones from anywhere. It has an attachment to mount to the wall or sit on a shelf. You can see in the dark up to 32 feet with infrared technology. It also can connect to other WiFi devices and you can have up to 4 cameras.
The only reason why I don’t recommend it is the fact that it turns on by itself and it seems could be hacked into easily, lately, we haven’t had ours plugged in because of this.
Infant Optics DXR-8 Video Baby Monitor
This monitor has interchangeable optical lenses so you can customize viewing angle and zoom to your liking. 3.5 inch LCD display in a little unit that has a sound activated led display just like the Babysense monitor. This monitor was featured on The Bump in February as the best video baby monitor!!
Has invisible IR night vision, alarm function, two way talking and a rechargeable battery that lasts 8 hours continually on or 12 in battery save mode.
Why We Love It:
We love it because of the customization of lenses and zooming capability as well as the battery save mode. This is a very easy monitor to use, just plug it in and go.
Motorola MBP36 Remote Wireless Video Baby Monitor
This camera tilts, pans and zooms for optimum baby viewing. Comes with a 305-inch color LCD parent monitor up to 600 feet which is less then a lot of the monitors but if you are just in your house or sitting close by it doesn’t matter as much. You can do multiple pictures in picture display and auto switch screens from camera to camera up to 4 rooms. Great monitor for all parents of kids any age.
One of my favorite things about this one is that it plays lullabies
Philips Avent SCD630 Video Monitor With FHSS
This monitor has a unique handset pairing for a private secure connection to your baby with no interference. Comes with a 3.5-inch screen so you can see your baby crystal clear at night or during the day. Comes with a temperature sensor that alerts you if it changes, has three sound level lights and a link indication light as well as vibration alert. The range is up to 900 feet which aren’t too bad.
Why We Love it:
The one thing that stands out to me with this monitor is the private secure connection and the bigger screen. To me, other monitors have this one beat when it comes to features but this one is very simple so if that is what you are looking for here it is.
Babysense Video Baby Monitor
You get a 2.4-inch High-quality color LCD Display with high definition and stable streaming, secure interference, and clear digital vision and sound. You can talk to your infant and works long range up to 900 feet. It has infrared night vision so you can see your baby at all times and also monitor the temperature in the room as well as play lullabies for your baby.
You can mount the camera on a wall or leave it on a table and it can rotate all the way around and turn side to side 60 degrees for full monitoring at all times. The parent unit has a rechargeable battery that you plug into the wall when needed.
Why We Love It:
We love it because it plays lullabies, monitors infrared light at night so you always can see your baby and you can connect up to 4 cameras as well as set alerts for feedings, medications and more. The Eco mode is the best part though, it turns the screen off until movement or sound is detected and then it turns back on.
Best Baby Monitor With WiFi
iBaby Monitor M6-s Wi-Fi Smart Digital Baby Monitor
Full HD baby monitor with crystal clear video, night vision with infrared LEDs so you can see your baby in total darkness. This has smart baby features that let you play thousands of lullabies, bedtime stories which are awesome! You can talk to your baby through it and snap pictures, and record videos. You get up to date info on temperature, humidity, and air sensors so you know what is happening at all times.
Why We Love It:
Being able to use many different lullabies and having stories read is amazing as well as having notifications about air quality and temperature. This works off your smart device so you can control what is happening from anywhere and it is all at the touch of a button. This is compatible with most smartphones so you don’t have to be just an iPhone user to have one of these!
There is a big downside however and it makes me not like it so much! You have to allow it to connect to servers in China or it won’t work, so if you are not okay with this I really wouldn’t recommend getting it. As a parent, I wouldn’t buy it!!
YI 1080p Home Camera
This is a top seller and works for multiple things like your home office, nanny camera, pet monitor and for your sweet baby. Has a 24/7 recording so you don’t miss a thing. Very clear picture and two-way audio so you can talk through it. Works on WiFi from anywhere and can send notifications to your phone. You can share the camera up to five people so your family members, grandparents, and friends can see what is happening as well. This has cloud storage from YI Cloud so you don’t risk losing any footage and you can use a micro SD card as well.
Why We Love It:
This camera has a wide angle lens so you can see the whole room! Hooks up to 4 cameras and you can view them all at the same time as well as a theft control so if it is stolen you still have your footage for added security. Has baby crying technology within seconds and sends a notification as well as motion detection so you know what is happening at all times. This has an infrared camera so you can see at night and two-way audio to talk to the baby through it.
I highly recommend this camera for your baby nursery!
Nanit Smart Baby Monitor and Wall Mount Camera
This camera mounts to the wall so you can have a top view of your sleeping baby 24/7 with live streaming, fantastic night vision and zoom for a closeup look. Easy to set up with no exposed cords and mounts to the wall wherever your baby’s crib is. This also has smart notifications and alerts you to movement, temperature, humidity, and environment changes. Unlike other cameras, this one can stream when you don’t have WiFi due to power outage due to local and cloud streaming you never miss a thing.
Why We Love It:
Love how close you can see your baby and the fact that it works when WiFi is down. The security system for this is like the hospitals so no one can hack into it and it runs without your phone being lit up all the time so you still know what is going on at all times. Easy to install and allows you to leave comments for caregivers so you all are on the same page. This also has a built-in night light which is a great added feature!
This has a five-star rating and most parents love it, the only downside I see is that you have to manually rotate the camera and some say the picture quality isn’t as good as other cameras. This would be a second choice for me when it comes to cameras!
Final Thoughts on the Best Baby Monitors
Out of all these monitors here are our recommendations for the top picks based on quality and customer reviews.
The Philips Avent DECT Baby Monitor with Temperature Sensor and Night Mode, SCD570/10
is great for a basic monitor and will work for a long time even when your little one is a toddler, plus it is a great price and super easy to use.
Philips Avent SCD630 Video Monitor With FHSS
Is a wonderful choice for a non-wifi video monitor, it does what you need it to do for a basic monitor, the only thing is that it doesn’t play lullabies but if you have something else that does that then you don’t need one that does.
We choose this one because of how secure it is and the notification alerts it sends as well as the multi-use functionality of it! Great as security and for your nursery.
Love how you can record what is happening and save it as well as if it’s stolen you still have the video from it! The only downside is that it doesn’t play lullabies but other than that, overall the best buy.
I hope you found this to be super helpful when it comes to choosing the right baby monitor for you and your baby. These are the top choices by parents and myself after reviewing all the comments on them.
Pin this post to Pinterest for reference!!!!
Hi Cheree!
So glad I stumble upon this post. Excellent review of baby monitor cameras its so helpful especially for new moms and for those wwho are planning for their baby registry list .
Keep up the good work
Hi Olivia!
I am so glad that my article helped you figure out what monitor camera to get.
It’s hard to know when you are looking at all of them what ones will work the best and not everyone has the time
to look at all of the reviews.
Thank you so much you made my day 🙂