After that first drive from the hospital to the home, the next worrisome feeling is probably leaving your little one in bed—far from you.
But you really do not need to worry because there is an easy and affordable solution to make your parenthood life easier. Consider using a baby monitor for your little burrito!
But what exactly is this? And how to buy a baby monitor?
This is a smart device that comes with so many functions and configurations that enable you to keep a check on your little one’s actions.
They may fall to sleep in a posture that is not good for their health.
Usually, parents had to frequently sneak into the baby’s room just to make sure that they are fine and normally breathing. However, this kind of baby watching results in the waking up of the baby due to frequent movements around him.
Furthermore, if you are dealing with a crying baby, you can imagine how valuable those quiet, sleepy minutes are for you and, of course, for your little sweetheart.
The need to watch over the baby, however, still remains. The baby monitor gives you peace of mind when you are concerned about their safety that they will fall off the crib and get themselves hurt, especially when you are not around because it is impossible to keep an eye on them round the clock.
Table of Contents
What is a Baby Monitor?
Baby monitors are the tools that allow you to check up on your sleeping baby without producing any noise around him.
From audiovisual to wearable monitors, these devices can comfort the anxiety at sleep time and even enable you to stay in contact with your little one when you’re not home.
It is actually a two-piece communication system that helps you see your baby when you are otherwise occupied. Some baby monitors enable you only to hear and watch your baby, while others allow you to sense your baby’s body movements.
Some baby monitors can be connected to wifi and let you watch your baby no matter where you are.
Do you need a Baby Monitor?
You do not need to have a baby monitor if:
- Your baby sleeps in the same room where you do
- You live in a small home where you can easily hear your child
- You have security cameras in your home which you can use as a baby monitor
You should have a baby monitor if:
- Your baby sleeps in an isolated room where you cannot hear him
- You want to watch your baby while you are not home
- You want to know if baby needs or leave him as is
- You have to be outside, but still, you want to listen to your baby
- You’re training your baby how to sleep
- You’re switching from a baby room to a separate room
- You want to make sure that your baby is safe
- Your kids can walk
- You’re a sound sleeper
When Should You Start Using Baby Monitors?
It all depends on you. You can use it even for your newborn or grown-up kids.
Babies and newborns normally sleep for 12-14 hours per day. You cannot sit there all the time and wait until he wakes up.
The camera lens can do this duty for you. In the initial few months, you should have a monitor in your baby’s room to check when he is sleeping or awake, but when the baby reaches six months of age and begins to sleep through the night more often, you may keep the monitor switched on, but at a minimum volume, so you only hear if he’s in trouble.
I will suggest you keep a monitor in the nursery until your baby is in the toddler stage and can come to you if he needs something.
For grown-up children, you can use these monitors to watch over their actions and see if they are doing the homework you assigned to them or not. You can even use this tool to monitor older family members and even pets.
What are the most useful features of a baby monitor?
The most useful and unique features that a baby monitor can have are the following.
Interconnectivity
Some monitors provide the feature of connecting more than one camera or having multiple monitor screens to allow you to see beyond the nursery.
Room temperature sensor
The recommended temperature of a baby room should be around 68 and 72-degrees Fahrenheit. Integrated temperature sensors in monitors enable you to detect if your baby’s room is getting too hot or too cool.
Motion and sound detector
The ideal baby monitor features motion and sound detectors that can instantly sense if your baby is making a noise or moving and give an alert to inform you to check on your kid.
Zoom capability
Some monitor cameras allow you to zoom in and out to give you a close-up view of your kid and the room around.
Night mode
Some monitors automatically activate the night mode to let you see the clear view of your little sweetheart when they detect darkness around.
Helpful tips for choosing the right monitor
You can find baby monitors of various brands and models, but I personally advise you to buy only the best quality that is affordable to ensure precision and reliability. Following are some tips that can help you in choosing the right baby monitor.
1) Always go for the wireless monitors as they allow more flexibility to use even outside of the house.
2) Get a portable-sized baby monitor that is not too large for you to tie on your belt. This size does not matter in audiovisual monitors as they have to display a clear picture or a video.
3) Always look for monitors that feature a camera with the best low-light picture quality.
4) Consider buying a monitor camera that is linked to an ultra-sensitive microphone to let you hear even a pin drop.
5) Check whether the monitor has features like an alarm clock to notify you of the baby’s feeding routine or not.
6) Always pay attention to your baby monitor range and see if it has a low battery indicator or not to let you recharge your batteries beforehand.
Conclusion
Apart from these tips, I will suggest you read and follow the suggestions on the baby monitor’s performance from published reports and user reviews.
This is something very important than relying on the brand name since some companies produce different models that work better than others in their product category.
Usually, baby monitors’ price can be as low as 30 dollars to as high as 150 dollars or more. I always prefer quality over cost while buying anything for my babies because nothing beats my kids’ safety.
So, do yourself a Favor with the best quality baby monitor with wonderful features to enjoy your parenthood to the fullest.