13 Best Baby Monitors for the First Years

New parents have their hands and minds full as it is. They especially want to keep a watchful eye on their tiny tots, especially when they’re sleeping in their cribs. While some prefer video baby monitors with bells and whistles, such as in-built lullabies, others want monitors with sleep tracking and alerts for fear of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). But more than anything, baby monitors do give parents and caregivers peace of mind. The options for the best baby monitor for first years are not only easy to set up and use, but they also stay connected and are reliable. What’s more, they also offer clear sound and picture quality, are trusted and sturdy enough to make it to toddlerhood, and have batteries that last through the night.

An effective first-year baby monitor, thus, will always make it known when your baby needs attention. To that end, here are some of the best baby monitors throughout the first years.

Owlet Cam Baby Monitor

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Best value for money. The Owlet Cam Baby Monitor is not just the best baby monitor for the first years, but it’s also one of the best baby monitor cameras with Wi-fi. Since it costs less than 100 USD, it’s a great value-for-money monitor with video capabilities. The WiFi-enabled Owlet camera has both real-time notifications and alerts. The motion and sound notifications alert you when your tot cries or moves, and you can even zoom in up to 4x by pinching the screen with your fingers. 

What’s more, you’ll love the In our experience, we loved the Owlet’s range, as you can access clear video of your tot no matter when or where you are. So, you can stay connected while they’re away, thus giving you peace of mind. But what’s excellent is that the monitor camera has a wall-mounting kit and a magnetic base that can be controlled remotely via the app.

Hubble Connected Nursery Pal

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No one does monitoring quite like the Hubble Connected Nursery Pal. The entire system might look like an old iPhone, but don’t be fooled by its seemingly simple setup. For one, it has a five-inch wireless touchscreen monitor system and a Wi-fi phone app to pair with the camera. What’s more, the entire setup takes just under two minutes, thus making it perfect for parents and caregivers on the go who don’t have time to set up the monitor for long.

The monitor’s range reaches about 100 feet through industrial doors, beyond which audio remains even if the video stops working. But, both sound and picture are very clear within that 100-feet range. If that wasn’t enough, the camera delivers extremely clear images even in the dark, which means that its night vision is superb. When your tot is awake, the “Baby Mode” is perfect for you to play educational videos and games for them. Finally, the app also receives and sends sound, temperature, and motion alerts.

moonybaby LCD Video Baby Monitor Two Cameras

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Longest range. The moonybaby LCD Video Baby Monitor Two Cameras is not just the best baby monitor for the first years, but it’s also one of the best baby monitors with the longest range. The two cameras are perfect for parents who need two watch two younger children in two rooms at once or those who want multiple angles of one kiddo. It’s also great for those who don’t want to move the camera around from one room to another. The short-range audio and video quality are consistently clear. The monitor also offers a talk-back feature for caregivers to soothe babies with their calming voices to lull them back to sleep. 

Do you want to check in on your tiny tot at night? The image in the dark is crystal-clear, which means that you don’t need night lights in the nursery either. Finally, additional features that everyone appreciates are the preloaded lullabies and the temperature monitoring option.

Miku Pro Contact-Free Breathing and Sleep Tracker

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The Miku Pro Contact-Free Breathing and Sleep Tracker is considered one of the best-rated baby monitors. Firstly, the baby monitor is as high-tech as it gets and has impressive audio-video specs, connecting with the Miku app for continuous baby monitoring. Secondly, unlike other smart camera baby monitors, this monitor doesn’t charge subscription fees to access its data. But, the standout feature about this monitor is that it monitors your tot’s breathing rate and rhythm without any wearable device, such as a sock or a strap. Finally, the AI sensors allow the monitor to show your baby’s breathing pattern in real time.

Wyze Cam V3

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The Wyze Cam V3 is the best baby monitor for the first years that’s affordable; it costs less than 100 USD. But that’s not the only good thing about this monitor. Firstly, it’s not exactly a baby monitor but rather a home surveillance camera. Even then, this Wi-Fi device works perfectly as a baby monitor. Secondly, its motion detection is superbly accurate and in real-time. Moreover, it also has excellent night vision, which means you don’t have to worry about installing night lights in the nursery. 

Thanks to the two-way communication system, parents and caregivers can soothe their babies remotely using calm voices and don’t need to go all the way to the nursery. In fact, the monitor can even record 12-second video clips, allowing you to share cute baby videos with your friends and family. Finally, the app even allows you to live stream from the camera and even sends push notifications to your phone.

Nanit Pro Smart Baby Monitor

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If you’re worried about EMF exposure, then consider the Nanit Pro Smart Baby Monitor. This high-tech but low-EMF baby monitor has computer vision and excellent video to track your tiny tot’s movements and sleep patterns. Not just that, it also tracks the room’s humidity levels and temperature, which means that you can keep an eye on when your baby gets uncomfortable. What’s more, all the data is logged into a smartphone app, so parents and caregivers don’t need to worry about tracking.

Furthermore, the app even offers personalized sleep coaching based on your tiny tot’s specific sleep patterns. Aside from the above, Nanit’s Insights subscription service is free for a year. So, you can actually see how it works for you on a trial basis. Finally, the baby monitor camera can stream to the Nanit app and the video monitor, allowing you to see your little one from anywhere.

eufy Security SpaceView Video Baby Monitor

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Best for travel. Do you guys go camping a lot and are looking for the best baby monitor for the first years that can survive the rugged backcountry? We recommend the eufy Security SpaceView Video Baby Monitor, one of the best camping baby monitors. Those who love larger screens on baby monitors will love this device with a five-inch huge screen with sharp and clear video. Going further, the battery on this device lasts up to a good eight hours, even with the display on. When you switch to the default sleep mode, your battery life increases to 15 hours! Since the range is a good 1,000 feet, you can see and hear your baby in the tent even when you walk around the campsite. Finally, it also sends instant alerts when your tot wakes up and begins crying, allowing the two-way talk to soothe them back to sleep.

Babysense Video Baby Monitor

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The Babysense Video Baby Monitor also happens to be one of the best split-screen baby monitors. There’s a lot to love about this product. For one, it has a large 4.3-inch high-quality split-screen display, which means that you can see your baby clearly. Secondly, both cameras have zoom, tilt, and pan functions, allowing you to keep a closer eye on your baby. What’s more, the monitor has the latest 2.4GHz FHSS technology for a stable and hack-free connection to keep an eye on your baby. It also has advanced two-way talk-back communication technology (DECT), complete with in-built lullabies and white noise sounds to soothe your baby without stepping into the nursery. Finally, the ultra-long range of up to 960 feet helps you to keep an eye on your tots even when you’re nowhere near the nursery.

VTech DM221 Audio Monitor

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The VTech DM221 Audio Monitor is the best baby monitor for the first years; that’s just an audio monitor. In fact, that’s why it’s considered one of the best baby monitors for deaf parents. That’s because this VTech monitor has a graphic sound indicator with five different sound levels. So, hearing-impaired parents can monitor any sounds coming from the baby’s room visually. What’s more, there’s both a parent unit and a nursery unit, with the parent unit even featuring vibration alerts. So, parents and caregivers won’t miss out on any notifications either. Finally, the substantial range of 1000 feet outdoors and 160 feet indoors provides flexibility to parents to move about with their units as the tot sleeps.

AXVUE Video Baby Monitor E612

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The AXVUE Video Baby Monitor E612 is yet another excellent baby monitor. This baby monitor is for those parents and caregivers who have twins. So they don’t have to invest in double the entire baby monitoring system. This highly-rated monitor comes with two cameras, which means that each camera can focus on one kid. What’s more, the screen quality is excellent too, which means that you don’t have to squint when it comes to keeping an eye on your baby. Moreover, the monitor is very easy to set up and can be used even if both of your babies are in separate rooms. Are they sharing the same room? Each camera can spotlight each crib, allowing you to keep an eye on both.

Lollipop Smart WiFi Baby Camera

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The Lollipop Smart WiFi Baby Camera is the best baby monitor for the first years. There’s a lot to love about this Wifi camera monitor. For one, it’s very easy to set up and is a hassle-free process. Moreover, the Lollipop baby camera is completely compatible with both iOS and Android systems. So, you can connect it to your smartphone, no matter which one, in a matter of minutes. You’ll love the advanced night vision feature on the camera, which ensures that you can keep an eye on your baby even if the nursery is dark and without a night light. But the best bit is that the monitor has a multi-streaming feature that allows you to watch multiple babies at once. So, it’s a blessing for parents with more than one kid.

Google Nest Cam Security Camera

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The low-EMF Google Nest Cam Security Camera is rather favorite with the gen-next parents, and it’s easy to see why. First of all, this indoor security camera can be easily integrated into the smart system in your home. Basically, it works both as a baby monitor and a security camera. But, one of the best features of this camera is that you can place multiple of them around your house. Hence, it’s basically a security camera, a nanny cam, and a sleep monitor all rolled into one. If that wasn’t enough, it can even live stream directly to your iOs/Android smartphone and doesn’t need a separate viewing monitor either. So, you can check on the baby on video from anywhere.

Infant Optics DXR-8 Video Baby Monitor

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The Infant Optics DXR-8 Video Baby Monitor is the best baby monitor for the first years. This monitor won the 2020 “Best Bablylist Baby Monitor” award, and it’s easy to see why. For one, it has a decent range of 700 feet, allowing you to monitor your tot from afar. Moreover, parents and caregivers can control the camera’s viewing angle from the parent unit for closer and clearer views. Furthermore, the monitor can expand to connect up to four cameras for better visibility. If all that wasn’t enough, the monitor has a 3.5-inch-huge display and a decent battery performance of 6-8 hours. For longer battery life, switch to audio-only mode – it’ll go up to 12 hours.

Our Verdict!

While all baby monitord are great, here are some of the best ones according to their best features:

• Best value for money: Owlet Cam Baby Monitor
• Longest range: moonybaby LCD Video Baby Monitor Two Cameras 
• Best for travel: eufy Security SpaceView Video Baby Monitor
• Best battery life: Infant Optics DXR-8 Video Baby Monitor 

How To Choose The Best Baby Monitors for the First Years?

Easy to use

Even if you are great with technology, you need a monitor that can be used by caregivers, babysitters, and grandparents who aren’t as tech-savvy. So, you need a monitor that’s easy to use. Some options include using parent units that can be clipped to a waistband or placed anywhere. Or, you could choose a monitor that can be installed on digital devices such as smartphones. Also, ensure that while looking for video baby monitors, avoid those that are difficult to connect or upload to phones. If you’re worried about all this being an issue, then consider getting a simple, non-Wi-Fi using wireless monitor.

Range and connection clarity

You need to consider whether you want to hear your baby’s cries or want to see your baby in real-time. So, you have options are audio-only, audio and video, and video monitors, all at various price points. Also, baby monitors use cellular, Wi-Fi, or other wireless connections, which can affect clarity, lag time, and range. The range is an important factor to consider for determining how far away you can be away from the nursery and hear your baby on the monitor. 

Special features

Finally, monitors today come with many several added features to help parents and caregivers stay on top of the tiny tot’s sleep and breathing patterns. For instance, some monitors send alerts if the nursery is too warm or if your baby moves in a specified area of the crib. Again, others come with soothing sounds, white noise, and pre-installed lullabies that help your baby sleep. Then there are even baby monitors that allow zooming in your baby, have two-way talk features, video playback options, and are able to snap photos too.

Can you use the baby monitor with a newborn?

Yes, as the first six months are very important.

Is there a monitor to prevent SIDS?

Even with advanced technology, baby monitors aren’t exactly approved for the purpose of preventing SIDS. However, they keep you alert enough to know whether your baby has moved, even for a short period.

How much should I spend on a baby monitor?

Basic models usually cost well under 100 USD, while there are other fancier ones that can cost as much as 400 USD as well.