A monitor is key for creating a safe sleep environment for your baby. Here, mum of two Hannah Britt reveals the latest launches to have on your radar
As a mum of two I know how hard it can be to choose the right baby monitor to keep an eye on your little one. I’m here to help, and have tested some of the best launches of the year so far. Here are my honest thoughts…
Best for… IN DEPTH
Owlet Dream Sight, £99
If you’re looking for an ultra high-tech, fully encompassing monitor, which delivers video and feedback to your phone… you’ve found it – this is it. It tracks sleep quality, noise levels, humidity and more, and features super high quality 2K HD imagery. As it links to your phone, it keeps you bang up to date with your baby’s evening even if you’re out of the house on a much needed date night together. You don’t need to miss a moment if you don’t want to. Instant notifications alert you to movement and noise. It pairs with Owlet’s much loved sock breathing monitor too, and the duo work together for complete peace of mind. In fact, you can buy the Dream Duo for a complete monitoring system.
Best for… ALL ROUNDER
Nanite Pro Camerafrom £249
This top-of-the-range Nanit monitor provides in-depth intel into your baby’s sleeping habits, and high level reassurance that all is well so you can switch off and get some much-needed rest. It’s a little like an adult wearable fitness tracker (your Fitbit, Oura ring etc) but for baby sleep. It comes with a super soft wrap around breathing band, which gently yet securely hugs your baby’s tummy and delivers real time vital statistics. It of course also notifies if anything is missed too, thus making it ideal for nervous parents. The fact that the band is worn by baby and isn’t a mat they lie on means greater accuracy and less ‘false alarms’.
Connected to a brilliant app, it tells you how long it took them to fall asleep, how much time they spent awake overnight, their sleep quality, timings and more. A high definition camera provides all-night playback too, with a cute highlights function, so you can check out what they got up to nocturnally.
There are three fixtures to choose from: the flex stand (£249), which is good for shelves and to take on holiday with you; the wall mount (£299), which screws securely into the wall to overhang the cot; and the floor stand (£379), which also overhangs the cot but is its own entity and doesn’t damage your newly wallpapered nursery. This was my favourite. A high tech baby monitor that doesn’t miss a thing – brilliant.
Best for… RANGE
Momcozy 5.5” Full HD Video Baby Monitor BM03, £199.99
With an incredible 1640ft of range, you could live in Buckingham Palace and this monitor would still reach from one side of the house to the other – and without a required wifi connection. The latter, for me, is one of the biggest wins when it comes to a monitor as it cuts the stress of an unstable connection. Touching back on its range, this Momcozy device promises to reach through two walls, allowing you to sit in the garden if you wish. It also has a good view around the room thanks to its 360 degree pan and 140 degree tilt.
A medium-sized screen (5.5 inches) and 1080 FHD imagery allows for a clear view of your baby. Local video storage and a playback function mean you can watch your little one’s night back to see how they got on, and look for patterns in their nocturnal behavior. It’s got an unusually large battery life, making it good for travel or simply less annoying for those – like me – who forget to charge things. Finally, there’s a two way talk function so you can speak soothing words from afar.
Best for… BUDGET
Nanite Sound + Light£99.99
This device connects to your phone and the Nanit app, alerting you with sound but no video. This will put some parents off, who wish to see their tiny human, but the cry detection and alerts are good and clear, and work even when you are out of wifi range.
The Sound + Light also monitors temperature and humidity, and you can use this intel to create the ideal bedroom atmosphere. When it comes to the ‘Sound’ element of the Nanit, it produces white noise and other soothing sounds, like jungle noises. There are also lullabies and soft wake up songs. The ‘Light’ element features a gazillion levels of brightness and colors to choose from. It’s bright enough to read by if you want it to be, and makes a nice bedtime story companion. Both sound and light settings allow you to create and program a routine, ensuring mornings are the same each day to regulate naps.
Finally, the Nanit holds its charge for eight hours, making it portable and wireless to an extent thus good for travel. Not bad for under £100.
Best for… INNOVATION
Cubo AI Smart Baby Monitor 3from £229
If you like data (guilty!) this is the baby monitor for you. The app is nothing short of incredible, giving you a detailed breakdown of literally everything your baby did while in their cot, from coughing and crying, to moving and opening their eyes. It tells you when you’ve been in the room too, which is surprisingly useful when your nights blend into one big sleepy blur. A complete safety check for nervous parents, the Cubo AI delivers notifications when baby’s face is covered, or if they roll over too. You can take a look and decide if you need to go in and assist. A three day playback allows you to get to grips with patterns in your baby’s sleep.
There are floor stand and mobile stand options, the former being £100 more expensive – but a lot more portable around the house. And indeed, you can also take it out of the nursery and set it to watch your little one play – you’ll get a notification when they leave your allotted ‘safe zone’.
Best for… OVER THE COT
VTech RM7787HD 7 Inch Over-The-Cot Smart Monitor, £220
With a 7 inch screen, you won’t miss a moment of your baby’s nocturnal activities with this VTech monitor. An over the cot device, it comes with either a wall mount or floor stand. Both allow a full view straight down onto your baby, which I personally love. There’s an extreme 10x zoom function which I like too. It helps if there’s something specific you need to see – like a snotty nose. It also removes the need to find a suitable piece of furniture or shelf to pop it on – although if you choose the wall mount you will obviously need to fix it to the wall.
If you go out, you can access the video remotely on your phone, and the picture quality for both this and the device is brilliant – crystal clear. It monitors temperature and humidity in whichever room you place it, and you can use this information to create a safe and comfortable sleeping environment for your baby. The battery does last all night if unplugged, but it needs charging most days unless you remember to switch it off completely.
Best for… SCREEN
LeapFrog LF4917HD Smart Wi-Fi Video Baby Monitor, £199.99
Another 7 inch when it comes to screen size, this monitor beams your baby to you in a high definition a TV would be proud of. You can see the picture from across the room, helpful when cooking or similar. Elsewhere, the LeapFrog has an inbuilt nightlight, of which you can adjust the brightness and color, and when it comes to view it provides a 360° panoramic view, 80° tilt range, up to 110° wide-angle viewing and digital zoom. You won’t miss a moment. And, if you accidentally put it down in the wrong place – or it topples over – you can swivel the camera around so it still faces your baby.
A two-way talk function allows you to soothe your baby remotely, and there are inbuilt lullabies too which are a nice touch and useful, especially as your baby grows. The range is good – up to 300m – meaning you can maneuver around the house and head into the garden with the reassurance your baby is safe and secure.
Best for… REASSURANCE
Maxi Cosi See Pro Baby Monitor, £199.99
‘What do they want?’ It’s a question asked by every parent ever. And it’s something the See Pro aims to help answer with its CryAssist function, which deciphers the ‘I’m tired’ cries from the distressed, hungry and more. This is good for new parents as they find their feet, and anyone like me who likes reassurance – even when their baby isn’t so tiny anymore.
While some devices require wifi to work, this does not, which makes it great for travel as you can take it anywhere, knowing the tech won’t let you down.
You can watch your little one on its 5in screen, or on your phone via the app – meaning you can keep an eye on them even when out for dinner. The video is very clear, although there is no playback and a slight lag. That said, I actually found the lag quite useful because it revealed whether or not my little one had moved in the time between me picking it up. In the box there’s a little wedge, which tilts the camera an extra 30 degrees, good if you can’t quite get the angle on your shelf.
Best for… WEARABLE
Owlet Dream Sock®, £299
If you have an Oura ring, Fitbit fitness tracker or similar… well, this is a bit like that for babies. As the name suggests, you wrap the little fabric sock around their foot and secure it with its little strap – super soft, it sits comfortably and doesn’t rub the skin – and the tech inside it provides real time monitoring of things like pulse rate, oxygen levels and sleep patterns. It alerts you when there are changes you may want to consider, and also when your baby is awake. It tells you how much of each type of sleep they’ve had (deep, REM etc) and how long each sleep cycle was, so you can track patterns and begin to understand their sleep needs and behavior.
The Owlet is particularly good in those worrying early days of being a new parent. Are they okay? Why are they so still? Should I check if they’re breathing? This clever device reassures again and again that they are in fact absolutely fine. Medically certified, the insights are monitored with medical grade accuracy. You can get some precious sleep in peace knowing that the Owlet will wake you up if your attention is required. There’s no video monitor – but you can buy the brand new Dream Sight to complete the set!
Best for… IN-COT MONITOR
Angelcare AC25-1 Baby Movement Monitor with Video & Sound£249.95
This all-encompassing monitor comes with a thin sensor mat which you place under the cot mattress, and which tracks movement across the entire bed without your baby feeling a thing. There’s no Princess and the Pea here. The fact that it detects movement across the whole bed makes it not only a good option for anxious newborn parents, but those of older babies too, who have begun to move a bit more in their beds. It alerts parents if nothing has been detected for 20 seconds, breathing etc, and this allows you to relax and switch off – even get some much needed sleep – while baby snoozes.
Also included is a super high resolution camera, which is on a little stilt and therefore has an impressive tilt so no bit of the room or the bed will be obscured from view. No wifi is required for connection, and the device has a 150m range – also reassuring. Set up takes seconds, and the easy-to-use device monitors room temperature too.
*Follow Hannah on Instagram @hannahrbritt
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