Baby monitors: they'll give you peace of mind...without much silence

A monitor system is one of the few necessary electronic purchases you're likely to make, after you've heard about SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), suffocation, and all of the other horrible things that seem to happen when no one is watching the baby. A good baby monitor system allows you to make phone calls while baby's napping in their room, sleep in a different room, get some gardening done, and generally relax when your sound and sight of your child would otherwise be prevented by the walls of your home.

There are certain essential points to consider when you decide to purchase a baby monitor system, including the following:

transmission range: depending on the size of your house, this feature can be rather important. Some monitors don't transmit well through more than a few walls. (e.g. If you have an office in the basement and want to hear your baby while they're napping upstairs, transmission might be weaker depending on the quality of the monitor).

interference: it is not uncommon for some monitors to pick up cell and portable phone conversations (even from other houses!), as well as transmitting sounds from your monitor to other monitors. If you are living in an apartment, it might be in your best interest to purchase a monitor system that features a scrambler to prevent unelicited two-way transmissions between you and your neighbors. Some systems will still cut into your portable phone and ruin transmission of the phone itself--despite the scrambler (so keep your receipt!).

power: almost all monitors utilize one base, which plugs in. The cheapest option is to purchase a monitor with two plug-in units. The most convenient option features portable battery monitors which move around with you and your baby.

sound quality: if you have central heating/cooling, an electric air filter, or any other sort of consistent background noise, you need to consider the quality of sound filtering your monitor will have. Some are able to isolate non-consistent sounds and extract them from more obviously background noises (such as a noisy air conditioner), while others only transmit the louder noises.

There are other considerations depending on your individual baby-monitoring preferences and needs. Some extra features to consider:

visual monitoring: there are a few monitoring units currently on the market, which sport a camera with a small (but not too small) television, which can double as a regular television when not in use (comes in black/white or color). These monitors also feature infrared night vision, and two channels.

movement detection: another high-tech feature is a mattress pad sensor, which detects the presence of absolutely every motion your baby makes (including breathing), and will emit an alarm-beep after 15 seconds of motionlessness, and a louder alarm in 5 more seconds, which is guaranteed to wake you and the baby up!

battery back-up: in case of a middle-of-the-night power outage that inevitably goes undetected when you're asleep, you may want a baby monitor that can be backed up with batteries.