The best baby monitors

The LeFun Wi-Fi Baby Monitor is an affordable and reliable Wi-Fi video baby monitor with night vision and a 720p resolution.

Who says Wi-Fi video baby monitors have to be expensive? LeFun's Wi-Fi Baby Monitor is one of the top-rated monitors on Amazon and at a highly affordable price.

This tiny baby monitor live-streams 720p video from your baby's room to your smartphone, tablet, or computer via Wi-Fi or your data connection. That means you can keep tabs on your baby even when you leave the house.

There's no dedicated viewer, so you may want to use a secondary device to check on your baby or your phone's battery could run out quickly. It's great that you can see footage on a laptop, too — especially if you work in an office and want to check in on how the new babysitter, nanny, or family member is doing with your baby.

The LeFun baby monitor features automatic zoom, it can tilt or pan, and its IR LED night vision goes up to 30 feet. Reviewers on Amazon applaud the excellent night vision and deem the 720p resolution adequate, though not as great as some 1080p cameras like NestCam.

Thanks to two-way audio, you can also talk to your little one when he or she gets fussy. You can also record and save footage on a microSD card to create home videos of your baby being adorable. LeFun's baby monitor offers high-level encryption for extra security, and most parent reviews say the monitor is very reliable.

If you really want to have a dedicated baby monitor for in the house so your phone doesn't run out of battery too quickly, you could supplement the LeFun baby monitor with a cheap, reliable audio baby monitor, like our pick the VTech DM221. That way, you have a backup if your Wi-Fi goes down. Both are certainly cheap enough to pair together.

LeFun also offers a three-year warranty.

Pros: 720p resolution is decent, good night vision, you can watch your baby when you leave the house, video streams to your phone, made for parents and babies, customizable alerts, and it's cheap

Cons: You need to have strong Wi-Fi and there's no dedicated viewer

Buy the LeFun Wi-Fi Video Baby Monitor on Amazon for $37.99

The VTech DM221 Audio Baby Monitor offers crystal clear audio, two-way talk with your baby, decent range, and a low price tag.

If you aren't interested in having a video baby monitor, the VTech DM221 is the very best audio-only monitor you can buy. You can listen in on your baby or get vibration and light-based alerts when the monitor is in silent mode. The five LED lights indicate the level of sound so you can tell whether your baby is cooing quietly or shrieking for mom and dad.

The audio quality is excellent, thanks to VTech's use of DECT 6.0, so you shouldn't hear any interference, static, or echoing when you listen in on your baby. Since the monitor uses a special frequency to relay the signal from the monitor in your baby's room to the parental unit, everything is encrypted and secure. No one but you will hear your baby.

If your little one gets fussy, you can use the monitor's two-way talk to soothe your baby remotely. Everything you say to the parental unit will relay over to the monitor in your baby's room.

The VTech DM221 has a 150-foot range, which should be more than enough for most homes. Parents just love the clarity of the sound and the reliability of the monitor. Audio-only baby monitors may be more old-fashioned, but you can count on them to let you know when your baby really needs you.

You can also get the VTech DM221 with two parental units so that both you and your partner can hear the baby if you're in separate parts of the house.

Some parents find that video monitors overwhelming and they check the live feed too often. Audio-only monitors eliminate that compulsive behavior. Sometimes going low-tech and low-cost is the best way to go.

Another option is to combine a high-end security camera like the NestCam with the VTech DM221, so you have the best of both worlds: a 24/7 video stream that you can take with you and an audio-only monitor you can keep at home. The VTech is cheap enough to buy as a backup or supplemental baby monitor.

Reviews on Lifewire, BabyGearLab, Nanny Cams Reviews, and Best Reviews are all very positive and recommend the DM221 as one of the very best baby monitors you can buy. Parents who reviewed the VTech DM221 on Amazon agree that it's a great buy.

Since this product is shipped from Amazon, you have a 30-day return window. Some baby products also have a 90-day return policy.

Pros: DECT 6.0 provides clear audio, two-way talk lets you chat with your baby, 150-foot indoor range, rechargeable batteries last 18 hours, LED lights and vibration alerts, and a low price

Cons: Audio only and you have to replace or recharge the batteries

Buy the VTech DM221 Audio Baby Monitor on Amazon for $27.99 Buy the VTech DM221 Audio Baby Monitor (two parental units) on Amazon for $30.12

The Philips AVENT SCD630/37 Video Baby Monitor is a secure, traditional video monitor that works well.

Traditional video baby monitors don't offer the same high-resolution picture quality we're used to seeing on our smartphones and tablets. If you want high-resolution video of your baby, you'll have to go with a Wi-Fi monitor like the NestCam that streams video to your phone or tablet. The Phillips AVENT SCD630 video monitor may not be high-res, but it's the best of the bunch.

It uses 2.4GHz FHSS technology that offers a private connection between the monitor in your baby's room and the dedicated viewer in your hand. The FHSS connection should minimize interference, and most reviewers say the audio is clear. In BabyGearLab's testing, the reviewer found that the Phillips AVENT had the best audio signal of any of the monitors it tested.

You can also talk to your baby from another room with the monitor or play one of five included lullabies. Phillips added a special feature that puts the monitor on silent until your baby makes a sound that's above a certain level. That way you know when your baby really needs you.

In addition to the great audio, you have video on a dedicated 3.5-inch screen. The AVENT offers 2X zoom and panning so you can scan your baby's room or zoom in on their little toes. Night mode is automatically activated in dark rooms and it has a night light. The monitor will also check for temperature changes so your baby sleeps in comfort.

The batteries are rechargeable, and there's a backup battery option that will last 10 more hours when you're in a pinch.

Parent reviews on Amazon are very positive, and many sites recommend the Phillips AVENT baby monitor, including Lifewire, BabyGearLab, Heavy, and CheekyTummy. Since Amazon fulfills this order, you have a 30-day return window. Amazon says some baby products have a 90-day return window.

Pros: It has a 3.5-inch dedicated viewer, good range, monitors the temperature, two-way audio, LED lights indicate sound level, night vision, and great audio

Cons: Low resolution and it's expensive

Buy the Philips AVENT SCD630/37 Video Baby Monitor on Amazon for $155.47

The UrbanHello REMI is a five-function device that starts off as a baby monitor but grows along with your child.

When you're child is still an infant, your family's UrbanHello REMI will serve as an audio baby monitor that helps you keep tabs on the little one. Its softly glowing face also serves as a clock parents and other caregivers can check when in the nursery. When paired with its app, REMI's sleep tracking function will help you establish your child's sleep patterns, noting evident wake-ups and periods of steady rest based on the sounds it detects in the room.

If that's all this multi-function device did, then it would still be worth its price tag. But REMI does more yet. As your child gets older and can begin to manage his or her own sleep schedule, REMI helps the kid out by serving as a sleep trainer. You can program the time that your child is allowed to wake by having REMI wake up at the appointed hour. And to calm and soothe a child, you can use this Bluetooth enabled device as a speaker, playing music or talking to your child via REMI app connection.

Older kids can take over using REMI themselves, using it to listen to music and as an alarm clock. Oh, and also it's a nightlight. UrbanHello calls it a five-function device, but if you add up each of its individual abilities, it's easily twice that, in fact.

One mother left a review raving that REMI is "so much more than a baby monitor," extolling its capabilities as a clock, music player, and sleep trainer. Another parent called it "the best $100 [she] ever spent" as it helped her toddler take reliable naps.

I use this baby monitor with my slightly older kid and he loves it. You can read my full review on Insider Picks.

A writer from Fatherly called REMI a versatile device that served well as a "baby monitor," a "two-way walkie-talkie, [and an] adjustable nightlight," among other functions, noting the fact that kids could make good use of REMI from age zero through age ten. — Steven John

Pros: Multiple functions, helps with sleep training, good sound quality

Cons: Occasional phone connection issues

Buy the UrbanHello REMI 5-in-1 Monitor and Sleep Tracker on Amazon for $99.99

Baby monitors may not seem high-tech (and some of them aren't), but there are a lot of terms you need to know before you buy one. We've broken down the most important terms to know and what to look for in a baby monitor.

• Security is a mixed bag, especially as baby monitors get more high tech. If tech giants like Apple and Google run into security flaws, high-tech baby monitors are sure to experience similar problems. However, some less high-tech baby monitors aren't secure, either, and many suffer from signal interference. We've checked each company's security policy to find the most secure options for you.
• Digital vs. Analog: Digital monitors encode signals so that no one else can listen in. Meanwhile, baby monitors that use wireless analog transmission aren't private. Anyone with an RF scanner can intercept the signal and listen. We recommend you look for digital baby monitors only.
• Frequency: Some baby monitors operate on the same 2.4GHz frequency band as household products like microwaves, cordless phones, wireless speakers, and so on. When the monitor is on the same frequency as a number of other products, you can experience interference and static. You may want to get a monitor that uses a different frequency like 1.9GHz, which the Federal Communications Commission sets aside for audio-only applications. It's called DECT, or Digitally Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications.
• Range of signal: Some baby monitors have better range than others. If you live in a big house with multiple rooms, range will be a key consideration for you. Anyone who lives in a single-story house or a smaller apartment may not need as much range. Many baby monitors have an alert when you get out of range, and the packaging typically gives you an estimate of the range. Bear in mind that range varies widely from home to home. The construction of the walls between you and the baby monitor may even limit the range.
• Check the return policy: Every family is different, so it can be hard to choose the perfect baby monitor for your needs. For that reason, we recommend you look into each product's return policy. Some companies are very good about letting you return baby monitors, but others are not. You may need to try a few different ones out before you find the winner. Obviously, we hope this guide assists you in making the right choice, but it's always good to have a backup plan. We've noted the return policy for each baby monitor we recommend in this guide.

The best baby swaddles you can buy

While swaddling does come with some controversy, it's hands-down one of the best ways to get a fussy baby to sleep. But like all baby products, swaddles come in all shapes and sizes.

The swaddle you choose will depend on the following: material, ease of use, effectiveness, safety, size, and cost. We used these factors when reviewing baby swaddles. We looked at hundreds of reviews, consulted other moms, and used personal experience to narrow down the list to the best baby swaddles you can buy.

Here are the best baby swaddles:

• Best swaddle overall: Aden + Anais Classic Swaddle Baby Blanket
• Best budget swaddle: SwaddleMe Original
• Best basic swaddle: Sleepea Swaddle by Happiest Baby
• Best premium swaddle: The Ollie Swaddle

The best bottle warmers you can buy

You might think a baby bottle warmer is something extra that's not necessary. But when your little one is screaming in the middle of the night for warm milk, having a warmer will save your sanity, and hopefully, some sleep. These gadgets can heat formula and breast milk without hot spots so you don't have to boil water in a pan.

Here are the best bottle warmers:

• Best bottle warmer overall: Philips AVENT Fast Baby Bottle Warmer
• Best budget bottle warmer: The First Years 2-in-1 Simple Serve Bottle Warmer
• Best travel bottle warmer: Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Portable Travel Baby Bottle Warmer
• Best safe and simple bottle warmer: Kiinde Kozii Bottle Warmer and Breast Milk Warmer
• Best high-tech bottle warmer: Dr. Brown's Deluxe Baby Bottle Warmer

The best cloth diapers you can buy

Cloth diapers are easy to use, offer money-savings, and are nothing like the ones your grandma used to use. When you get down to finding the perfect cloth diaper, it comes down to four factors: cost, sustainability, absorbency, and cuteness (your baby has to look good, after all).

Here are the best cloth diapers:

• Best cloth diapers overall: GroVia Hybrid Reusable Baby Cloth Diapers
• Best budget cloth diapers: OsoCozy Prefolds
• Best high-end cloth diapers: Charlie Banana One-Size Diaper
• Best cloth diapers for toilet training: Super Undies Pull-On Undies 2.0
• Best all-in-one cloth diapers: BumGenius Freetime All-In-One Snap Closure

The best breast pumps you can buy

If you're a nursing mom who plans to spend more than a couple hours away from your baby, pumping is a necessary evil: It keeps your milk supply up and ensures your kiddo has enough to eat.

Here are the best breast pumps:

• Best breast pump overall: Medela Pump In Style Advanced
• Best closed-system breast pump: Spectra Baby USA S1
• Best breast pump for travel: Yunbaby Portable Breast Pump
• Best manual breast pump: Philips Avent Manual Comfort Breast Pump

The best cribs and cradles

A good crib or cradle can buy you some much needed time to yourself while your baby takes a nap or snoozes the night away. Of all the cribs and cradles we've researched, the DaVinci Kalani is our top pick. This crib is attractive, sturdy, versatile, and inexpensive enough to free up your budget for other baby essentials.

You should also consider the Babyletto Hudson, the Stokke Sleepi, the BabyBjorn Cradle, and the Guava Family Lotus Travel Crib.

The best diaper bags

It's no secret that babies require a lot of stuff for a successful outing, so a good diaper bag is one of the most important purchases a parent-to-be can make. Based on personal testing and research, the Skip Hop Duo Signature is the best diaper bag for most parents, with a reasonable price tag, loads of pockets, several stylish patterns, and easy-to-wipe fabric that can take a beating.

You should also consider the Ju-Ju-Be B.F.F. Backpack, the Storksak Elizabeth Leather Bag, and the Skip Hop Grand Central Bag.

The best nursing pillows

Breastfeeding is natural and amazing for your baby, but that doesn't mean it always comes easy. We've tested and researched many nursing pillows, and the My Brest Friend is the best one for keeping your baby in the right spot during feeding, and it gives you great back and arm support.

You should also consider the Boppy Nursing Pillow, the Blessed Nest Nesting Pillow, and the Twin Z Pillow.