This Baby Monitor Has Over 15,000 5-Star Reviews on Amazon — and I Agree

Every editorial product is independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our links, we may earn commission.

When my husband and I started thinking about the must-have items we needed to buy before we had our baby, we bucketed them into two categories: critical items with a safety tie-in and things that we were comfortable getting as hand-me-downs, like onesies and toys. Aside from the crib, a big-ticket item we spent a significant amount of time researching was the baby monitor.

We wanted something that would be reliable and run without WiFi — we didn't see the need of storing the footage and valued the digital privacy. After chatting with friends about the Infant Optics DXR-8 Video Baby Monitor ($166, originally $230) and seeing that it had over 15,000 five-star reviews on Amazon, we bought it. I've been using it daily for five months now and I can honestly say it does the job! Here's why it ranks so high in my book.

It has reliable night vision.
Amazon

It has reliable night vision.

This was something that was super important to me. I wanted to be able to clearly see my daughter at night, even in complete darkness.

There's temperature monitoring.
Amazon

There's temperature monitoring.

We never got around to buying a room thermometer, so I was pleased that this came with a temperature display. Now I always know if she's too warm or too cold.

The zoom feature is great.
Amazon

The zoom feature is great.

You can swap out the lens if you want for more options, but I've been happy with the stock camera. I can zoom in — even in the night-view mode — and see my daughter's chest going up and down, which is a huge plus for me. It's also really adorable to see her sleeping at night.

The battery hasn't died on us yet.
Amazon

The battery hasn't died on us yet.

This was a feature I immediately didn't rank as a "must have" when shopping around for a monitor. But now that I've been using it for five months, I've frequently forgotten to charge the monitor end. The battery is supposed to last 10 hours, and though I haven't pushed it that far, I've come close.