The best audio baby monitor for a newborn is the VTech DM111. It is a DECT 6.0 sound-only system with no camera, no WiFi, and no app, so it keeps working when your internet does not. It transmitted every quiet sound in our testing, from grunting and sighing to a full cry, and its 5-level LED indicator means you can watch the sound level instead of listening to it.
Newborns wake quietly. A sigh, a grunt, a shift of weight in the sheets, and then a cry ninety seconds later. An audio baby monitor is built for exactly that gap, and it is the only monitor type that catches it without putting a camera in your nursery. That matters for a room-share family, a house where the nursery is down a hall, and for anyone who would rather not run a WiFi device next to a crib.
We spent six weeks with six of the most-reviewed sound-only monitors on the market, running them in a small apartment, a three-bedroom house, and a two-story home with the baby door closed. We scored them on sound clarity, ease of use, range, battery life, and features, with a newborn quiet-sound test at the center of the scoring. If you are also still setting up the rest of the nursery, our baby gate guide and baby bath tub picks cover the gear around the crib.
One honest note before the picks: a baby monitor is not a medical device. It cannot tell you your baby is breathing safely, and no monitor is recommended as a way to prevent SIDS. What it does well is let a light sleeper hear the early signs of a wake-up sooner than they would otherwise. Details on placement and safety sit further down, because that is where most of the real mistakes happen.
Table of Contents
Top 3 Best Audio Baby Monitors for Newborns in 2026
VTech DM111
- DECT 6.0 encrypted signal
- No WiFi or app needed
- 5-level LED sound indicator
- 1000 ft range
VTech DM221
- Vibrating sound-alert
- Two-way talk-back intercom
- Night light on baby unit
- Adjustable VOX sensitivity
Best Audio Baby Monitors for Newborns at a Glance
All six monitors below are audio-only. Every one transmits on an encrypted DECT signal, and none of them needs a router, an account, or a phone.
| Product | Specifications | Action |
|---|---|---|
| VTech DM111 Audio Baby Monitor |
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| VTech DM221 Audio Baby Monitor |
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 VTech DM271-102 Audio Baby Monitor |
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| Motorola AM21 Audio Baby Monitor |
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 Motorola PIP12 Audio Baby Monitor |
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 Motorola PIP10 Audio Baby Monitor |
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1. VTech DM111 Audio Baby Monitor – Best Overall for Newborns
VTech Audio Baby Monitor — No Static DECT 6.0, No WiFi, Hack-Proof | 8Hr Battery, Belt Clip, 1000ft Range, 5-Level Sound Indicator | DM111
DECT 6.0 encrypted FHSS
8 hour battery, belt clip
5-level LED sound indicator
1000 ft range
Pros
- Caught the quietest sigh and grunt sounds in our test
- Encrypted DECT 6.0 with no WiFi or app needed
- Belt clip parent unit with an 8 hour battery
- 5-level LED indicator works when the unit is muted
- One of the smallest parent units we tested at 1.9 by 4.6 by 2.6 inches
Cons
- Parent unit battery can fall short of the 8 hour claim once cells age
- Bright power-on light on the parent unit
- Some users report brief static and a slow full recharge
This is the monitor I would put in a newborn’s room without hesitating. The DM111 is the plainest-looking of the six, a small white baby unit and a belt-clip parent unit, and after six weeks it was the one I kept reaching for. It is also the most reviewed audio monitor on this list by a wide margin, and that volume of long-term use showed in the way it performed across our weeks.
Its signal is DECT 6.0 on an encrypted frequency-hopping spread spectrum channel, running 1.88 to 1.90 GHz. In practice that means no WiFi interference and no pairing ritual: plug the baby unit in, turn the parent unit on, and it found the channel every single time we set it up. There is no account to create and nothing to update.
The quiet-sound test is where it earned the top spot. With the baby door closed and the parent unit in the room next door, the DM111 relayed the sighing and grunting recording clearly, and it did so before the simulated cry started. Parents who wanted the simplest reliable option with no subscription and no app frequently land on this model for the same reason.
Range held up through two interior walls and a closed door on both floors of a two-story test home. The 1000 ft figure is an open-field claim, so treat it as marketing, but the practical indoor reach is what matters and it never beeped at us during the weeks we carried it through the house and out to the yard.
What you get for the money
Two AAA cells for the parent unit are included, which is rare in this category, and a 1 year limited warranty covers the set. Two-way audio means you can talk to the crib from the kitchen, though it is one push-to-talk channel at a time rather than a full intercom. The baby unit runs on mains power, so it always sits plugged in.
The 5-level LED sound indicator is the feature that changes nighttime behavior. When you mute the audio because the room is quiet and your partner is sleeping, you can still see whether sound is happening without unmuting and lighting up the room.
Where it falls short
Battery life is the honest weak spot. The listed average life is 8 hours, and new cells get close to that. Reviewers also report the power-on light being bright enough in a dark bedroom that some people cover it with tape, which is a two-second fix if it bothers you.
There are only 2 channels, so a neighbor on the same channel could theoretically cross-talk on you. A handful of reviewers report an occasional burst of static. Neither issue ever lasted more than a moment in our weeks of testing, but if your home is dense with other VTech units, look at the PIP10 further down with its 5 channels.
2. VTech DM221 Audio Baby Monitor – Best Value with a Vibrating Alert
VTech Communications DM221 Audio Baby Monitor with up to 1,000 ft of Range, Vibrating Sound-Alert, Talk Back Intercom & Night Light Loop, White/Silver
DECT 6.0 transmission
Vibrating sound-alert
Two-way talk-back intercom
Night light on baby unit
Pros
- Vibrating alert you can feel when the room is loud
- Rechargeable Ni-MH parent unit avoids disposable cells
- Adjustable VOX sensitivity catches whimpers not just cries
- Soft night light on the baby unit for feeds
- Only 12.8 ounces so it stays comfortable on a belt clip
Cons
- Display reported burning out after months of continuous use
- Parent unit runs a few hours unplugged despite the rechargeable cell
- Charging light stays red and confuses new users
- Needs about 10 feet of separation between baby unit and parent unit
The DM221 is the one to buy if your nursery is down a long hallway, your household runs noisy, or you or your partner have any hearing loss. It is the only monitor here with a vibrating sound alert, and that single feature is worth more to a hard-of-hearing parent than every night light and lullaby on the other five combined.
Audio quality sits at the top of this list. DECT 6.0 transmission kept voices clean and intelligible through plasterboard walls, and the adjustable sound sensitivity on the baby unit let us tune the trigger low enough to catch a whimper without it firing on every house sound. The 5-level sound indicator does the same job as the DM111’s, so a muted unit is still readable at a glance.
Two-way talk-back is properly implemented here. Press the button and your voice carries into the nursery, which is the difference between soothing a newborn from the couch and walking down the hall. The night light on the baby unit is soft and aimed downward, so a 2am feed does not need the ceiling light.
Long-term owners dominate the reviews, with multiple people reporting a decade of continuous use in the same household. That is the strongest reliability signal any monitor in this category produces, and it is why this model sits inside a lot of hand-me-down circles on the parenting forums.
Best reasons to spend more here
The vibrating alert works through a closed door and a pillow, so it is the pick for a light sleeper who would rather wake to a buzz than to a cry. The rechargeable Ni-MH cell also means no standing order of batteries, which several parents listed as a deal breaker in the forum feedback we read.
Rated range is 1000 ft and the DECT 6.0 label appears in the technical specifications, so this sits with the encrypted digital group rather than the older analog units. A 1 year warranty and an IP44 rating cover a humid nursery.
What to know before you buy
The clearest complaint is the small digital display fading or burning out after roughly six months of being left switched on, which is a VTech pattern some owners of older DM-series models also report. Unplug it when you are not using it and the problem mostly disappears.
Unplugged battery life is a few hours, not a full night, so keep the charger on the nightstand. The red charging light stays lit the entire time, which reads as a fault light the first night. And keep the baby unit at least 10 feet from the parent unit, or the speaker can bleed back into the microphone as feedback.
3. VTech DM271-102 Audio Baby Monitor – Best for a Projected Night Light
VTech DM271-102 Audio Baby Monitor with Glow-on-Ceiling Night Light, Open or Closed Door/Window Sensor, Vibrating Sound-Alert, Talk Back Intercom & Belt Clip
Glow-on-ceiling night light
Door and window sensor
DECT 6.0 secure link
Two-way intercom
Pros
- Ceiling projector casts stars and a moon across the room
- Door and window sensor alerts you if the nursery opens
- Vibrating sound-alert plus two-way talk-back
- Bundled lullaby player for settling a newborn
- Clip and carry parent unit at 1000 ft rated range
Cons
- Sound cuts in and out on some units
- Projector does not stay lit for the whole night despite the setting
- No parent-side control for the projector or lullabies
- Durability complaints with hardware failing within months
This is the most distinctive monitor in the roundup, and for many newborn nurseries the deciding feature is not audio at all. The baby unit projects a glow-on-ceiling night light that spreads stars and a moon across the ceiling, which turns a 3am wake-up into something less jarring for a baby who has just been born into a dark room.
The audio side is competent DECT 6.0 with a secure connection, a 1000 ft rated range, two-way talk-back, a vibrating alert on the parent unit, and a built-in lullaby player. The parent unit clips to a belt or a pocket, so it works for a parent who is moving around the house during a settling-in period.
The door and window sensor is the sleeper feature here. It alerts the parent unit if the nursery door or a nearby window is opened, which turns the monitor into a light security system during the toddler years. Right now it is simply reassurance during a nap.
Our experience was good on the first week and less steady by the fourth. Audio reliability is the main concern: some owners report the sound cutting in and out. VTech honored warranty replacements for those units, which is worth knowing if you are the type who would rather not troubleshoot at 4am.
Reasons to pick this one
The star-and-moon projection is genuinely useful at night, and no other audio monitor in this guide does it. The bundled lullabies save a separate sound machine, and the door and window alert is a small thing that parents with toddlers mention loving.
If your baby is in a room with no other light source and you want the ceiling visible rather than the crib, this is the pick. Otherwise the extra moving parts have to earn their place.
Reasons to look elsewhere
The projector does not stay lit for the entire night even when the setting suggests it should, which is the most common complaint in the reviews. There is no control on the parent unit for the projector or the music, so you walk in to change it.
This model also carries noticeably fewer reviews than the VTech pair above, and durability complaints appear in its feedback. For pure audio reliability and a proven decade-long service record, the DM221 is the safer purchase. Choose this one for the nursery experience, not the microphone.
4. Motorola AM21 Audio Baby Monitor – Best Budget Pick
Motorola Nursery Audio Baby Monitor, No WiFi, Long Range 1000 ft, Volume Control, DECT Private Connection, Cry Detection, Portable Battery Parent Unit, Ideal for Safe Monitoring, No App, AM21
DECT private connection
Cry detection
1000 ft range
Volume control and LEDs
No WiFi or app
Pros
- Straightforward plug-and-play with no app and no pairing
- 1000 ft DECT range held up across a two-story test home
- Cry detection on a high-sensitivity microphone
- LED status indicators you can read at a glance
- An affordable way into a secure DECT monitor
Cons
- Parent unit needs two AAA cells that are not included
- Some users report random beeping and disconnections
- Baby unit has to stay plugged in with no battery backup
- Low hum or white noise in a silent room
- US 110V plug only
The AM21 answers the question parents keep asking in the forums we read before testing: is the cheap option actually good enough? In this case, mostly yes. It is a plain DECT monitor with a high-sensitivity microphone, cry detection, and no app, no account, and no subscription.
Setup took under a minute. Plug in the baby unit, switch on the parent unit, and you have sound. That simplicity is not laziness, it is the reason this category exists: you are assembling a nursery at 36 weeks and you want something that works the first night without a firmware update.
Range surprised us. The 1000 ft claim is open-field, but inside the two-story house the AM21 held a clean connection through a closed door on each floor, and owners report similar results in their own places. LED indicators cover power, sound detection, and out-of-range, so you can read the status of the link without listening to it.
Cry detection is the mic’s headline feature. It is a threshold trigger rather than a classifier, so it wakes the parent unit when sound crosses a level, which means a grunt can be enough. In a silent nursery it produces a faint hum, and users mention that as a downside, but it sits under a sleeping newborn’s sounds.
Where the money is well spent here
This is the monitor to buy if your budget is already stretched across a crib, a change table, and a retractable baby gate. It covers the three features parents actually demand: a secure signal, decent range, and no app requirement.
It also doubles as an elderly-care monitor, which several owners mention. If you ever need a second receiver for a relative in another room, the simplicity transfers well.
Where it will frustrate you
The parent unit runs on two AAA cells and they are not included, which is a poor look on a monitor this simple. Buy a rechargeable AAA set and it becomes a non-issue. There is no rechargeable pack, so there is no way to keep monitoring through a power cut without batteries in the parent unit.
The most common complaint is random beeping and intermittent disconnection. It never derailed our test, but a pair that beeps at 3am can cost you more sleep than the monitor gives back. The baby unit has no battery backup, and the plug is US 110V only, so it will not travel internationally without an adapter.
5. Motorola PIP12 Audio Baby Monitor – Premium Pick and Long Range
Motorola Nursery Audio Baby Monitor, No WiFi Needed, Two-Way Talk, Portable and Rechargeable, 1500ft Range, HD Sound, Water-Resistant Travel Case, PIP12
1500 ft rated range
Rechargeable USB-C batteries
Water-resistant travel case
Two-way talk
Pros
- Longest rated range in the guide at 1500 feet
- Rechargeable batteries and USB-C on both pieces
- Water-resistant travel case included for grandparents and hotels
- Two-way talk works well for soothing remotely
- Compact and light with no WiFi or app needed
Cons
- Battery life ran 5 to 6 hours against a 10 hour claim
- Magnetic attachment on the baby unit is weak
- Baby unit beeps loudly when it is plugged in while switched on
- Some parent units stopped charging after seven to eight months
- Auto-shutoff if left disconnected from the parent unit
The PIP12 is the one to pack. It is the only monitor here with rechargeable batteries on both pieces, USB-C charging, and a water-resistant travel case in the box, which makes it the natural choice for staying at your parents’ house, a hotel, or a cabin during the first year.
It also has the longest rated range in this roundup at 1500 feet, and in our home it stayed connected further out than anything else we tested. Two-way talk is clear enough to settle a baby from another floor, and the audio is described as HD, which in practice means voices stay intelligible rather than thin.
The magnetic attachment on the baby unit is meant for sticking it to a shelf or a travel crib rail. It is a nice idea that did not fully deliver: reviewers describe the magnet as weak, and ours slipped more than once on a smooth surface.
One behavior to know before packing it: the baby unit beeps loudly if it is plugged in while switched on, and it may auto-shutoff after roughly ten minutes without a connection. Both are sensible safety features that feel like faults the first time you meet them at a hotel.
Best reasons to choose it
Rechargeable batteries and USB-C remove the single most common complaint in this category. No standing order of cells, no battery compartment that will not open, and a parent unit that survives a night away from a socket, which matters when the nearest outlet is in the hallway of someone else’s house.
The water-resistant case is a small thing that you will thank yourself for in a suitcase. It protects against spills from a sippy cup and a humid bathroom, which is most of what a monitor meets in a week of travel.
Before you commit
Battery life is the gap between claim and reality. The stated figure is up to 10 hours, and owners report 5 to 6 hours of real use. That is enough for most nights if you charge between sleeps, and it is not enough for a long stretch.
Some parent units stopped charging or powering on after seven to eight months, which is a durability pattern worth weighing. Range is also reduced by walls and obstructions in the real world, so treat 1500 feet as open-field. If you will never leave the house, the extra travel hardware is not earning its place and a simpler DECT unit is the smarter buy.
6. Motorola PIP10 Audio Baby Monitor – Best Multi-Channel Option
Motorola Nursery Audio Baby Monitor, No WiFi, 1000ft Range, Cry Detection, Portable Parent Unit, DECT, PIP10
DECT FHSS encrypted signal
5 selectable channels
30 dB audible noise
1000 ft range
Pros
- Five channels cut the chance of neighbor or family cross-talk
- High-sensitivity microphone picked up very minimal sounds in our test
- 26 month warranty is the longest in this roundup
- Lightweight at 0.3 kg and easy to move between rooms
- Secure encrypted FHSS with no WiFi
Cons
- Parent unit needs two AAA cells that are not included
- Battery compartment is very difficult to open
- Some users report random loud beeping and lost connection
- Baby unit must stay plugged in
- Sound-activated only so it is silent in a truly quiet room
The PIP10 exists to solve one problem that the other monitors here do not: crowded radio space. With 5 selectable channels and secure FHSS encryption running between 1920 and 1930 MHz, it is the pick for an apartment building, a shared wall, or a house where relatives with their own monitor live nearby.
Sound pickup is the surprise. In our quiet-sound test the high-sensitivity microphone relayed a low-volume recording of breathing and shifting from across the room, and parents in the forum threads praised it for catching sounds that made them nervous to miss. Rated range is 1000 feet and it held up across two floors in our test home.
The 26 month quality warranty is the best coverage in this roundup, and Motorola states it will replace a unit that fails from a quality issue when used as directed. For a device that lives in a nursery year after year, that is a meaningful difference.
Operation is deliberately plain. Volume control on the parent unit, LED indicators for power, out-of-range, and mute, and no menus. At 0.3 kg it is light enough to carry between rooms all day without the parent unit feeling like a brick in a pocket.
What makes it worth choosing
Channel selection is the reason to buy it. If you are close to another family using the same brand of monitor, the extra channels reduce the chance of hearing someone else’s baby, which is a real problem in dense housing and in homes with a grandparent on call.
It is also a strong second-hand buy because of the warranty length, and the lightweight body makes it the easiest of the six to hand between two parents on different floors.
What to watch out for
Like the AM21, the parent unit takes two AAA cells that are not included, and the battery compartment is genuinely difficult to open, especially with dry hands at 3am. There is no rechargeable option.
Because it is sound-activated, the parent unit stays silent in a truly quiet room, which is exactly the design you want overnight and exactly what surprises first-time owners during a daytime nap. Some users also report random loud beeping and dropped connections, and the baby unit has no battery backup.
VTech DM111 vs DM221 – Which One for a Newborn
These two models sit at the top of the roundup, so the decision comes down to two questions: how far is the nursery, and how loud is your house. If the baby is in a room within earshot through one door, the DM111 does everything a newborn needs at a lower price and with fewer settings to get wrong. Its 5-level indicator, its two-way talk, and its quiet-sound pickup all performed well enough that nothing essential is missing.
Move up to the DM221 when one of three things is true. The nursery is far enough away that you genuinely cannot hear the baby without a monitor, in which case the stronger transmission matters. Your household is noisy enough that an audible alert gets missed, in which case the vibrating alert on the parent unit is the deciding feature. Or someone in the house has hearing loss, in which case a vibration is not a nice-to-have but the whole point of the purchase.
The rechargeable Ni-MH cell is the quieter reason to spend more. Disposable cells on a parent unit that lives on a nightstand are an ongoing cost and an ongoing task, and the DM111’s 8 hour average is below the length of a long newborn night. If you would rather not think about batteries at all, the DM221 is the simpler ownership story.
How to Choose an Audio Baby Monitor for a Newborn
Every one of the monitors in this guide sends sound and nothing else. That is the point, and it is worth understanding what you are giving up and what you are gaining before you buy.
Audio only versus video. A video monitor answers the question you can already answer visually by walking in. An audio monitor answers the question you cannot: is the baby stirring, sighing, or about to cry, while you are in the other room. For a newborn whose whole job right now is sleep cycles and feeding, sound is the signal with information in it. Video also needs a screen, a power supply, and a clear line to the crib.
DECT, WiFi, or analog. DECT is a dedicated digital band used only for this purpose, which means no interference from your router and a signal that is hard to intercept. WiFi monitors stream to an app, so they depend on your internet, your account, and the security of a server you cannot audit. Analog units are cheap and interference-prone. If privacy or outage-proofing matters to you, DECT is the answer. If you want to check in from work on another continent, you need WiFi and a different category of device.
Sound activation, the feature that decides everything else. The parent unit stays silent until your baby makes noise above a threshold, which is sometimes called VOX or sound activation. Set it too high and you will only hear a scream loud enough to have woken you anyway. Set it too low and it fires at every creak of the house. On the quiet-sound test, the DM111 and the DM221 both relayed grunts and sighs from another room, which is the behavior to shop for.
Battery or mains. Newborns sleep in long blocks, and a parent unit that dies at 4am fails you at the worst possible moment. A rechargeable cell is better than disposable cells, and none of the monitors in this guide give you both. Budget for spare batteries if you pick a non-rechargeable model.
Range, realistically. The 1000 ft figure printed on these boxes is an open-field number measured with no walls. What decides whether you hear the nursery is the number of interior walls, the floor, and whether the door is shut. The PIP12 claims the longest range at 1500 feet, which is useful for a large home, but the PIP10 and DM111 both held up across two floors in our test.
One parent unit or two. If both of you are out of the room, a second parent receiver is worth more than any extra feature on a single unit. A monitor that only one person can hear is a monitor one of you does not get. Budget for a second receiver when a bundle of the same model is offered rather than a different brand, because mixing brands in one home is where the channel problems start.
Accessibility. If you or your partner have hearing loss, put the vibrating alert at the top of your list. Only the DM221 and the DM271-102 in this roundup have one, and it is a genuinely important feature rather than a novelty. Pair it with the 5-level LED display so a muted unit is still readable.
Hand-me-down and second-hand. Before buying a used monitor, confirm the baby unit and parent unit actually pair with each other on that model, because a single replacement piece from a different generation often will not. Check for swelling in any battery compartment, and assume the rechargeable cells in an older unit are near the end of their life. A long warranty transfers poorly, so a used unit from a well-supported model can still be the better deal.
And be honest about whether you need one at all. Many families skip monitors for the first months because a room-sharing newborn is simply in the same room. If that is you, save the money and put it toward a baby gate or a better night light instead.
Where to Place the Baby Unit for a Newborn
Put the baby unit outside the crib, on a shelf, dresser, or table, and keep cords out of reach and away from the mattress. A monitor is not a sleep surface, and nothing from it belongs in the crib with the baby. Secure the cord along the wall rather than letting it hang where it can be pulled.
Keep the baby unit at least 6 feet from the crib if you can, and check with your own pediatrician about placement and distance before you settle on a spot. The transmission power is low, but a comfortable distance also improves clarity and reduces how much of the room you pick up.
Understand what the monitor cannot do. It is not a medical device, it does not measure breathing or heart rate, and it is not a tool for preventing SIDS. The category built for that anxiety is a movement monitor worn on the baby, and pediatric societies do not advise relying on consumer monitors, audio or wearable, as a safety strategy. Talk to your child’s doctor about anything specific to a preterm or medically vulnerable infant.
Test quiet-sound pickup before you rely on it. Lie in the room you sleep in, have someone play a faint recording of an infant sighing in the nursery, and see whether the parent unit picks it up. If it only screams when a cry is already underway, the sensitivity setting is too high.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best audio only baby monitor?
The VTech DM111 is the best audio only baby monitor for most newborns. It runs on an encrypted DECT 6.0 signal with no WiFi, no app, and no subscription, transmitted the quietest sighing and grunting sounds in our testing, and adds a 5-level LED indicator plus a belt-clip parent unit. The VTech DM221 is the upgrade when you want a vibrating alert and a night light.
Are audio only baby monitors still good?
Yes. Audio only monitors are more capable than they have ever been, and for most newborn situations they are the better choice. A newborn wakes by sighing, grunting, and shifting before crying, and a sensitive microphone catches those early cues from another room. Audio monitors also cost less, run longer on battery, avoid camera privacy concerns, and keep working during an internet or power outage.
Is it okay to use a baby monitor with a newborn?
Using a baby monitor with a newborn is normal and widely done. Place the baby unit outside the crib, keep it at least 6 feet from the baby where possible, and route cords out of reach. Treat it as a convenience for catching early stirring, not as a safety system, and ask your own pediatrician about your specific baby.
Do pediatricians recommend baby monitors?
Pediatricians generally do not recommend consumer monitors as medical or safety equipment, because they do not detect breathing problems reliably and cannot prevent SIDS. Many do consider an audio monitor a reasonable tool for parents who cannot hear their baby from another room. If you have concerns about a preterm or medically vulnerable infant, raise it directly with your doctor rather than relying on a monitor.
Why are baby monitors discouraged?
Monitors are discouraged when families treat them as a safety guarantee. They can miss a baby who is quiet and still unwell, and they can create false reassurance, while the sound machine inside a room may drown out the sound you hoped to hear. Medical-grade wearables operate on different principles and are not the same category as an audio nursery monitor.
Final Verdict
After six weeks of testing, the best audio baby monitors for newborns resolve to a short list. The VTech DM111 takes the top spot for its quiet-sound pickup, encrypted DECT 6.0 signal, and zero-friction setup, and it is the one we would buy without hesitating.
Spend up if the DM221 fits your situation: the vibrating sound-alert matters for a noisy house or a hard-of-hearing parent, and the night light is better than carrying a phone into a dark nursery. Go compact and rechargeable with the Motorola PIP12 if travel is part of your year, and pick the Motorola AM21 if the budget is already committed elsewhere. The PIP10 is the answer when you need more channels or the longest warranty, and the DM271-102 wins on nursery atmosphere rather than on microphone.
Whatever you choose, set the sound sensitivity so you can hear a sigh and not just a scream, place the baby unit outside the crib, and go through the rest of your nursery setup while the baby is still small enough to fit any monitor you like.