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This is probably not the right blog to post this question, but there is always such good feedback-I hope someone can help. What do you think is the best baby monitor? I'm feeling overwhelmed by all of the options out there!

If you're a nervous mom, like I was, than I highly, HIGLY recommend the Bebesounds monitor. It sounds an alarm if your baby stops breathing.

My recommendation is to look for something that's got a voice activation feature. That way you're not hearing the hum of a fan or whatever all night. Also look for one that has lots of different channels if you live around other houses with kids. You don't want your monitor to cross with another!

We have a Sony monitor and love it.

we've had 2 kids and never used one -- our home is not that big -- even with 2 stories and concrete walls, we hear when our baby wakes up.

We have the Summer Baby Sounds Day/Night handheld monitor. Here's the Summer site - http://www.summerinfant.com/videomonitors.htm

We've had it for over two years and it still works well, even after I drop the handheld part all the time. I can even be out on the front porch and I can still see my kiddo on the screen. It doesn't pick up too much static. It has two channels which seems sufficient. We have it on a different channel from our neighbors across the street because sometimes their daughter's crib will come into view, but not vice versa.
We also have the Sony one for travel and like that one a lot, too.
Missy W
http://www.gearheadmom.com

We received the Philips Avent as a baby shower gift. It's expensive for what it is. We would not have purchased it. With that said, I love it. It's well designed. The parental unit is slim and has a rechargable internal battery. The baby unit plugs into an outlet and accepts batteries.

It is sound activated. We had a baby monitor for my older child that picked up the humidifer and the A/C. It drove us crazy to hear that hum all evening long. I think it could be a little more sensitive, though. It doesn't pick up on the baby's coos, only his cries.

We haven't had any interference with our neighbors' monitors or cordless phones.

This isn't a specific brand recommendation, but a general comment that you first consider how many electronic devices you have in your home, how close your neighbors are, etc. If you live in an apartment building or have lots of wireless gadgets, it might be worth it to spend more on a digital one, or one with more control over frequency.

There's a really good discussion of baby monitors and specific brand details in the book Baby Bargains.

A few frugal ideas: Consignment stores are great places to find baby monitors for around $5. This is consignment sale season (we have almost a hundred in our area this month!) and you might try looking for a baby monitor there. Or check to see if there's a free one at Freepeats.org or your local Freecycle group.

I might be chiming in late here, but I second the Sony Baby Call. It has a noise cancelling filter that works really well when you use the voice-activated feature. If you leave it on, it's sensitive enough to pick up the baby breathing.

Oh, one more thing. We have the one w/ 27 channels since we live in an apt. building, but they make one w/ 9 channels if you don't have to worry about your neighbors.