During the first few weeks of a baby's life, it can be challenging for new parents to get even basic activities accomplished. Suppose you have to use the bathroom, take a shower or make dinner. Leaving the baby alone can be a frightening thing, although it's also important for the baby to spend a little alone-time in the crib (for your sanity's sake!) To help you multi-task and save peace of mind, there are many safety baby monitors on the market. Some have video capabilities, while others only have audio. A baby video monitor is ideal for the busy, yet concerned parent.

When browsing for a baby monitor, the most important factor is clear reception. Muffled, fuzzy or screeching sounds will be distracting and difficult to discern from ambient sounds. With low-end wireless baby monitors, cordless telephone conversations may come through the channel or simple everyday appliances like microwaves may jumble the pictures or sounds. The best way to avoid interference is to purchase a quality baby infant monitor that has a similar range to your home size. If you buy one that is too large, it will be easier to pick up the neighbor's frequencies. Also, tests show that digital baby monitors have less trouble with interference than analog baby monitors, so that should be considered as well. If you do settle on an analog monitor, ensure that your cordless phone and monitor do not work off the same Gigahertz frequency and look for a model that offers at least two different channel selections.

Multiple monitoring is a useful feature that comes with some safety baby monitors, allowing you to keep receivers in more than one room or enabling you and your spouse to keep track of the baby concurrently. Some of the best baby monitors let both parents communicate with one another via their receivers, like walkie-talkies, and even speak back to the baby to comfort him or her back to slumber if it's not an emergency situation. Buying a set with a warning system is a good idea too, because it will indicate, with flashing lights, how loudly the baby is crying (with no need to have the volume cranked) and it may also warn you when you're out of range or the battery is low.

There are many safety baby monitors to choose from, but here are a few top picks. The Summer Infant Day & Night Handheld Color Video Monitor 1.8 ($179.99) offers good quality images for a fair price, although the screen is a bit small. The BébéSounds Angelcare Movement Sensor/Sound Monitor ($119) comes with two parent units and a mattress sensor pad to detect movements, although false alarms are possible with this model. The Philips DECT baby monitor ($149.99) is lightweight and has zero interference, although it's a little bit pricey. The Ultra-Clear Graco baby monitor ($29.99) offers excellent quality for the price, although it does not come with video capabilities and it may have a bit of static in some households. As you can see, there are many models in many different price ranges.