After sharing our Owlet baby monitor on social media I had lots of readers requests to share my honest thoughts on the product after testing it out. It’s been a month of using it every single day and night and I thought I’d break down my pros and cons for the baby monitor. When I started researching all the endless baby products on the market I knew I wanted something to help give me peace of mind when Olivia was sleeping. The Owlet baby monitor was one I kept circling back to and as a type A person, I loved all the benefits the smart sock offered. The Smart Sock 2 is super easy to place on your baby’s foot and using pulse oximetry tracks their heart rate and oxygen levels, sending updated data to an app on your smartphone. We have the base station in our room and haven’t had any problems with it reading Olivia’s stats across the hall in her room.
Being 100% honest, I didn’t love the sock at first. It took me around two weeks to really get the hang of the monitor. We had a few false alarms go off and my heart dropped every time I saw that flashing red light and heard the alarm that sounds when their heart rate or oxygen levels fall out of the recommended range. Both times Brian or I were holding her and I knew she was ok. We would turn off the base station, turn it back on and it would be fine again. disclaimer: I know no device like this is perfect and am sure they all have their false alarms.
I can without a doubt say that since we came home from the hospital the owlet baby monitor has helped me sleep better. We only leave this on Olivia when she’s sleeping or napping and have it charging all other times. Since I’m back to working from my home office, it helps me relax and feel like I don’t have to check the video monitor or stick my head in her room every 15 minutes to make sure she’s ok (#firsttimemom).
PROS:
+ the peace of mind it gives is what makes it 100% worth it
+ easy to put on/take off
+ phone app makes it easy to check vitals anytime and from anywhere
+ stays charged for 18 hours
+ comes with different sizes to fit the baby as they grow (I never understand a one size fits all design)
+ fits under footie pajamas and most socks
+ both you and spouse can track the vitals on your smartphone (I have an iPhone and Brian has a Samsung Galaxy- both work without a problem)
CONS:
+ it definitely isn’t inexpensive at $299, but it can be used from birth- 18 months
+ you can’t turn the sock “off”, so you do need to remember to plug it back to the base station for charging
+ we’ve had a few false alarms that are always scary (I’m sure all devices of these types have false alarms)
To find out more about the Owlet Baby Monitor checkout all the details here!
xx
This is most definitely something we will be getting next time. The peace of mind is totally worth that cost – I can’t tell you how many nights I spent staring at her chest rising up and down when she was a newborn! It’s so scary when they’re SO small!
I would have loved to have this when my first son was born. Having spent a week in the NICU before coming home, I was a total mess when it came to him sleeping. I can’t believe the advances in baby monitors. what a relief for new moms.
xo, Whitney and Blaire
Peaches In A Pod
I’m debating getting one. I’m such an anxious person that this may not be good for me, ha-ha. But, our baby will be spending time in the NICU and I know I’ll be extra nervous when she’s home so this could be good for peace of mind. Thanks for sharing your pros and cons!
This was really helpful. i”m a pediatrician and the party line is no monitors… but now expecting my first baby that doesn’t matter anymore! Thanks for writing this!
I loved using the Owlet!! Our wifi sucks in our bedroom so it would go off because of disconnecting every once in a while but the peace of mind it gave me was invaluable. The first night we used it (2 nights after we got home from the hospital) it kept alarming red and a freaked out and called my ped. nurse friend at 11 PM asking what to do. Turns out, I had it on backwards, lol. Other than that we never had any “false” alarms. 100% worth the money!!
Im seriously considering getting one of these for baby #2! great review!
I’m seriously thinking about one of these for when we have Marin start sleeping in her own room. She still sleeps with us in a bassinet next to my side of the bed, so I haven’t felt to anxious without it yet…but I can already tell I’m going to have a hard time transitioning her into her own room! xx