Owlet Baby Vitals Monitor - For Peace of Mind

Have you heard of the Owlet Baby Vitals Monitor yet? If you haven't then you are in for a treat! You see, I believe that every mother has a "thing" that they worry about. For some its food and others it's car seat safety. For me? SIDS. I know, you can't control it and no one really knows what causes it. But it is still something that I feared all of the time as a new mother! There were times when my daughter would sleep longer than she ever had before during the night and I would wake up in a panic and have to go check on her to make sure she was still breathing. The Owlet would have saved me that panic, though. All those nights that I woke up in a cold sweat, all of those times endlessly checking the video monitor looking for the slightest hint of her breathing while asleep in her crib. It would have saved me all of that worry. So, do you want to know how it works?

The Technology

So, do you remember how when you gave birth they placed that little clip with the red light on your finger? That is pulse oximetry technology. That little red light shines through your skin and your oxygen levels and blood flow are estimated by the amount of light that is able to shine through. What Owlet has done is shrunk that technology to be able to fit an infant's foot - and thus, manage your child's vitals while you sleep or do other things around the house! Please keep in mind though that the Owlet is neither a medical device nor a life saving device at this point. However, they are working with to get approved!

Sizing

The Owlet Baby Vitals Monitor is one size - but comes with three different sock sizes. These sizes should fit up to 18 months, although they do have one more larger sock available if you call the company (also, keep a lookout for a toddler sized one coming out in the future! Great for children that have any breathing problems that parents are worried about).

How it Works

If you've heard anything about the Owlet then you know that it can send alerts to your phone (iPhone only right now, but Android will be added this year around June!). However, there is a base station that the sock connects to, and stays connected to even when your wi-fi cuts out! The base station is your primary source of communication for the smart sock, whereas your phone is secondary. This is to ensure that the Owlet will always be working for you! On the base station there is a little light that will tell you whether or not it is monitoring normal rates, if there is something wrong with the sock and it cannot get a correct reading, or if there is actually something to be alarmed about. When an emergency occurs it will sound off a loud alarm as well as turn red. The threshold for the Owlet to alert you is when the oxygen level reaches 80% or lower. The Owlet has only been on the market for 4 months but it has already saved 8 children by waking parents with its alarm! (You can find all of their testimonials on their youtube channel!)

Although the charge can last for quite awhile, Owlet always recommends to charge after each use so that you never forget to! There is a small lightening USB cord that attaches the sensor to the base to charge it. I definitely recommend doing that as well all know that parenthood gets crazy busy and you don't want to be caught without it being charged! Then it would defeat the entire purpose of the sock.

For those of you with multiples please be aware that you would need to purchase multiple sensors and base stations. This is so that you can keep each child separate so that you know exactly which child to go to in case of an emergency. We all know that in a breathing emergency every second counts - so you wouldn't want to spend the time going to one child when the other was in trouble.

The App

As stated previously, the app is currently only usable with iPhones, but will soon be available for Android users as well! The app allows you to constantly monitor your child's heart rate and oxygen levels and acts as your secondary alert system (secondary since wi-fi can cut out randomly or there could be a problem with phone communication, etc.). But, this does mean that pretty much anywhere you go in your home you should be alerted if your child's levels decrease to dangerous levels. How cool is that?

Peace of Mind

I never want to wake up in a panic again because I'm worried about my child breathing. I also don't want to constantly have to check on her just to look for the smallest whisper of a breath to calm my anxieties. The Owlet Baby Monitor allows me to not have to worry about it anymore. It provides that peace of mind that I needed - and any mother needs. Would I buy this? Absolutely. When my next little bundle of joy decides to come along this will be at the top of the list.