Owlet Baby Monitor Reviews

As a parent, it’s completely natural to worry about your children. Bringing home a new baby is exciting and terrifying all at once.

In fact, are you really a parent if you don’t worry? There are so many aspects of your child’s life to be anxious about, but no time is more nerve-wracking than the first year of childhood.

For a new parent, it’s overwhelming. There’s so much to think about, so much to prepare for.

Even if you consider yourself pretty well prepared, you’re not off the hook. Every child and every baby are different. I’m afraid to say it, but just because your first baby was a delight and slept all through the night, that doesn’t mean your next baby will be the same!

Babies need constant care and attention, day and night. While this is something a parent is prepared for and happy to do, that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. You might have other responsibilities and other tasks that need to be completed in the home.

But you simply can’t leave your baby unattended. Even when your baby is quiet and happy, you might worry and dash in and out of your baby’s room to keep checking.

Even at night, you may find yourself lying awake, worrying, “What if something happens?”

This means nights of broken sleep, gradually accumulating in sleep deprivation. In turn, this means you won’t be able to give your all to caring for your baby, and other aspects of your life will suffer.

This is why many parents choose to use a baby monitor. Recommended for up to the first eighteen months of a baby’s life, a baby monitor allows a parent to spend time out of the hearing range of your infant, without running the risk of missing any crying, fussing, or other problems.

There are a wide variety of baby monitors available, ranging from very basic to high-tech. Of course, you want a reliable device, something you can trust. One popular and well-reviewed brand of baby monitors is Owlet Baby Monitors. These are high-tech devices that may well give you peace of mind and a good night’s rest.

Are they worth the hype? Let’s find out.

#1   Owlet Smart Sock 3 Baby Monitor

Many baby monitors work by connecting to the side of the baby’s crib or perching on a nearby surface. The Owlet Smart Sock 3 baby monitor is a little different. The sensor itself is built into a fabric casing, which wraps around the baby’s foot like a sock.

It’s comfortable and safe and is able to read the baby’s heart rate and oxygen levels, as well as to monitor sleep.

The monitor connects to your smartphone, so you can keep an eye on your baby’s wellbeing wherever you are. The sensor also reacts with lights and sounds if there’s a problem; otherwise, it stays green to indicate everything is fine.

Many parents find these added extras to be very useful. Especially for first-time parents, the extra reassurance that your baby’s heart rate and oxygen level is fine can be reassuring.

The Owlet Smart Sock isn’t a medical monitor and shouldn’t be used as a substitute for medical care and parental supervision. Even so, it can go a long way towards keeping an eye on your baby’s health. It can give extra peace of mind, especially if you’ve chosen to follow a sleeping plan that involves letting the baby fuss a little during the night.

It’s worth noting that if you’re popping in and out of your baby’s room during the night to check on them, it’s possible that this is what is causing sleeping problems. Sometimes, a baby might fuss or grizzle during the night, but almost immediately fall back asleep again.

However, if their parent sticks their head in the room, the baby is likely going to wake up and start crying in earnest.

As soon as you can, learn to distinguish between your baby’s cries. This is something that comes naturally for most parents in time.

What’s Included with the Owlet Smart Sock 3?

 

The Owlet Smart Sock package comes with more than just the sensor itself. It also includes:

The sensor battery is rechargeable, lasting for up to 16 hours. However, if you forget to charge the sensor before your baby goes to bed, not to worry, it recharges speedily, taking only 20 minutes to get 8 hours of charge. A full charge takes only 90 minutes.

This is particularly handy for busy parents who might easily forget to plug in the sensor during the day. Additionally, the base station provides an easy “drop and go” charging option.

It’s worth getting into a routine of dropping your sensor onto the charging station every morning, to get a full charge as quickly as possible. Your baby will probably need an average of 15-17 hours of sleep a day.

However, this might vary, as many sleep-deprived parents will agree.

Pros and Cons

While the Owlet Smart Sock offers plenty of features in a small, convenient package and is definitely a favorite for many parents, that’s not to say it’s right for you. Let’s take a look at some pros and cons.

Pros:

Cons:

You can find the Owlet Smart Sock 3 baby monitor online, along with customer reviews. For more information, click the button below:

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#2  Owlet Duo Smart Baby Monitor

The Owlet Smart Sock 3 is a very useful tool, but many parents would prefer a complete way of monitoring their baby. The Owlet Duo Smart baby monitor does include the fabric Sensor Sock but also includes a variety of other features, including the all-important Owlet Cam.

The Owlet Duo comes with all the monitoring sensors of the Smart Sock, such as providing handy readings of your baby’s heart rate, oxygen levels, and sleep, and it also includes the Owlet App and connects to your smartphone.

However, it also contains a camera, so you can keep an eye on your baby as well as receiving updates and notifications. It streams audio and visuals to your phone and also measures “sleep trends.” This means that you can see what kind of sleep quality your baby is getting, total hours slept, the number of times your baby wakes up during the night, and so on.

Camera Features

A cam feature is usually considered an indispensable part of a baby monitor. It gives a parent extra peace of mind, knowing that you can glance at your smartphone screen to see your baby sleeping peacefully. From the Owlet Baby Monitor Camera, you can expect:

What’s Included with the Owlet Duo Smart Baby Monitor?

The Owlet Duo comes with the Smart Sock as standard. It also includes other extras, such as:

The Owlet Duo baby monitor might take a little more installing than the Sensor Sock; you’ll need to actually affix the camera, among other things. However, you’ll get a much more thorough overview of your baby’s sleep pattern and comfort.

You might also notice things that are affecting your baby’s sleep, the room temperature, for example. This means that you can make adjustments to make your baby more comfortable.

While the Owlet Duo isn’t a medical monitoring device, it can help you get an idea of well your baby is feeling and how well they’re adjusting to their sleep pattern. It can also help you learn when your baby needs attention, and when they’ll simply slip back into sleep if left alone.

Pros and Cons

The Owlet Duo baby monitor might be a great investment for you and your family. Baby monitors can add an extra layer of security, allowing you to rest peacefully, knowing that if there’s any problem with your baby, you’ll hear about it through the Owlet App.

However, let’s take a look at some pros and cons of this particular package.

Pros:

Cons:

The Owlet Duo Baby Monitor can be found online, along with other buying options and customer reviews. For more information, click the button below:

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Why Use a Baby Monitor?

Especially when preparing for your first baby, some parents can feel overwhelmed and unsure about what equipment they actually need. Using a baby monitor might not even have occurred to you. Do you actually need a baby monitor? How long should you use a baby monitor? What are the benefits?

Here are some factors to take into consideration:

Where will the baby sleep?

If the baby’s crib is going in your room, it’s possible that you won’t need a baby monitor during the night. However, what about during the day? If the baby is going to be sleeping upstairs while you work downstairs, or if you’re putting the baby in another room down the hall, it might be worth investing in a good baby monitor. This will allow you peace of mind and means you can get things done without having to check on your baby every ten minutes.

Do you sleep deeply?

While it’s often said that parents are never deep sleepers after their babies are born, that isn’t the case for everyone. A baby monitor can give you the extra confidence you need, especially if you choose one with a camera.

How large is your house?

Perhaps you have a small house, flat, or apartment, and you’ll hear your baby crying in any part of your home. But you might also have a large house, and if you’re upstairs and your baby is downstairs, you simply may not hear anything.

How long will I continue using the monitor?

The Owlet baby monitors can be used for up to eighteen months, and there’s no reason why you can’t keep on using it. Baby monitors can be good for keeping an eye on a toddler during independent playtime. Of course, at that age, you also need to keep a very close eye on your child for safety.

If you’re considering buying a baby monitor, either before or sometime after your baby arrives, it’s important to think about yourself and your personal circumstances.

When it comes to baby monitors, the Owlet App is especially handy. Which of us don’t have our smartphones on us all the time? Instead of carrying around a receiver, which can be easily forgotten on a kitchen tabletop, you’ll likely have your phone in your pocket.

As long as you have WiFi and a secure network (which almost all of us do), you can use the Owlet App and Cam feed.

Another factor to consider is what sleeping schedule you plan to stick to.  As a parent, you’ll quickly learn to distinguish between your baby’s cries. You might decide not to disturb your child for every cry, especially if you know they’ll settle back down to sleep if they’re not disturbed.

With a baby monitor, you can listen to the audio, glance at the camera feed, and quickly establish whether you need to go in and attend to your baby or not.

Continually going in and out of your baby’s room to check whether they need anything or not might actually work against you, making your baby even less likely to sleep.

Of course, you know your baby best. Remember, if you’re in doubt or concerned about anything to do with your baby’s sleeping, consult a medical professional.

A baby monitor is not a substitute for proper parental supervision. The monitor by itself won’t really improve your baby’s sleep. However, it might work effectively as a tool to help you adjust circumstances to help your baby sleep better or identify possible issues.

Getting Your Baby to Sleep

One of the most commonly searched questions for new parents is “How to Get Your Baby to Sleep” or some variation. Babies are infamous for sleeping badly, and when a baby sleeps badly, its parents sleep badly too.

You might find that you’ve tried virtually everything you can think of, and listened to all of the advice given to you by your friends and family, but your baby still sleeps badly. There is no end of information online and recommended methods to get your baby to sleep, but some extreme methods can actually be harmful to your baby’s development.

Besides, who wants to let their baby cry for hours on end without intervening?

Check out the Baby Sleep Miracle video presentation, which includes some helpful tips to get your baby to sleep, here:

 

Some of the advice is fairly obvious; don’t let your baby stay up too late, don’t let them actually fall asleep in “sleep swings.” It also includes some tips, such as not trying to put your baby to sleep in a completely quiet environment.

If you already have a baby, you may have noticed that your baby doesn’t need complete quiet to sleep. Babies can sleep quite happily, even in comparatively noisy environments. It’s sudden, sharp, loud noises that tend to wake babies, whereas dull background noise is usually fine.

Warning: Sometimes, sleep issues can be a sign of underlying health issues in a baby. When your baby cries, they are trying to communicate something to you. It might be something simple like they’re hungry, or tired, or simply want a cuddle. If your baby had ongoing, chronic sleep issues, or even if you feel concerned, talk to a medical professional.

This is when a monitor like Owlet Duo can come in handy. It doesn’t just update you with readings on your baby’s heart rate, oxygen level, and sleep, but it keeps track of the data and analyzes it. This means you can get a more complete overview of your baby’s sleep pattern and other habits.

Conclusion

Almost without fail, parents say that having their baby (or babies!) is the greatest joy of their life.

However, some parents might start to feel miserable or inadequate, especially when dealing with a newborn. Babies present unique challenges, and it won’t be easy. New parents often wind up sleep-deprived, exhausted, and stressed. Getting their baby to sleep is often the number one challenge.

That’s not to say you can’t do anything to help yourself. There’s a number of methods available to help you and your baby get the sleep you both need so badly.

While baby monitors aren’t a substitute for watching and taking care of your baby, they’re a helpful tool used by countless parents worldwide. It can free up extra time for you, as well as allowing you and your baby to sleep better.

In turn, that means you’ll be fresher and more energized, able to give your little one your absolute best, every day.