This Smart Sock Was One Of My Best Purchases As A New Mom

3 days ago

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

The Owlet Dream Sock is an FDA-cleared babe slumber locator that costs $299 and is FSA/HSA-eligible, though it is presently discounted for a constricted time.
It goes beyond your modular babe show by search your child's bosom rate, humor oxygen, and slumber patterns pinch 3 alarms: a yellowish incorrect fresh alarm, a purple abnormal reference alarm, and a bluish siren erstwhile nan sock is retired of scope aliases debased battery.
While mendacious debased oxygen and abnormal bosom complaint alarms are exceedingly uncommon (I've only had a fistful successful our 8+ years utilizing Owlet products), I wish location were a abstracted debased artillery siren alternatively of nan aforesaid out-of-range alarm.

Is it safe to opportunity that each caller parents request much sleep? This is partially why baby monitors were invented successful nan first place. I still retrieve erstwhile video monitors for babies became mainstream, which meant I nary longer needed to haul a walkie-talkie-looking instrumentality astir my location and now transportation a surface instead.

Now, trackers for illustration nan Owlet Dream Sock person go truthful blase that they tin measurement your baby's humor oxygen levels, bosom rate, and slumber cycles -- and alert you if thing sounds unusually.

Such wearables person been a family basal for me, peculiarly because my family has a history of febrile seizures, which tin origin a consciousness of unease erstwhile my children are sleeping. In hopes of helping different caller parents who whitethorn acquisition akin discomfort, fto maine stock why a sleep-tracking babe sock is highly recommended.

How nan Owlet tracks slumber and different measures

Like an Apple Watch aliases Fitbit, nan Dream Sock is simply a wearable; successful this case, it's worn by your babe while they sleep. It tracks their bosom complaint and oxygen levels to representation their slumber stages. It besides alerts your smartphone if your babe is awake aliases shows immoderate signs of irregularity.

The container has nan sensor, a guidelines station, and 4 cloth socks successful 2 sizes to fresh babies from commencement done 18 months. For nan years after, Owlet offers a Plus action that includes 2 further toddler-sized socks to fresh kids from 30 to 55 lbs.

The Owlet Dream Sock connected 3-year aged foot.

The sock holds a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor that nan babe wears connected their foot, akin to what you deterioration successful nan ER to way your bosom rate. Through nan Dream Sock, nan Owlet app tin way bosom rate, mean oxygen levels, noise, wakings, and movements to study your baby's baseline behaviors and measurements.

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Once that baseline is measured, nan guidelines position will nonstop an alert to your phone, suggesting that your babe needs your attraction whenever nan sensor connected nan sock detects a deviation from those numbers.

Sleep regressions and tracking

As a millennial parent, I've ever sought guidance from acquisition apps and nan occasional forum group for parents to get maine done nan first challenges of parenthood. These resources helped maine navigate slumber regressions, for example, and nan Owlet Dream Sock has been likewise helpful.

With capable usage, nan Owlet app builds a schedule for erstwhile you should nan baby's adjacent slumber aliases nap should start. Part of this depends connected nan measured baseline and their age, which you tin participate manually. For times erstwhile your babe isn't sleeping pinch nan sock -- location are days erstwhile I driblet my one-year-old disconnected astatine nan daycare, for illustration -- you tin input their slumber cadence for nan Owlet app to activity from.

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The app besides features humanities slumber data, truthful you tin position your baby's slumber patterns and spot really they alteration during slumber regressions, maturation spurts, aliases illnesses.

Why I bought a sleep-tracking babe sock

I first bought a smart babe sock for my firstborn six years ago, hoping it would thief maine show my baby's breathing and springiness maine capable tranquility to slumber without worry.

As first-time parents, my hubby and I were worried astir abrupt babe decease syndrome (SIDS), truthful we'd person our newborn deterioration nan Owlet much for bid of mind than thing else, and we knew that we weren't nan only ones who thought that. According to a medical study conducted from 2015 to 2017, nan Owlet Smart Sock helped 94% of parents slumber amended astatine night.

Once our firstborn sewage past six months old, we seldom utilized nan Owlet Smart Sock -- until she started having complex febrile seizures. I don't cognize if you've ever held a mini kid during a seizure, but I tin show you it's nan scariest point that has ever happened successful my life, particularly since I didn't cognize what was happening to her nan first time.

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My family has a important history of febrile seizures, truthful we were told aft nan first 1 that it apt wouldn't beryllium nan last, and it wasn't: My girl had 3 much earlier she people outgrew them by nan clip she turned five.

Charging nan Owlet Dream Sock wirelessly.

At that point, nan Owlet slumber sock served an moreover greater intent for america arsenic parents: It could alert america whenever location were signs of a seizure while our babe slept, for illustration elevated bosom complaint aliases debased oxygen, helping america remainder a small easier astatine night.

Fortunately, our 2nd kid ne'er had immoderate febrile seizures, though she sewage her ain Owlet sock to wear. By nan clip babe number 3 arrived, nan modular sock had conscionable capable artillery near for america to walk it connected to her. She wore her Owlet religiously for nan first twelvemonth of her life until we felt that nan consequence of SIDS was down america -- but past she started having febrile seizures, too.

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My 3rd baby's first febrile seizure came connected erstwhile she was 17 months old, truthful we sprung for a caller Owlet Dream Sock Plus, which Owlet says should past you up to 5 years. She's almost 4 years aged now, and nan sock still fits. This version comes pinch an hold pack, truthful it has socks successful sizes from commencement to 5 years of age, alternatively of nan modular Dream Sock, which goes up to astir 18 months old. With our important family history of febrile seizures, I felt that buying a caller Owlet instrumentality made nan astir sense, moreover if she was our past baby.

A statement connected babe sock monitors

Not each babe socks connected nan marketplace person nan FDA's approval. Owlet utilized to marketplace its slumber sock arsenic a bosom complaint and oxygen show until nan FDA forced nan institution to region this connection from its merchandise descriptions done a warning missive successful 2021. After that, Owlet put its babe sock done nan FDA's requirements and was granted FDA support successful 2023.

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While awaiting its approval, Owlet shifted its attraction to slumber search connected trading materials alternatively of oxygen and bosom complaint monitoring. The FDA-approved Dream Sock still tracks bosom rate, but humor oxygen monitoring is now disposable successful real-time for 1- done 18-month-olds, which is much useful than nan erstwhile 10-minute mean nan Dream Sock offered. The metrics are translated into slumber value indicators successful nan Owlet Dream mobile app. When nan company's algorithm detects these measures shifting from nan regular baseline, you get an alert to cheque successful connected nan baby.

Bottom line

The Owlet Dream Sock retails for $299, which is not cheap, but you tin acquisition it utilizing HSA aliases FSA funds. Seasonal deals besides help. Thankfully, location are nary further monthly fees aliases subscriptions to way your baby's slumber aft you acquisition nan Dream Sock.

Cost aside, nan Owlet Dream Sock is an innovative smart instrumentality that has genuinely helped maine mentally, emotionally, and, to a subtle extent, physically. I've ever loved seeing information successful achromatic and white, and I often usage my Apple Watch and Fitbit to way my sleep. I deliberation extending those capabilities to my kids is simply a no-brainer.