Owlet Smart Sock 2 Baby Monitor- My Honest Review
Product: The Owlet Smart Sock 2 Baby Monitor
Retail Price: $299.00 for sock monitor only (price varies), $149.00 for camera only, $399.00 for Sock + Camera
Best Place to Buy: Amazon, eBay
Personal Rating: 9 out of 10
The Owlet Smart Sock 2 is a wearable monitor that uses pulse oximetry to track heart rate and oxygen levels. It is the newest craze for parents and rightfully so. I’ve mentioned before that I swear by this device, and it’s clear to see why 94{cff05f84b557692690786f01aac343ca795d254bba52b32b6e7dc8eb4ccdb223} of parents have reduced anxiety and better quality of sleep after purchasing the Owlet.
The Owlet comes with an app that portrays a preset range of where your baby’s heart rate and oxygen levels should be. If your baby ever falls off the scale of these preset numbers, the base station will immediately signal an alarm and send the data straight to your smartphone.
The notification on your smartphone will then inform you as to why the base station has gone off. So, if you’re like me and leave your phone on your bedside table while you sleep, this means that, before you even leave your bed, you know what to look for when you go rushing in to check on your baby.
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Owlet Saved My Daughter’s Life
It was 4:06 a.m. in the early morning hours of the first night home with our daughter. My husband and I lay in bed sound asleep, our daughter peacefully sleeping in her Rock N Play, to the side of me. The house was quiet, when all of a sudden, the room lights up red and the unforgettable chime of an alarm sounding off near my head. The Owlet database had gone off, signaling that our daughter’s oxygen had fallen below 80{cff05f84b557692690786f01aac343ca795d254bba52b32b6e7dc8eb4ccdb223} (the lowest of the preset range for oxygen readings).
My husband shot up out of bed and rushed over to my bedside to unswaddle and asses our daughter. In a panic, I opened the Owlet smartphone app to check her live readings. After a few painstaking minutes, as we intently watched her oxygen fight to make it up past 80{cff05f84b557692690786f01aac343ca795d254bba52b32b6e7dc8eb4ccdb223} we quickly called the after-hours nurse.
While talking to the nurse through sobs and tears, I held the phone up to our daughter, so the nurse could hear her struggled efforts to breathe, which is when they told us to immediately take her to the Emergency Room. Full-fledged panic had set in, as well as despair and confusion. Prior to becoming a mother, I had never known anxiety to this extent. The ten- minute drive to the hospital felt like hours.
As I rode in the backseat clasping my daughter’s tiny fist in my hand, I could hear her wheezing and prayed everything would be okay. We finally made it to the Emergency Room where they promptly took us back to a room. Within minutes, my eight-pound infant was hooked up to multiple monitors, IV’s, machines, and was even given a catheter. As a new mother, it was too much for me to bear, so I left the room.
An hour or so went by when the doctor came back to us regarding her test results. He showed that her blood sugar levels were low and that her airways needed to be suctioned. As I stared at my small daughter, lying in a hospital bed fit for an adult, I had to keep my mind from wandering. With the help of suction and some formula to supplement feed, they were able to get her oxygen and blood sugar levels back to normal.
Now, this scenario played out well for us, and ultimately resulted in a positive ending, however, without the Owlet, it could have been a very different story. The thought sometimes haunts me that if we had not placed that monitor on her foot before we fell asleep that night, what could have happened?
Peace of Mind is Priceless
My two-day-old daughter was able to receive the necessary medical attention due to the careful monitoring the Owlet provided. To us, the fact that this monitor alerted us in time to potentially make a life-saving call, was priceless.
While I was pregnant, and working through the process of items to buy before our daughter’s arrival, we constantly went back and forth on the Owlet. My husband at the time was working two jobs, and I was working as well. With the stress of money and bills, we were trying to budget for only the necessities. Swayed by the purchase price, my husband wasn’t convinced that this item was a necessity.
Determined to change his mind, I turned to the internet to find personal stories. Given that there were plenty of these life-saving stories, my efforts had paid off, and he had finally agreed to buy the Owlet, and thank goodness he did.
Click here to buy the Owlet Smart Sock Now!
What is the Owlet Smart Sock 2 & How Does it Work?
The Smart Sock isn’t technically a sock. It’s more of a wrap, that has a built-in pocket for a small sensor that can be removed and inserted by the user. Once the sensor is in place, the sock is then fastened around the baby’s foot and held together by two separate Velcro connections. This keeps the sock fitting snug and in place, as your baby tosses and turns throughout the night.
The sensor is placed against the baby’s foot, either on the top or the bottom, and then uses pulse oximetry to accurately measure sleep, oxygen, and heart rate levels. Pulse oximetry is the same technology used when you visit the hospital and they place the white clip with the red light on your finger to measure your blood oxygen levels.
Here is what the sock looks like while on the baby’s foot.
The Base Station & The Smartphone App
Once the sock is fastened with the sensor snug against the skin, the data is recorded and monitored through the base station which connects to the sock via Bluetooth. The range from the base to the sock is roughly 100 feet depending on the structure of your home.
The data that is recorded by the base station is then shown directly on your smartphone through the Owlet app. It shows live readings in real time, and also sends wellness notifications to your home screen while the base station is on, but the app is not open. This allows you to check the base station readings, and receive notifications, no matter where you are, as long as you have a WiFi or cellular connection.
The base station doubles as a charger for the sock, which has an 18-hour battery life. Along with gathering information, the circular base station has a glowing ring that illuminates in different colors. Each of these colors has a specific meaning.
- White- The base station is plugged in and is not on, or the sock is charging.
- Green- The base station is on and actively gathering data, and all levels are within range
- Blue*- The base station has lost connection to your WiFi or internet and needs to be reconnected. Check to be sure there is not a problem with your internet server.
- Yellow- The sock has slipped out of place, prohibiting the sensor to get accurate readings. Simply tighten or adjust the position of the sock.
- Red- The dreaded red notification. This means that your child’s readings have fallen out of the preset ranges for either heart rate or oxygen levels.
*The most comforting part of a blue notification is, that even if the internet connection is lost, and the readings can’t be seen from your phone, you can still have peace of mind knowing that the base station is still working with the sensor in the Smart Sock, and will still alert if your baby’s levels drop out of range.
What Comes in the Box
The Owlet Smart Sock 2 Baby Monitor can be purchased new, for $199.00. I have found that the best place to buy this monitor is on eBay due to their competitive pricing. I had to do a little digging and sift through some searches, but I was able to get my Smart Sock for less than retail price in a brand new, unopened, package. But if you have an Amazon account, you just can’t beat the free two-day shipping that Prime has to offer.
Here is what you can expect when opening your new Owlet Smart Sock 2:
- 3 Socks (the sizes range from newborn up to 18 months)
- 1 Sensor
- 1 Base Station
- Charging and connecting chords
- Set up manual & App Instruction Guide
Until now, a major complaint through customer feedback and my own personal experience was the fact that the Smart Sock did not come with a video camera. Recently, the Owlet company proved they were listening and recently made the new audiovisual addition. This optional feature is brilliant.
When I bought my Owlet Smart Sock 2, there was no option for a camera and I can say that I will be purchasing this feature for my next baby.
The camera features:
- 130-degree wide angle lens
- 1080p high-quality images sent straight to your phone
- Room temperature sensor
- Two-way audio
My Review
Now, that you have heard all the facts, and I’ve shared my own personal experience with you, it’s obvious as to why I would rate the Owlet Smart Sock 2, a 9 out of 10.
Initially, my reservation in giving it a solid 10 comes from the fact that they didn’t have a camera to go with it when I originally bought it. Now that it has an audio-visual feature, that does change the game for me. The Owlet is super easy to use and set up. It is very reliable and the fact that it saved my daughter’s life, is invaluable to me.
I never go a night without placing this sock on my daughter’s foot, and I fall asleep with peace of mind knowing that my daughter is being carefully and constantly monitored.
The fact that the base station accurately monitors your baby and stays connected to the Smart Sock even in cases of internet server failure, speaks volumes of its surety. The security that the Owlet brings to parents is life-changing, and now that I have it, I truly don’t know how parents before this, slept at night.
I would recommend the Owlet Smart Sock 2 to anyone and everyone seeking peace of mind and quality of sleep. You cannot put a price on your child’s life, this sock is worth every penny.
Did you find this review helpful? If you enjoyed this review or would like to leave your own review of the Owlet Smart Sock 2, please comment below!
XOXO
18 Comments
Keenan
Personally not having a child myself, I can’t even imagine how much anxiety and stress a situation like the one you had with your daughter may cause. After reading this, the day I have children I’ll be investing in this! Peace of mind with children is everything and it seems like this product would give you ultimate peace of mind!
Thank you for sharing this wonderful product! Although like I said I have no children of my own, I do have multiple friends that do have children that I’ll be sending over to this review!
Madysen
Hi Keenan,
Thank you for sharing, even though you may not have kids of your own, you can imagine how frightening it is to worry about someone you care deeply about.
The amount of anxiety cannot be put into words when it comes to your child breathing. SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) was always lingering in my mind while I was pregnant. I felt like there was always something to worry about, but this sock took all of those worries away. Yes! Send this over to your friends and pass along a great product to ease their minds!
Thank you!
Madysen
Vikrant B
First of all, Thank God your daughter is safe…!! I think there is no need for explanation about How this Product is LIFESAVER…and Every Parent must have this for their babies. As being merely a human we have some limitation and with this product, one can always be assured that the baby is being closely monitored all the time and if something is about to happen, The Owlet Smart Sock is there for Rescue…..!!!
Madysen
Hi Vikrant,
It was easily the scariest moment of my life and I owe it to the Owlet for saving my daughters life by allowing me to take action before it was too late. I am and always will be a HUGE advocate for this monitor. I cannot express how grateful I am to Owlet for being there to carefully monitor my child while I was sleeping.
I loved what you said about being human and having limitations. This device eliminates human error and allows us to be sure our child is being monitored with accuracy.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Madysen
Carolyn
Wow, what a very scary story. I am so glad to hear that your daughter is okay. We’ve always lived in a very small place so never had the requirement for a monitor, but going to check it out now that the kids are a bit further away in the house
Madysen
Hi Carolyn,
Thank you for sharing. Even though living in a small space makes it easier to hear you child waking from sleep, the Owlet could still give you comfort knowing it can detect the silent threats, such as heart rate and breathing.
Now that you are in a bigger space, I would definitely recommend this product if you have infants or children under the age of 18 months. It will help ease your mind knowing your child is safely being watched and to help in preventing SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).
Thank you!
Madysen
Amanda
OH my land, I have seen these before and you do create a great review but in my opinion if my little ones were younger I would jump on this like white on rice! No joke, I spent many nights watching my old monitor to see if my babes were breathing or had the speakers cranked to make sure….this would of made those already sleepless nights a little more restful. The time’s they did sleep I was worried about them but with this product…there’s no need. Amazing what has been made since I had my little babes.
Thanks for sharing this!
Madysen
Hi Amanda,
Thank you for stopping by! Yes it is truly amazing how far we have come in terms of technological advancement, and I feel so lucky to be a mother in this day in age. Not only for the convenience it provides, but with this sock it also provides life saving technology that can ease your mind and help you catch up on some much needed zzz’s.
I am sure plenty of momma’s out there can relate to your story of restless nights watching the monitor to make sure their sleeping child was breathing. I remember when my daughter first started rolling over to her tummy to sleep and I was so scared she would suffocate. The Owlet helped me sleep peacefully knowing that it would instantly alert me if her breathing had been compromised from rolling over.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Madysen
Suzanne Stoddart
I am always amazed at the technology they have now for parents. And I’m so thankful for you and your baby, that you had something like this.
We certainly didn’t have anything like this when we raised our kids. And all the years of them contracting croup, it sure would have been helpful.
This is something I’m going to talk about with my kids when more grandchildren come along.
Thanks so much,
Suzanne
Madysen
Hi Suzanne!
Thanks for stopping by! Sometimes, I am just amazed by technology and I’m so grateful I live in a time where it’s so advanced. I can’t even imagine how mothers before my time slept at all! Without this sock I don’t think I would ever stop worrying. I appreciate you sharing it with your kids. It’s been a lifesaver!
Madysen
Hilary
What an incredible story! I don’t have littles, but I am a nurse – and I can imagine the frantic feeling of not being able to help right away. I didn’t know this existed, (I’m not an OB nurse), but I will share it with my patients. This is a fabulous product. We always monitor O2 closely, and some of the other monitors out there aren’t that great. Thank you for this!
Madysen
Hi Hilary!
Yes, this is an absolute lifesaver in the most literal sense! I think it’s great for nurses and doctors to be aware of this technology so that they can recommend it to new mothers. I am so glad I had this monitor for my daughter!
Kelsey
This truly is an amazing product. It’s so incredible to see the new technologies coming out now and the lives that are being saved because of it. I’m not a mom yet, but when I do have children I will definitely be looking at buying this. Thank you for sharing your story.
Madysen
Hi Kelsey!
It’s times like these that I am so grateful for technology and all its advancements. I am happy to be a mother in a time where we have all of this type of stuff accessible to us. This is definitely a must-have item for when you have babies of your own. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Steve
Great article Madysen. I really appreciate you shared your story with us, how this monitor helped to save your daughter’s life, I never thought about baby’s monitor that way before and had no clue that there are baby monitors with such features like measuring the oxygen level, sleep and heart rate. Also, it has a wide angle lens and 1080p high definition video. Wow, it’s a really amazing piece of kit. Technology these days are just amazing and can give that extra peace of mind for us, parents and make our lives a lot easier and less stressful. Even if it’s not cheap for the full kit at 399$ I think is well worth the money. Thank you for this amazing review.
Madysen
Hi Steve!
You are absolutely right, the technology now days is so amazing and this monitor is worth every penny. After the Owlet Smart Sock alerted us and saved my daughters life, I will forever be an advocate. I can tell you, this is the best purchase my husband and I ever made.
Megan
I’m in tears reading this. That had to of been terrifying for you and your husband. My daughter is wearing the owlet right now as she sleeps next to me. I’m so thankful to have it. When she was first born, her little foot was too small for it, so I spent most nights laying there watching her breathe as she slept. Now that she fits in it, I’m able to sleep a lot better. I’m so glad you had it on your daughter when this happened. It is an expensive device, but my husband and I decided we were not going without it when our daughter was born. I feel like it’s something everyone should have.
Madysen
Hi Megan!
Thank you for your awesome comment, I would have been just like you watching my baby breathe if that sock didn’t fit. Doesn’t it make you feel so lucky to be a mom in this time of technology, I truly don’t know how parents slept before Owlet was a thing! It’s the greatest monitor ever. Like you said, it’s totally worth the price.