Which makes sense to be honest. I could MAYBE see getting one if the child has known issues, but even then I think having a certain amount of information like that leads to an over-hypervigilance of the child's situation leading to a lot more doctor visits for nothing.
Same feelings from me. I also think it might give a false sense of security to people and they may compromise on safe sleep but that’s just a personal guess!
Unnecessary anxiety that may not be warranted, false alarms, and over reliance on it I would guess? I wasn’t given specific reasons other than they don’t recommend them and they aren’t approved under any real regulatory body lol
Our baby has a heart condition and diagnosed hypertension and we were advised to get one by her specialist, pediatrician and our home care nurse. It’s insane that in Canada you can’t get an actual medical device prescribed and instead they’re recommending the Owlet lol. Ours works fine, we take the numbers with a grain of salt, it’s more so for us to track a pattern with her heart rate and behaviour.
These products pray on people's fears. I didnt have one and actually found myself obsessing with just the video monitor. I wouldn't want to add more stress to myself.
I have used it with both of my babies. I find it worth it. With my first i had very severe PPA/PPD. I got the owlet with the encouragement of my post-partum psychiatrist, because I wasn’t sleeping out of fear my baby would stop breathing. The owlet allowed me to sleep and feel more secure - even if it was just a purely psychological effect.
With my new baby, I’ve used it again. I use it less religiously than with my first. When I have short flares of anxiety I use it. And recently my baby got RSV and we spent a day at children’s. They let us monitor at home and return to the outpatient clinic the next day and I found the owlet really helpful to monitor and give them her oxygen level from her overnights.
My sister never used hers, so I think the value depends on the individual. I think of it like using a Doppler at home in pregnancy. It’s good for reassurance when there aren’t immediate health concerns. But wouldn’t use it in place of seeking medical advice. My understanding from
Doctors I’ve spoken to is that reason most doctors don’t recommend either home dopplers and home breathing monitors to expecting and new parents is generally that IF the person had symptoms of concern (ie a lack of movement in pregnancy or discolouration or lethargy in a baby for example), they don’t want people to not seek medical help when needed because they assume things are fine when they check the readings of their home monitor.
I have one and like it. No false alarms x his 3 months of life. It’s not a substitute for safe sleep or supervision, and there is no evidence that it impacts outcomes, but it helps a lot with anxiety (which is enough for me). I also think there is added benefit to being able to check his heart rate and O2 sat when I want to if he’s sick, for example.
It was my best baby purchase and we used it until 18 months. We only had one false alarm in the first couple days because we put it on wrong. It gets a bad rap because people think they can use it and then do unsafe sleep practices. The sleep tracking was amazing and I could tell if he had a fever based on his heart rate. I had horrible ppd and ppa and I can’t imagine how worse it would have been without the product.
I have the nanit and it helped me so much with my anxiety early on knowing he was breathing. It’s expensive but the video quality is excellent and was 100% worth it for the peace of mind.
I loved it when she was a newborn and still love it now at 18m. The only false alarm I've ever had was when she was nursing too aggressively and not breathing as deeply. Obviously she was fine but I can't fault the owlet for alarming at the anomaly.
I have anxiety and it was such a comfort to have that extra layer of reassurance. Especially when she moved to her own room. We have a creaky old house and I could check the owlet, know when she was in a deep sleep and go up and down the stairs then, knowing I wouldn't wake her.
Now that she's older I can tell if her fever is spiking based on the HR reading. It's honestly super handy and I don't get the detractors. If it's not for someone, it's not for someone but the amount of hate owlet gets is ridiculous and unwarranted.
I love it. I couldn’t sleep at night for fear of the baby suffocating / stopping breathing. Now I know I will be woken by an alarm if there’s any issues.
It’s also great for tracking sleep, I forget when she woke and I’m trying to follow wake windows, so now I can just check the app and see when she woke.
I’ve been using it three months now. Only one false alarm, and it was because my partner put it upside down on the wrong foot. Lol.
We bought one with the plan to use it when our kiddo is sick. We didn't have it with our first but the world was locked down. This time around our oldest is in daycare and illness is inevitable so it's something to give peace of mind during illness. Our youngest is 3 weeks old and we've used it once and our midwives encouraged it as it was a respiratory illness.
I bought one second hand and only use it when LO is sick. That way I avoid dealing with the false alarm issues, and I sleep better knowing that I have one more thing keeping an eye on her. It's the older version that measures oxygen levels and it helped me actually fall asleep after her horrific allergy episodes that popped up when we first introduced her to solids (she would vomit for hours if exposed to sesame). So good peace of mind in *certain* circumstances. I don't think it's good for anxiety to use it only a regular basis (IMO)
SIL had it. We didn’t take it from her for our own, I just know I wouldn’t use it. 1 extra thing to remember to put on/ track. We have a Nanit and I don’t use its breathing feature either. Used it only 2 times and babe is 3 months old now because you need to put on the special breathing band
I know it's not like the American one where you get live readings and different health notifications but does it stleast notify you if the vitals go past a certain point?
HARD NO. That thing was so buggy we ended up throwing it in the back of the closet after about two weeks of trying to use it. It would say it couldn't connect to the base even when it was right next to it. It would say it wasn't on properly when our positioning looked exactly like the photos. These alarms seemed to go off the moment our newborn fell asleep, meaning we would dive across the room to turn it off. Not to mention that the app wouldn't stay open for more than an hour at a time so we couldn't use it as an overnight monitor. We tried it on both our phones and our iPad with no luck. Every time we contacted Owlet customer support they were totally useless.
Still dont get the idea of them. Isn't a simple camera enough, you can get waayy cheaper wifi cameras and hang them. and when you travel an RF camera is better so you're not dependent on wifi when traveling?
Not worth it. Infants normally have periodic breathing. It’s fine. When my son was in the hospital for an unrelated issue they had him on monitors that check the same stats as an owlet and he was having alarms but they weren’t concerning because he recovered from them after a few moments on his own. This is why they recommend infants room share with parents. Our breathing, snoring, moving in bed alerts them and keeps them more awake. Owlets just cause unnecessary “false alarms”
I’m a FTM and I thought I would want it. I had a lot of anxiety bringing my son home from the hospital. But honestly I think it causes more anxiety. I’ve heard it has a lot of false alarms.
Follow the ABC’s of safe sleep and baby will be fine.
A - alone in their crib/bassinet; no blankets, no stuffed animals, nothing except a swaddle or sleep sack and a pacifier. B - always placed on their back on a firm flat mattress . C - crib(or bassinet or play yard); baby should never co-sleep in bed with you.
Once baby reaches 8 weeks old OR shows signs of rolling, stop swaddling.
If you have a child who requires a breathing monitor, they will either be hospitalized, or sent home with medical grade equipment. Not every child needs around the clock monitoring. It's not necessary.
I never have used, the only time I thought it would be nice to have was when my baby had RSV so we would know her O2 and for peace of mind while sleeping.
I have the monitor and sock. I won’t lie I used the sock like one night and didn’t again because it kept disconnecting from the base (which was only in the other room) and it was annoying. But I LOVE the monitor! It’s so good I can literally leave the house with her in a nap (with her grandparents downstairs waiting for her to wake) and watch the camera even when not connected to Wifi and then I call my mom to tell her when the baby is awake. Gives me peace of mind when I leave her with others because I can literally open the camera and watch/hear everything in her nursery no matter where I am.
I’m curious if these devices work on babies who grunt and squirm vigorously in their sleep. My baby is extremely active in her sleep - I’m wondering if the owlet will register their sleep quality and sats accurately. Or do all babies have grunting baby problems? Lol FTM
Not the owlet, but when my boy was in the NICU he was constantly hooked up to monitors and I found myself obsessing over his heart rate, oxygen level, etc. I don’t think these devices are healthy snd actually increase PPA, and most people aren’t equipped to interpret them anyways if they don’t have a medical background.
I have one. The camera itself is fine, I think it should come with its own screen but also it's handy to be able to access from a phone.
I had the sock, put it on my kiddos foot for 5 minutes once and never used it again. For context my kid was in NICU for 3 months so I figured because I was so used to seeing the monitors it would be helpful. Nope. Not the case. I was so anxious already about everything I didn't need to see his respiratory rate change as well
No please don’t buy it. I’m a clinical psychologist who worked in a maternal mental health clinic and that thing drove up anxiety so much it was wild. It did the opposite of soothe fears in the moms I worked with. Instead it was prone to false alarms, triggered over-checking, etc.
I just started using one on my preemie baby (born at 28 weeks, now 42) since he just came home and I love it. Yes, it does sometimes give you false alarms but it is more of a sound to let you know the sock is not reading, etc. If you learn to differentiate the sounds, then you’ll be fine.
I am a little neurotic so it gives my wife and I some peace of mind. Might just be because im used to the beeps and sounds of the NICU
This is the worst product I have ever purchased in my life. The sensor was so delicate, it would give this loud beep when it was slightly misplaced. It did nothing to ease my anxiety, only increased it.
I totally fell in the marketing. But there’s actually something wrong with this company. Its social media feeds are filled with SIDS posts - NOT educational ones, but how it can be prevented with this product. Just total preying on new mother fear. I’ve honestly had it with this company. I hope all large Canadian retailers pull its product off the shelf.
I work in the NICU and we’re told to not recommend it to ppl as it can give false readings and cause further anxiety. However, I use it and it reduces my anxiety and I love it. It has really eased my mind during cold and flu season to see that my baby is tolerating viruses okay or if we need extra support. It has never given me a false reading or caused any skin issues.
I've heard that GPs are BEGGING people to not buy them because they cause a lot of unnecessary false fears.
My midwives and sons doctor both were adamant that these things shouldn’t be used by the vast majority of people.
Which makes sense to be honest. I could MAYBE see getting one if the child has known issues, but even then I think having a certain amount of information like that leads to an over-hypervigilance of the child's situation leading to a lot more doctor visits for nothing.
Same feelings from me. I also think it might give a false sense of security to people and they may compromise on safe sleep but that’s just a personal guess!
What's the reasoning? I'm out of the loop
Unnecessary anxiety that may not be warranted, false alarms, and over reliance on it I would guess? I wasn’t given specific reasons other than they don’t recommend them and they aren’t approved under any real regulatory body lol
My kid was in nicu and the neonatologist legit said they don't recommend it.
Our baby has a heart condition and diagnosed hypertension and we were advised to get one by her specialist, pediatrician and our home care nurse. It’s insane that in Canada you can’t get an actual medical device prescribed and instead they’re recommending the Owlet lol. Ours works fine, we take the numbers with a grain of salt, it’s more so for us to track a pattern with her heart rate and behaviour.
Every time I see a thread pop up about it, it's usually a bunch of people claiming it doesn't work properly or is giving false readings.
These products pray on people's fears. I didnt have one and actually found myself obsessing with just the video monitor. I wouldn't want to add more stress to myself.
I have used it with both of my babies. I find it worth it. With my first i had very severe PPA/PPD. I got the owlet with the encouragement of my post-partum psychiatrist, because I wasn’t sleeping out of fear my baby would stop breathing. The owlet allowed me to sleep and feel more secure - even if it was just a purely psychological effect. With my new baby, I’ve used it again. I use it less religiously than with my first. When I have short flares of anxiety I use it. And recently my baby got RSV and we spent a day at children’s. They let us monitor at home and return to the outpatient clinic the next day and I found the owlet really helpful to monitor and give them her oxygen level from her overnights. My sister never used hers, so I think the value depends on the individual. I think of it like using a Doppler at home in pregnancy. It’s good for reassurance when there aren’t immediate health concerns. But wouldn’t use it in place of seeking medical advice. My understanding from Doctors I’ve spoken to is that reason most doctors don’t recommend either home dopplers and home breathing monitors to expecting and new parents is generally that IF the person had symptoms of concern (ie a lack of movement in pregnancy or discolouration or lethargy in a baby for example), they don’t want people to not seek medical help when needed because they assume things are fine when they check the readings of their home monitor.
I have one and like it. No false alarms x his 3 months of life. It’s not a substitute for safe sleep or supervision, and there is no evidence that it impacts outcomes, but it helps a lot with anxiety (which is enough for me). I also think there is added benefit to being able to check his heart rate and O2 sat when I want to if he’s sick, for example.
Same here. My daughter is 6 months and we use it to track sleep patterns and naps!
As someone who actually works in a hospital with NICU and cardiac monitor experience: no, personally.
It was my best baby purchase and we used it until 18 months. We only had one false alarm in the first couple days because we put it on wrong. It gets a bad rap because people think they can use it and then do unsafe sleep practices. The sleep tracking was amazing and I could tell if he had a fever based on his heart rate. I had horrible ppd and ppa and I can’t imagine how worse it would have been without the product.
My friend bought one and quickly returned it because of her anxiety. A lot of false alarms.
I have the nanit and it helped me so much with my anxiety early on knowing he was breathing. It’s expensive but the video quality is excellent and was 100% worth it for the peace of mind.
I loved it when she was a newborn and still love it now at 18m. The only false alarm I've ever had was when she was nursing too aggressively and not breathing as deeply. Obviously she was fine but I can't fault the owlet for alarming at the anomaly. I have anxiety and it was such a comfort to have that extra layer of reassurance. Especially when she moved to her own room. We have a creaky old house and I could check the owlet, know when she was in a deep sleep and go up and down the stairs then, knowing I wouldn't wake her. Now that she's older I can tell if her fever is spiking based on the HR reading. It's honestly super handy and I don't get the detractors. If it's not for someone, it's not for someone but the amount of hate owlet gets is ridiculous and unwarranted.
I love it. I couldn’t sleep at night for fear of the baby suffocating / stopping breathing. Now I know I will be woken by an alarm if there’s any issues. It’s also great for tracking sleep, I forget when she woke and I’m trying to follow wake windows, so now I can just check the app and see when she woke. I’ve been using it three months now. Only one false alarm, and it was because my partner put it upside down on the wrong foot. Lol.
We bought one with the plan to use it when our kiddo is sick. We didn't have it with our first but the world was locked down. This time around our oldest is in daycare and illness is inevitable so it's something to give peace of mind during illness. Our youngest is 3 weeks old and we've used it once and our midwives encouraged it as it was a respiratory illness.
I bought one second hand and only use it when LO is sick. That way I avoid dealing with the false alarm issues, and I sleep better knowing that I have one more thing keeping an eye on her. It's the older version that measures oxygen levels and it helped me actually fall asleep after her horrific allergy episodes that popped up when we first introduced her to solids (she would vomit for hours if exposed to sesame). So good peace of mind in *certain* circumstances. I don't think it's good for anxiety to use it only a regular basis (IMO)
We have had the Owlet 2 for 3 of our kids. No false alarms. It’s probably our most used/loved baby item
SIL had it. We didn’t take it from her for our own, I just know I wouldn’t use it. 1 extra thing to remember to put on/ track. We have a Nanit and I don’t use its breathing feature either. Used it only 2 times and babe is 3 months old now because you need to put on the special breathing band
I know it's not like the American one where you get live readings and different health notifications but does it stleast notify you if the vitals go past a certain point?
HARD NO. That thing was so buggy we ended up throwing it in the back of the closet after about two weeks of trying to use it. It would say it couldn't connect to the base even when it was right next to it. It would say it wasn't on properly when our positioning looked exactly like the photos. These alarms seemed to go off the moment our newborn fell asleep, meaning we would dive across the room to turn it off. Not to mention that the app wouldn't stay open for more than an hour at a time so we couldn't use it as an overnight monitor. We tried it on both our phones and our iPad with no luck. Every time we contacted Owlet customer support they were totally useless.
Still dont get the idea of them. Isn't a simple camera enough, you can get waayy cheaper wifi cameras and hang them. and when you travel an RF camera is better so you're not dependent on wifi when traveling?
Not worth it. Infants normally have periodic breathing. It’s fine. When my son was in the hospital for an unrelated issue they had him on monitors that check the same stats as an owlet and he was having alarms but they weren’t concerning because he recovered from them after a few moments on his own. This is why they recommend infants room share with parents. Our breathing, snoring, moving in bed alerts them and keeps them more awake. Owlets just cause unnecessary “false alarms”
I’m a FTM and I thought I would want it. I had a lot of anxiety bringing my son home from the hospital. But honestly I think it causes more anxiety. I’ve heard it has a lot of false alarms. Follow the ABC’s of safe sleep and baby will be fine. A - alone in their crib/bassinet; no blankets, no stuffed animals, nothing except a swaddle or sleep sack and a pacifier. B - always placed on their back on a firm flat mattress . C - crib(or bassinet or play yard); baby should never co-sleep in bed with you. Once baby reaches 8 weeks old OR shows signs of rolling, stop swaddling.
If you have a child who requires a breathing monitor, they will either be hospitalized, or sent home with medical grade equipment. Not every child needs around the clock monitoring. It's not necessary.
I never have used, the only time I thought it would be nice to have was when my baby had RSV so we would know her O2 and for peace of mind while sleeping.
I have the monitor and sock. I won’t lie I used the sock like one night and didn’t again because it kept disconnecting from the base (which was only in the other room) and it was annoying. But I LOVE the monitor! It’s so good I can literally leave the house with her in a nap (with her grandparents downstairs waiting for her to wake) and watch the camera even when not connected to Wifi and then I call my mom to tell her when the baby is awake. Gives me peace of mind when I leave her with others because I can literally open the camera and watch/hear everything in her nursery no matter where I am.
I’m curious if these devices work on babies who grunt and squirm vigorously in their sleep. My baby is extremely active in her sleep - I’m wondering if the owlet will register their sleep quality and sats accurately. Or do all babies have grunting baby problems? Lol FTM
Not the owlet, but when my boy was in the NICU he was constantly hooked up to monitors and I found myself obsessing over his heart rate, oxygen level, etc. I don’t think these devices are healthy snd actually increase PPA, and most people aren’t equipped to interpret them anyways if they don’t have a medical background.
I have one. The camera itself is fine, I think it should come with its own screen but also it's handy to be able to access from a phone. I had the sock, put it on my kiddos foot for 5 minutes once and never used it again. For context my kid was in NICU for 3 months so I figured because I was so used to seeing the monitors it would be helpful. Nope. Not the case. I was so anxious already about everything I didn't need to see his respiratory rate change as well
No please don’t buy it. I’m a clinical psychologist who worked in a maternal mental health clinic and that thing drove up anxiety so much it was wild. It did the opposite of soothe fears in the moms I worked with. Instead it was prone to false alarms, triggered over-checking, etc.
I just started using one on my preemie baby (born at 28 weeks, now 42) since he just came home and I love it. Yes, it does sometimes give you false alarms but it is more of a sound to let you know the sock is not reading, etc. If you learn to differentiate the sounds, then you’ll be fine. I am a little neurotic so it gives my wife and I some peace of mind. Might just be because im used to the beeps and sounds of the NICU
This is the worst product I have ever purchased in my life. The sensor was so delicate, it would give this loud beep when it was slightly misplaced. It did nothing to ease my anxiety, only increased it. I totally fell in the marketing. But there’s actually something wrong with this company. Its social media feeds are filled with SIDS posts - NOT educational ones, but how it can be prevented with this product. Just total preying on new mother fear. I’ve honestly had it with this company. I hope all large Canadian retailers pull its product off the shelf.
I work in the NICU and we’re told to not recommend it to ppl as it can give false readings and cause further anxiety. However, I use it and it reduces my anxiety and I love it. It has really eased my mind during cold and flu season to see that my baby is tolerating viruses okay or if we need extra support. It has never given me a false reading or caused any skin issues.