Therapist Recommended – How New Parents Can Reduce Anxiety With The Owlet Smart Sock & Cam

As new parents, my husband and I would do absolutely anything within our power to keep our son safe. While we were expecting, we searched high and low for all of the latest and greatest safety products for our home and our family. We baby-proofed the house and prepared the vehicle for his safe travels home from the hospital. When we discovered the Owlet Smart Sock 2 and Cam, it was a no brainer that we needed this for our first child (and each child to come thereafter). As a therapist and new mom myself, this is my advice on how new parents can reduce anxiety with a new baby.  

Advice From A Therapist And New Mom

As you may know, I am both a new mom and a licensed mental health therapist. (Keep in mind that all opinions voiced here are my own.) As a therapist and new mom, I know a thing or two about anxiety. Sometimes the best way to reduce anxiety is to know that you have done absolutely everything you can in a specific situation and then you need to practice letting the anxiety go. (Easier said than done, I know!) Having the Owlet Smart Sock 2 with Cam and practicing safe sleep practices has allowed me to know that I truly have done everything I can to keep our son safe. The Owlet Smart Sock 2 with Cam is the answer for how new parents can reduce anxiety with a new baby.

How New Parents Can Reduce Anxiety With A New Baby

Here is some evidence for peace of mind, based on a study that included 47,495 Owlet users that was published in a pediatric journal in December 2017. Chick here for the link to the full article. Click here to see the summary on the Owlet website.

• Evidence for “Peace of Mind:” 96% of parents using Owlet feel less anxious, debunking the long-held theory that in-home monitoring leads to more anxiety for parents.
• Better Quality Sleep for Parents: 94% of parents report better sleep quality while using the Owlet Smart Sock.
• Generation Shift and Knowledge-Empowered Millennial Parents: 75% use in-home monitoring for peace of mind or the desire to know more about their child.
• Healthcare Confidence: 37% of Owlet users had at least one healthcare industry professional in the household.
• Safe Sleep for Babies: 82% of parents report practicing the safe sleep guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Owlet Smart Sock 2

The Smart Sock comfortably wraps around your baby’s foot to track heart rate, oxygen levels and sleep using clinically-proven pulse oximetry. It is designed to notify you if your baby’s heart rate or oxygen levels fall outside the preset zones. The base station glows different colors based on the information the sock is receiving. This easy to code color system is an easy way of how new parents can reduce anxiety with a new baby.

White Light: indicated that the base and/or sock are charging.

Blue light (flashing and sound): indicated that the base and/or sock have lost the WIFI connection.

Yellow Light (flashing and sound): Sock cannot get an accurate reading (ex. Might have fallen off).

Red Light (flashing and sound): Your baby’s heart rate or oxygen levels have fallen outside the preset zones. Something could potentially be wrong and you should check on the baby immediately.

Green light: Lets you know everything seems to be okay.

The Owlet Smart Sock 2 and Cam comes with 3 different sock sizes to fit babies from birth to 18 months. Simply insert the tracker into the appropriate size sock and change sizes as needed. baby only wears the sock on one foot at a time. The Smart Sock can be worn on either foot! When used on the right foot, the sensor dome should be on the top of the foot. If used on the left foot, the sensor dome should be on the bottom of the foot. And yes! The smart sock can be worn under footed pajamas or regular socks as well! Plus, the sock itself can be washed in the washing machine as needed. What an easy solution to the age-old question of how new parents can reduce anxiety with a new baby!

Owlet Cam

Want to stay connected? Hear and see your child from anywhere with the Owlet Cam. The Owlet Cam streams HD 1080p video with night vision and two-way audio to your smartphone over a secure, encrypted WiFi connection. Keep informed of your baby’s needs with background audio while you use your phone for other tasks.

Cam Features:

• HD 1080p video with night vision
• Live stream from anywhere via NEW Owlet App (iPhone or Android)
• 4x digital zoom
• Two-way audio
• Background audio
• 130° wide-angle lens
• Room temperature sensor
• Adjustable magnetic base
• Secure, encrypted WiFi – AES 128-bit encryption and TLS connection to WiFi

Owlet App

Sleep is critical to your infant’s overall wellness, mood, and development. By tracking baby‘s heart rate and movement, the Owlet app can provide insights into totals hours slept, awake times and a breakdown of light vs. deep sleep. Use this data to help create routines and develop healthy sleep habits for your baby. The combination between the sock, cam, and app is another great way of how new parents can reduce anxiety with a new baby by using the Owlet. 

Making It Possible:

Finally, you can use your Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) to buy the Owlet Smart Sock and the Smart Sock + Camera Bundle. The Camera alone is not available to purchase with your HSA or FSA accounts, but the bundle is. Just use the Debit/Credit card that you would normally use for medical expenses to pay. The Smart Sock is not covered by insurance, however, individuals with an FSA or HSA plan can use those funds to purchase the Smart Sock or Sock+Cam. Owlet also offers a payment plan!

Set-Up

First of all, the packaging is adorable!  It is all well organized and didn’t make a huge mess when trying to get it opened and installed. My husband and I tag-teamed the setup. He installed the camera, which only took one screw that was provided, a screwdriver and tape measure (not provided) to get the camera 36 inches about the mattress. I set up the sock, which essentially means I plugged it into the wall to charge.

At first, we both tried to set up an account with the Owlet app. My husband set his up first and I wasn’t able to set mine up. I was frustrated and confused at first, but quickly realized it was a simple mistake!  Turns out you can have multiple devices connected to the camera and sock, but they all need to be on the same account. So the same email and password for each smartphone. 

Our Thoughts

Finally, our thoughts.  We love the clarity of the crystal clear camera. My husband was a little disappointed that there is not a separate monitor screen, but that it must be used with his smartphone. In contrast, I really appreciated this aspect!  One less device to keep charged, carry around and keep track of. So this seems like a personal preference type of situation. We have been using the Owlet Smart Sock and Cam for nearly three weeks now. After three weeks of nightly use, we have only had one incident of the sock falling off and that was because I didn’t put it on correctly! We do use regular socks and a sleeper at night to keep our son warm and ensure the sock stays in place. 

This was one of the first items on our list when we found out we were pregnant. Therefore, we had high expectations and let me just say, we have not been disappointed. Certainly, as a therapist and new parent myself, this is exactly how new parents can reduce anxiety with a new baby!

If you’re an Amazon shopper like me, you’ll be happy to know that you can find this set for sale on the Owlet website. 

Do you have any suggestions for us as new parents of how to improve sleep with a newborn?