I know I tend to be an anxious person and have been thinking about investing in one of these just for some peace of mind. I can see myself setting an alarm for every 15 minutes to check if the baby isn’t breathing (which I know is not practical but I honestly don’t know if I could sleep otherwise)
Does anyone have any experiences with the owlet sock or other breathing/movement monitors? [name_f]Do[/name_f] they actually work or are they just expensive gimmicks made to make money off of worried parents?
I don’t have personal experience, but from what I have seen…
They’re VERY helpful to people who bring home babies prone to breathing issues (like my cousin’s preemie, Owlet monitors oxygen levels and was really helpful for them) or have experienced previous losses and have lots of anxiety due to that.
They can be detrimental otherwise, because sometimes they give false alarms or have other problems. From what I have seen, they do work as advertised, but that doesn’t mean they’re not made to make money off worried parents!
It’s not something that I felt was worth spending money on. I slept with my baby next to me, could check on her breathing whenever I woke up, and that was good enough for me.
I just have a video monitor that links to my phone, that way I can chill a bit when she goes to bed and just check on her whenever I feel like it. I’ve not felt the need for a breathing monitor but I can imagine if she had been a preemie I’d be more on edge at the beginning.
I may not be a psychologist, but I happen to have a bachelors degree in psychology. And I know a major life changing event like having a baby, getting married, death etc. can cause even someone who has never dealt with anxiety or depression to have a mental break. [name_m]Add[/name_m] to that severe sleep deprivation and major hormonal shifts and body dysmorphia you could be in for a world of hurt if you’re not prepared (and sometimes no matter how much you are prepared it still catches you off guard)
So myself, as someone who knows they are already naturally prone to anxiety, looking for ways to preemptively handle the anxiety that comes with a new baby and having a plan before baby arrives, is actually pretty healthy…hence the question about owlet socks & breathing monitors.
This is why I haven’t bought one yet, I’ve read for some people it actually increases anxiety. Thanks for your reply, trying to decide what is going to be helpful to you and a baby and what isn’t as a first time mom can be really challenging!
Thanks for your replies ladies! I think we’ll hold off purchasing anything new like that until baby arrives, then decide if it’s necessary. I’m hoping the baby monitor and having her in the room will be enough assurance that we won’t need it!
I’ve considered one. Husband doesn’t love the idea of wifi device being attached right to their body for half the day so he’s against it (he recognizes the irony of being on his phone all day, but I think he’s more worried abt his child than the effects on himself lol). I’ve told him that I can’t control how I will react in regards to anxiety and worry until once baby is here, and if I’m a hot mess and worried sick and think that it will help at all then we’re buying it, no second guessing. I said it’d be nice to have it on registry and let other ppl buy it for us but he wants to wait.
I’m fine with this plan because I [name_f]DO[/name_f] wonder if the increased monitoring will only feed my anxiety/I’d like to know if I can manage without it. Also we can order or pick it up fast and easily enough if we decide to do it. I would like to try without it first. [name_u]Baby[/name_u] will be in a bassinet next to me overnight.
As an aside if husband was more for the idea of owlet I’d prob use it if I ever used the rock n play we were given. As it is we’re not going to use the RNP either as it makes him too worried. Fair enough to me. Were bound to learn a LOT in the next few months anyway and I’m sure we’ll adapt and change our methods a million times in response.
@anotherkate we’ve done the exact same thing, we have a movement monitor on our baby registry if someone wanted to go big and get it, but otherwise I think we’re going to try it first without it and see how it goes and then purchase it if necessary
To amend my previous post, I mentioned to my friend who had the owlet about using the rock n play only with the owlet and she said that the owlet doesn’t work if baby is in a swing/moving device/being jiggled or carried. It just gives a message that baby is moving. So not much help there if anyone else was thinking of combining it with some sort of swing.