Sleep and Motherhood. Those are two words that don't necessarily go hand-in-hand when one imagines their journey through this beautiful lifestyle. It certainly wasn't what we experienced with my first born, as he was sure to wake us up every hour and a half like an alarm clock. Once Colbie was born I figured we would be experiencing the same things. I had myself a list of Netflix shows to shuffle through while I stayed awake countless hours in the middle of the night while the rest of the world around me slept (and snored..) but to our surprise we gave birth to a baby who genuinely loves her sleep.
What a blessing!
... in disguise.
When she came home and immediately started sleeping 5-6 hour stretches you would figure that I would be such a happy and well rested new mother of two but I couldn't sleep a wink. I would get about 1.5-2 hours in before my body woke itself up to check on her breathing. I spent quite a few nights draped over the end of my bed with my hand on her stomach occasionally dozing off before yet again, I would wake in a panic to make sure she was still breathing. It wasn't long before my husband and I realized that she was just going to sleep, we should take advantage of it and this me not sleeping gig wasn't going to work.
When we came across Owlet we knew that this was exactly what we needed. This tiny little sock that slips on her left foot is how I am able to sleep at night, goofy as it may sound.
Why?
Because it will alarm me if things start to look awry. The sock uses pulse oximetry technology to monitor her heart rate and oxygen levels and via wifi it sends this information to a base station that sits on my bed side table - the base station then emits a green light to let me know that her readings are within a normal range. If they aren't I will be awoken with an extremely loud alarm an a beating red light. The technology is so advanced that it will also turn the base station yellow if it can tell that the sock has been placed incorrectly and blue if the sock ever goes out of reading range.
If that isn't enough peace of mind right there it gets better, hold onto your socks - no pun intended. You are also able to download the Owlet app on your phone and view her heart rate and oxygen levels as often as you please. Again, if anything starts to head out of a normal range your base station and phone will now alarm you to check on your baby. Any time that I wake up to roll over I will open it, look at her readings and drift back off, I can finally allow myself to rest while she sleeps and take full advantage of the beautiful little sleeper that she is!
I can be well rested to take on the next day through my journey now as a mother of two beautiful children who require all of my attention. Being rested enough to promise this to them is a gift so underestimated.
The Owlet monitor is only intended to be used in safe sleep situations, i.e. always lay your baby to sleep on their back, alone in their crib, with no extra goodies (no blankets, pillows, toys, bumpers etc.). Before purchase be sure to read their disclosure by clicking HERE. You can visit their website for more information HERE, and be sure to follow them on Instagram @owletcare
We couldn't be more thankful for the peace of mind, and the gift of rest that this little device has given our family.
- T
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