My Owlet Smart Sock 3 Review

After a few of you have asked and we used it for the last two months, I have finally done a quick review of the Owlet Smart Sock 3. I wanted to use it with Rowan every night for at least two months before I had something to say, otherwise, I felt that you wouldn’t get an honest review from me.

Let’s start with what it is. The Owlet Smart Sock 3 tracks a baby’s oxygen levels and heart rate while he or she sleeps. Then, if any of these levels fall outside of a preset range, a notification is sent to the base station, smartphone, or tablet. It also alerts you when it gets loose, which has happened a few times, mostly parent error at putting on.

The Owlet Smart Sock 3 isn’t literally a sock. But it is a special fabric, that is tested for burns and allergies, that wraps around your baby’s foot to hold a sensor in place against her skin. The soft fabric fits snug so it doesn’t slip off in the middle of the night when they turn over. Since you choose the right size for your baby and it uses velcro to put it in place, it’s not uncomfortably tight either.

 Rowan has never complained about it or fusses with it on her foot.

The Owlet Smart Sock 3 uses pulse oximetry, which is clinically proven to effectively track sleep, oxygen levels, and heart rate. It’s the same technology that you may have experienced if you’ve ever gotten your blood oxygen levels checked at a hospital on your finger. And if you have, you know how sensitive it can be, I don’t know how many times it wouldn’t read mine at the hospital because I had nail polish on.

During setup on their app, parents can set high and low zones for heart rate and oxygen levels. When your baby’s oxygen and heart rate stay within these zones, the base station glows with a green light. If the levels leave this range, the base station and your phone notify you with sounds and lights. On top of this, Owlet offers additional information on its app. Parents can view live readings and can see their baby’s sleep trends and historical data for both heart rate and oxygen levels. You can also set up your phone to send you notifications about changes in the various measurements. We both like to see her deep sleep and light sleep cycles before tiptoeing around the bedroom or cleaning up the kitchen after dinner. We live in a 2 bedroom apartment, therefore you can hear EVERYTHING happening from one room to another. The kitchen is right outside her door, and our apartment, I SWEAR everything makes a noise, the doors can’t even shut without a creak.

Setting up the Owlet is fairly straightforward. You download the iOS or Android app to your phone or tablet, which guides you through the setup process and connecting the Owlet base station to your home wifi network (required for the Owlet app to function). Answer a few basic questions about your child, set your preferred range, and you’re good to go. It comes with three sizes for socks, you choose them based on your child’s size, usually fits up to 18 months of age or 30lbs whatever comes first. It’s really simple, took me no time to set up (five minutes!) and we used it that same night.

For us, it quickly became a habit to use the Owlet Smart Sock 3 every night. We never used it during her naps (perks of living in a 2 bedroom apartment), I just didn’t see the point since we are at home or napping in the stroller. If we were to travel, I would for sure bring it and use it there. It’s small and can be packed quite easily. Though it took a little getting used to putting the sock on before bedtime, Rowan likes to wiggle around when we put her PJs on, it’s like wrestling a wild animal for 5 minutes. Putting the smart sock on quickly became routine.

The fun bit about the Smart Sock 3, is that doesn’t revert to a horrible alarm if it falls off the foot or out of range, it plays a lullaby instrumental song instead. That way, it doesn’t necessarily freak out Rowan or annoy us, I thought that was a great feature. I personally cannot stand a shrieking alarm on my phone and choose smooth ringtones or alerts.

Curtis and I both agree that we would have loved to have this when she was a newborn, I think it would have saved us a few sleepless nights with the peace of mind when we got home from the hospital till moving to her crib.

Other features of the Owlet Smart Sock 3

– 16-hour battery + quick charge
– Wireless charging
– Measures sleep trends
– From 0-18 Months or to 30 lbs
– Wearable under footed PJs or socks
– Ability to snooze notifications

Overall, I think it’s worth considering, especially as new parents! Great baby shower gift to add to your registry for family or friends to buy or pool together. Babies are supposed to sleep the first six months of their life in your room, this is an added reassurance and when you switch from the bassinet to the crib, it just allows you to sleep better! First mom here, and between the camera monitor and the Owlet Smart Sock 3, my husband and I both slept better knowing we had a backup. I for one sleep with earplugs since my husband snores alllllll night long.

I’m so impressed with what is out there now compared to when we were babies. Our parents had nothing as we do now!

Do you own an Owlet? Would you try it out? You can shop it here.