Can you believe I am 5 months postpartum? Look how tiny Knox’s little feet are in the photo on top from his newborn photos! Oh my word. Pardon me while I go weep. It’s pretty wild how fast time has flown by, and it’s hard to believe Knox will be crawling soon. He is incredibly sturdy and loves to stand on his feet at all times now (of course with our help). In so many ways, parenthood has been far easier than I had pictured in my mind for so many years. And, in others, it’s been just as chaotic and difficult as I thought it’d be.
Feeling overwhelmed and not being able to do everything I want right when I want has been just about dead on what I had prepared myself for. No matter how much I plan or write my day out, I am always leaving something at home that I needed or arriving 10 minutes late. I absolutely hate it, but it is what it is right now. Not sure how long I can use the “New Mom” card… but 5 months in, and I am definitely still leaning in on it. I am just happy if I make it where I am meant to be with all necessary clothing both on me and my son. Another hard part I prepared myself for is that I don’t get to just hop out of bed and go workout anymore. To be honest, working out and getting to my Pure Barre classes has been near impossible since Paul is out the door by 8:30 AM and we live 30 minutes away from my studio. We are trying to figure out a routine still that allows me to workout normally again finally. But, again, it just is what it is right now.
As for the things I expected to be horrible but they’ve turned out to not be so bad… my list includes breastfeeding (it’s not as weird as I thought it was going to be), losing my baby weight (thank you breastfeeding), and… sleep. Yes, sleep. I know you never hear new moms say that, but it’s true for us and I am just taking it while we’ve got it. We put Knox on our schedule at 6 days old and by about 2.5 weeks old he was following it to a T. Thus far (all toes and fingers crossed), we haven’t had a sleep regression of any kind. He sleeps like a dang champ. Currently he is doing 8 PM until about 7:30 AM every single night.
Second, I have to say the #1 reason we have been sleeping through the night, aside from Knox’s great sleeping that I prayed so hard for, is because of one thing…
The Owlet Sleep Monitor has no doubt changed the way parents can sleep with peace of mind through the night. When we were searching for a baby monitor before Knox was born, I was frustrated that no matter how “nice” the monitor… it would still require me to be up and watching my baby on the camera to make sure he was okay.
How do I really know if he is breathing? I don’t really have a way to unless I run in every so often to check…
In a perfect world I had envisioned that Knox would be sleeping in his own room as early as possible upon bringing him home from the hospital, and that’s exactly what we ended up doing. He started sleeping in his crib in the nursery a little after 3 weeks old. But what about two exhausted new parents? Lack of sleep was my top fear for when baby came, because I know how I get when I am sleep deprived. I kept saying, “There’s got to be something that monitors them, but I still get to sleep without have to stare at a video screen all night long.” I was at a family birthday dinner one night and my cousin said there totally was, and she is who directed me to the Owlet. YOU GUYS. I have tested this thing out from day 1 for y’all, and 5 months in I cannot suggest it enough. I truly took my time reviewing this for you and testing it out, because of the price tag.
This is my #1 item I would tell parents on a budget (or not!!) to invest the money in. If you have a list of expensive gadgets that you want, but can’t afford to get it all, please put this one at the top of your list.
The Owlet tracks heart rate & oxygen levels. The technology is seriously out of this world. You have a base station that is connected to your wifi as well as an app on your phone to track. Depending on the size of your home, you may be able to keep the base station in your own room while others keep it in the baby’s room. We have an 1800 square foot room, and it’s able to track Knox from our room, which is awesome because in addition to being able to check my phone at any moment I want, I can glance over to my left and see the dock is green. When something is wrong, the dock lights up different colors with an alarm as well as on your phone!
This is why you don’t have to watch a video monitor every again, y’all. You don’t have to watch and wonder if your baby is breathing… the Owlet knows. And, if something is wrong, it alerts you and you can run to your baby’s side in seconds. Luckily thus far, our dock has only gone off in the middle of the night due to the sock moving on Knox’s foot, causing the sock to stop retrieving data. Or, a few times from our wonky wifi going out. Then, all we have to do is go tighten the sock (our baby kicks a lot in his sleep!), and he is perfect again. Or, go reset the wifi. This doesn’t happen often, but it does also show me what it would be like if an emergency did in fact happen in the middle of the night.
When the sock is moved and unable to get vitals, the station lights up blue or yellow. Blue is usually a wifi issue where yellow is a positioning issue. Your phone alarm will go off with an alert letting you know the sock has been repositioned and/or cannot detect vitals.
The base station lights up red in the case of an emergency. This happens if your baby’s Owlet sock detects that your baby’s heart rate or oxygen levels dropped. You can run to the aid of your child, and the app will have a chart showing you the events leading up to the drop. This can be life-saving information for your child’s doctor to have when analyzing why your baby had a scare. Of course this also let’s you know if your baby is having a hard time breathing due to rolling or positioning themselves in a way that is cutting off their air.
Because Owlet can share all of this information far better than I can, I really encourage you to watch this video. It truly is amazing what this piece of technology can do for you and your baby. And, of course, how it can provide you a true peace of mind at night time.
To purchase the Owlet Monitor, you can buy right here. There are three different colors to pick from!
But, believe me I get it, $300 is a lot for so many of us. (I am raising my hand with you!) Owlet has payment plans for as little as $25/month. They honestly believe in the power of their amazing device so much that they want it readily available to everyone!
There is also an amazing foundation called, Knox Blocks Foundation, that provides Owlet Sock Monitors for parents who can’t afford one. Seriously, read their story here. Just a couple years ago, this sweet couple lost their baby boy Knox unexpectedly in the middle of the night. When they heard about the Owlet Monitor months after losing their son, they wanted to do everything in their power to make certain every family in the world could have one if they wanted one. That’s how amazing this device is.
The Owlet Montior could truly be the difference between life and death for your child. It’s peace of mind at night time. It’s better sleep for mom and dad knowing that something is tracking their baby’s every breath and movement while they sleep.
A well-rested home is a happy home, if you ask me. And The Owlet can help with that.
Friends, I cannot say enough how every parent on the planet needs an Owlet. I honestly would say this is why when people ask me, “How are you doing, mommy?”, that I can honestly respond 90% of the time with a huge smile, “SO GOOD!” Knox is a great baby, and I don’t take that for granted. But nothing, and I mean nothing, makes parents sleep better than knowing their baby is safe at night. That’s why I am so grateful for our Owlet Monitor.
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