When we become parents, our whole world shifts and one thing becomes certain: Our children have taken the top spot in our hearts. They are the most important things in our lives.
From the moment you first hold your precious bundle of joy in your arms, you want to do all you can to keep them safe. You want to protect them. You want to make sure they are always cared for and loved.
Being a parent brings a lot of joy and love into our lives. But it also brings a lot of worry and stress.
We can’t help but wonder if we are always doing enough to care for our little ones. For new moms, it can all come at you so fast.
Having this new role of being responsible for the most valuable thing in your world, navigating motherhood as a new mom, and dealing with all these anxieties… It can all be so overwhelming.
This is a familiar sight for all new moms: Staying up in the middle of the night, standing over your sleeping baby and watching them to make sure their little chest rises and falls.
You want to know in your heart and in your mind that your baby is okay, even while sleeping.
Should you be afraid of SIDS?
With the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in babies below a year old, there will always be that underlying fear and worry.
As the name implies, SIDS is the sudden and unexplained death of babies younger than one-year-old. It’s commonly linked to sleep, but not much else is known about its causes.
This adds to a new mom’s fear. While most anxieties and fears that come with becoming a parent are usually baseless and we don’t have to worry, SIDS is a very real thing.
Fortunately, there are many ways to reduce the risk of SIDS. The CDC released safe sleep guidelines:
- When your baby naps or sleeps, always place him on his back
- Your baby should always sleep in a firm, flat surface, like a safety-approved mattress with a fitted sheet
- Your newborn’s sleep space should be in the room where you sleep too – advisably until they are a year old
- Things like pillows, soft toys, blankets, and bumper pads should be kept out of your newborn’s sleep space
- Your baby’s head should not be covered, and they should not get too hot – you can tell that your baby is getting too hot if you notice that their chest feels hot or they are sweating
Aside from following these guidelines, another thing that can help us look out for our newborns are baby monitors.
In recent years, amazing tech has been created that lets you monitor not just whether your baby is asleep or awake or crying — it can also help you keep an eye on their heart rate, oxygen saturation, and their sleep.
These baby monitors can help lower your anxieties, and alert you when there is anything that may need immediate attention or if your baby is at risk.
Two baby monitors at the top of the list are Owlet and Snuza.
These two baby monitors work in different ways, but both serve the same purpose of helping to keep your newborn safe and giving new moms a little peace of mind.
So now you may be wondering: Owlet vs Snuza? Which baby monitor should you buy your baby?
We’re here to lay out the facts so you can choose which one between Owlet vs Snuza is best for your newborn.
Owlet vs Snuza – Comparison
An overview on Owlet vs Snuza
Owlet and Snuza are top choices for helping prevent risk factors from escalating and harming your newborn. Both baby monitors are designed to monitor your newborn’s vitals so you can keep track of them too and be aware if anything needs attention. They do this in different ways.
Owlet and Snuza don’t monitor the same things, but they do function for the same purpose: Your baby’s safety.
What you should know: These baby monitors are not FDA-approved. But they are still very much recognized as being beneficial and helpful in keeping your baby safe and always giving you the information you need to stay on top of your baby’s health, especially while they sleep.
Key differences between Owlet vs Snuza
As mentioned, Owlet and Snuza are designed to monitor different things while both are helping to keep your little one protected. Here are the main differences between Owlet and Snuza:
Wearability
Owlet uses a sock that you can wear on your baby’s foot, while Snuza has a device that you can clip on your little one’s diaper.
Monitoring
Owlet monitors your newborn’s oxygen level and heart rate, while Snuza tracks your baby’s movement and has a vibrating feature to rouse them when they are too still – being too still may be a cause for worry.
Connectivity
Owlet utilizes wifi and an app where it can send you information on your phone, while Snuza does not have wifi connectivity nor an app and instead has a device that can alert you from your little one’s sleep space.
Owlet vs Snuza: An In-depth look
Let’s get to know these two baby monitors better.
OWLET SMART SOCK 2
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Quick Summary
- Integrated Wellness Notifications
- HD Streaming w/Night Vision
- Two-Way Talk & Background Audio
- Great APP
Meet the Owlet Smart Sock 2, a high-tech baby monitor that helps you track your newborn’s vitals – oxygen levels and heart rate – while they sleep. Owlet does this with a clinically-proven pulse oximetry. Just wear the sock around your little one’s foot, and that sock connects via Bluetooth to its base unit to a distance of up to 100 feet.
How it functions
The tiny sock that your baby wears has a device called an Oximeter. Through a beam of light emitted to your little one’s foot, the Oximeter finds out how much red light and infrared light they blood absorbs, which helps them calculate their heart rate and oxygen levels. And don’t worry, momma – the Oximeter is totally noninvasive and won’t hurt your baby at all.
Alerts and alarms
Owlet has an alarm for when your baby’s oxygen levels goes below 80% of the preset levels or their heart rate drops below 60 or goes higher than 220bpm. It actually comes with 4 alarms:
Green light – everything is going well and sock and base are properly connected
Yellow light with lullaby sound – the sock may have come loose or is not in place, so the device can’t get a good read on vitals
Blue light with lullaby sound – the sock and base may have lost signal, are too far apart, or low in battery, so they are not communicating properly
Red light with very loud siren – your newborn’s vitals are out of the preset levels and need immediate attention
The app
Owlet has an app for download on both iOs (12 or higher) or Android (5.0 or higher). Via the app you can receive updates and info on your baby’s vitals. It’s very helpful, but it does come with some bugs: Parents have complained of difficulties in connecting the app to the base, and having to spend time resetting and troubleshooting to get them aptly connected.
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- Tracks important vitals – heart rate and oxygen levels
- All wireless
- Real-time updates are sent via phone app
- More than one person can monitor your baby at the same time
- Comes with 3 socks in various sizes – socks are washable, just take out the sensor
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- A lot of connection issues and difficulties due to unreliable connectivity
- App doesn’t always sync in real-time, causing anxiety
- Pricier than a lot of other options in the market
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Owlet is an excellent choice, but there are drawbacks that you should be aware of. It’s very useful though, and is worth checking out.
SNUZA BABY MONITOR
Now it’s time to introduce you to the Snuza Baby Monitor.
Quick Summary
- Clips onto Diaper, No cords, wires or sensor pads
- Portable
- The device is uncomplicated and easy to use
- Affordable price
Unlike kids and grownups, babies breathe from their stomach muscles because they haven’t learned how to use their diaphragm.
Snuza is designed around that fact – it monitors your baby through stomach movement.
How it functions
Snuza has a tiny device that you attach to your baby’s diaper with its clip. The flexible tip of the device rests on your little one’s stomach, and this is what tracks the movement of their abdomen. Snuza has an alarm for when motion is not detected, or if movements are lower than the parameters that have been preset.
Alerts and alarms
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- A system of alarms will let you know if there is cause for worry. The most valuable one is an audible alarm that will sound off to alert you if no movement is detected past 20 seconds.
- Snuza also has a unique vibrating feature – when it detects no movement past 15 seconds, it will vibrate gently to try to rouse your little one so that the abdominal movement starts again. This is usually all that is needed for things to go back to normal, and then Snuza will also revert back to its standard monitoring.
- If this vibrating feature is used 3 consecutive times because of a lack of movement, a “Rouse Warning” will alert you. If 5 seconds after this happens, no abdomen movement is still detected then a sharp, loud alarm will sound off.
- There is also an alert for when your baby is detected to have low movement (below 8 / minute)
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- The device is uncomplicated and easy to use
- No wifis, Bluetooth, smartphone connectivities are needed for it to function fully
- Portability
- Affordable price point
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- Reports of many false alarms from users
- Light may be a little too bright
- Some alarms may not be audible enough
- Some battery issues have been reported
- Can’t be used in a rocking crib or moving sleep space, or when co-sleeping
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Snuza is a good, simple device that you will find easy to set up and use. However, it does not have a lot of the higher-tech features that Owlet has. It’s a solid option though to consider!
Owlet vs Snuza – Which one is better?
In choosing between Owlet vs Snuza, keep in mind that both baby monitors have been carefully designed and created for you to know if your baby has any health compromises you should be aware of and attend to, and to help ease your mind from undue worries.
Comparing Owlet vs Snuza may be a bit difficult because they function in different ways. But at the end of the day, both share a single main goal of helping keep your precious little one safe.
So between Owlet vs Snuza, the important thing to consider is which of these will best give you what you need. You know what’s best for you and your baby!
Dedicated to all mothers, soon-to-be-parents and on the way to family life, The Queen Momma is a blog where all the wonders, adventures and magic happen!