EDITOR’S NOTE
While both the Baby Vida and Owlet Baby Monitor are discontinued, Owlet has updated and redone their smart sock and renamed it the Dream Sock, which is now part of the Owlet Dream Duo: Dream Sock Baby Monitor and HD Camera. This updated version gives you an HD camera with a 130-degree angle view, 4x zoom, and night vision. You will also get access to the Owlet Dream App where you can watch and track your baby right on your SmartPhone or other devices. This allows you to monitor their wakings, heart rates, sleep quality, hours slept, and sleep patterns. The Dream App will give you a breakdown of their sleep sessions plus give you expert tips about sleep and other parenting advice. This device is HSA/FSA approved, which allows you to use those funds to purchase this pricey monitor.
If you do not want the video camera option, you can also purchase the less expensive Owlet Dream Sock to monitor baby from your SmartPhone; plus, you will get access to the Dream App.
If you’re in the market for an oxygen/heart rate monitor for your baby, no doubt you’ve come across the Baby Vida and Owlet monitors. Both are sock type devices that wrap around your baby’s foot to measure its vital statistics and send out an alarm if the measurements fall outside the norm.
Parents may want an oxygen saturation and heart rate monitor for many reasons, such as – baby has a medical condition which warrants extra monitoring, or simply for peace of mind while the parents sleep.
The Owlet Smart Sock 2 is hands down the more reliable of the two, based on the experience of a large number of parents who credit the device with providing peace of mind, and even saving the lives of their babies.
The Winner – Owlet Smart Sock 2
Owlet Smart Sock 2 Features:
- Measures oxygen and heart rate using pulse oximetry – hospital grade technology
- Wraps around foot of the baby
- Compatible with Apple or Android smart phones – connects via Wifi
- 100 ft range (for the Owlet Smart Sock 2, the original Smart Sock had a range of 15 ft)
- Works without Wifi – can work with base station alone
- Sock comes in 3 sizes, grows with child, up to 18 months
- Recharges fully in about 3 hours
- More expensive
Owlet Smart Sock 2 Customer Reviews:
Baby’s Den – 5.0 stars, 12 reviews
Albee Baby – 4.9, 11 reviews
Owlet – 4.5 stars, 926 reviews
Check out the video from the manufacturer below:
The Really Good Stuff
Reliable
It is clear that most users of the Owlet Smart Sock 2 find it reliable, which is not the case for a lot of competing products. Parents were satisfied with the peace of mind it offered and there were not a lot of reports of false alarms or the sock coming off. Reliability is a huge factor in the decision making of most parents when purchasing an oxygen/heart rate monitor for their baby.
Hospital-grade technology
The Owlet Smart Sock 2 utilizes the same technology as is used in hospitals – pulse oximetry or the little red light that clips onto your finger at the hospital to measure oxygen saturation. It’s not invasive, safe and accurate.
Comfortable
There were no reports that I could find of the Owlet Smart Sock 2 being uncomfortable. If anything, the only consideration was that it might not fit premature babies as their foot would be too small for the sock. And even then, the manufacturer has suggestions on how to make the sock fit better on the tiny foot.
However, because the Owlet Smart Sock 2 includes 3 different sized socks, it should be easy to accommodate most baby feet up to 18 months old. The smallest size sock fits babies from 6-8 lbs up, for about the first month of age. The next size is for 1-3 months and the last is from 4-18 months approximately.
Easy
The keyword for the Owlet Smart Sock 2 is EASY. Users report the Owlet Smart Sock is easy to put on and get a good fit. The directions are easy to understand. The app is easy to navigate. Easy is good.
No Wifi needed to operate
The Owlet Smart Sock 2 is completely operational if there is no Wifi connectivity available. Without a Wifi connection, the baby breathing monitor communicates with the base station via Bluetooth and it will be the main alert system. The base station uses a sound alarm as well as a light alarm in case of trouble. With a Wifi connection, it can be connected with the app on your phone and the alert will come through the app on the smartphone as well as the base station.
Portable
Because the Owlet Smart Sock 2 does not need Wifi to operate, it’s completely portable. You can take it from home to daycare, to the car, on vacation, etc. Without Wifi, the Smart Sock will communicate with the base station, and any alarms will be seen and heard on the base station.
Warranty
The Owlet Smart Sock 2 is guaranteed under warranty for 1 year.
Free unless you want more perks
The Owlet Smart Sock 2 does have the option of a monthly subscription which provides historical data on your baby’s sleep patterns (deep vs light sleep, etc) as well as age based milestones. However, many parents find this unnecessary as the free version provides monitoring in real time and that’s all they really need to monitor.
The Potentially Bad Stuff
Expensive
The Owlet Smart Sock 2 is much more expensive than Baby Vida, about double the price. For price conscious parents, this may be a downer, but the reliability of the device would make up for the budget buster.
Not the best customer service in the past
There were reports of customer service not being the most helpful in the past when customers have run into issues. Basically, if it works well, you’re good to go. But if you run into trouble, you might have problems getting the company to help you resolve them. Hopefully, the company has resolved it’s customer care issues and is working on taking care of parents better. Recent reviews seem to support this change.
Long charge time
The Owlet Smart Sock 2 takes about 3-4 hours to fully charge, per the manufacturer. As long as you remember to plug it in during the day, say in between naps and long before bedtime, you should be fine. Many parents just get in the habit of plugging it in as soon as they take it off the baby. But if you forget to plug it in, the Smart Sock might run out of battery before the night is through, which means it’s not going to be monitoring the baby.
Surely with the advancements in technology, one would expect to see the charge time decrease with each consecutive version that comes out.
To read more about the Owlet Smart Sock 2, check out our in depth review here or the manufacturer’s website here.
The Runner up – Baby Vida
Baby Vida features:
- Monitors oxygen and heart rate via a “brand new form of pulse oximetry”
- Wraps around foot and ankle of the baby
- Works without wi-fi
- Wireless, bluetooth, compatible with Apple or Android smartphones
- Fits comfortably over baby’s foot
- 60 ft range
- Recharges fully in about 3 hours
- Much less expensive than the Owlet
Baby Vida Customer Reviews:
Google – 2.7 stars, 15 reviews
Walmart – 2.4 stars, 10 reviews
Check out the video from the manufacturer below:
The Really Good Stuff
Inexpensive
The really nice part of the Baby Vida monitor is the price. Currently, it is less than half the price of the Owlet Smart Sock 2. This is great news for families on a budget who need an oxygen/heart rate monitor. Check the currentprice on Amazon here!
When it works, it works well
The reports from customers who were satisfied with the Baby Vida monitor were very positive. Those customers really liked the monitor and were happy with their purchase. This says to me that when the monitor works well, it does a good job.
The Potentially Bad Stuff
Not the most reliable
Unfortunately, many of the reviews that were left for the Baby Vida monitor, show the product was completely unreliable. This is disconcerting, as having an oxygen/heart rate monitor that doesn’t work is possibly even worse than not having one at all. At least when you don’t have a monitor, you can be hyper-vigilant versus relying on something only to find out it failed you. Parents reported the unit simply did not work, or did not work well.
Needs an app to transmit alarm
Unlike the Owlet Smart Sock 2, the Baby Vida does not have a stand-alone base station through which to transmit the alarms. The Baby Vida uses Bluetooth technology to sync with most Android and Apple phones and will then push the alarm to the device. But what if your phone dies during the night? Without a phone to receive the data, and because there is no base station, you will not have access to the data being collected (or any alarms).
Cumbersome
Where the Owlet excels in ease, the Baby Vida does not. The directions are confusing and cumbersome, and so is the actual process of putting the sock on and getting a good fit.
Not Comfortable
Some reviews say that the product actually caused damage to the skin of the baby’s foot. Part of the issue was that in order to secure the monitor to the baby’s foot, it needed to be very tight. The monitor straps rubbed the skin raw and it took weeks to heal. This was also disconcerting to me as a monitor that is worn as a sock should be comfortable enough to wear for every nap and bedtime. Having to worry about rubbing your baby’s skin raw is the opposite of what this monitor is supposed to achieve – which is peace of mind.
Also long charge time
Just like the Owlet Smart Sock 2, the Baby Vida has a charge time of approximately 3 hours. But, as long as you remember to plug it in during the day, say in between naps and long before bedtime, you should be fine. Still, it’s a potential inconvenience.
To read more about the Baby Vida monitor, check out the manufacturer’s website here.
The Baby Vida did not make our list of the Best Baby Monitors, but the Owlet certainly did. Head over to that article to find out why we like the other baby monitors best.
Which one did you decide to go with? Or have you used either and have feedback to give? Please let us know!
