Owlet sock or Angelcare?

[BabyCJuly]

Hi all,

Does anyone have any experience in an owlet sock or angelcare mat?

Do you recommend?

[LouiseTrees]

Yes both. The sock 100 percent. We only got the angelcare mat as it came with a camera monitor and at the time the camera from owlet hadn’t been released. She’s still in our room so not used it yet anyway. Tried the mats one night and they just kept sounding. Only ever had 2 false alarms with the sock and it’s because she’s woken herself up and kicked the sock down her foot a little bit but then in those cases it goes yellow alarm not red because it guesses that’s what happened. I really really like the sock.

[Jadegkeaney]

Have you looked at the snuza hero? That's what I'll be getting I think.

[memberof5]

Following as I need to get a monitor for my baby due in July. It's my 5th baby and for the others I used an angelcare but things seem to have moved on a lot and that seems old tech now.

[LouiseTrees]

The snuza hero does look good but doesn’t monitor heart rate like the sock does. Obviously it has other practical advantages but I still love my owlet sock.

[2020Aug]

I've been debating this too, but there seems to be quite mixed reviews for the owlet and I read it's not accurate at measuring vitals so I'm not sure if this would actually make me more anxious. I've also been looking at the angelcare monitor and also a snuza hero. It's so difficult with so much out there!

[MrsRose2018]

We have gone for nanny monitor breathing pad to be used in the snuzpod and then in his cot when he moves over! We’ve also got a separate monitor because I wasn’t happy with the ones that came with the angel mat or similar

JABLOTRON™ Nanny Monitor BM-02 Babyphone - Respiration Monitor / Sensor Breathing Monitorfor Babies with 1x Sensor Mat - Monitor your Child's Breathing - Made in the EU www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004D060GG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_wu30EbDZYYKE5?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

We have also got this for clipping to his nappy when he is in the Moses basket downstairs! Just to give us me/us peace of mind when he is sleeping and I can also get some zzzz’s or if I want to do stuff around the house! It connects to your phone and shows vitals etc

Sense-U Baby Monitor Breathing Rollover Movement Ambient Temperature Portable Alarm Alert You for No Breathing Movement, Stomach Sleeping, Overheating and Getting Cold(2019 Updated Version) www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B072KSGQVZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_-w30EbPP5SASR?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[MrsRose2018]

Separate camera sorry*

[Squishsquashed]

We used the Nanny monitor pad and it was brilliant. Used one mat in the Moses basket and never had a false alarm (or, thankfully, a real alarm) although there were a few times we'd get the baby out and forget to turn it off and run back swearing when it faithfully went off!

We also had an extra sensor pad for when she moved into large cot and had a handful of false alarms if she rolled right to the side but it was very rare and we used it for nearly two years.

I found it a huge comfort, especially in the early days when I found it hard to sleep without constantly checking DD was still breathing! Our HV wasn't keen as said it can lead to false security but for us that certainly wasn't true, we'd never have taken any risks and followed guidance to the letter, it was just extra peace of mind.

[Squishsquashed]

Only thing to watch is that it's well away from your own duvet and to test it without baby in if you have a fan on in summer - our's was so sensitive we found that it would detect pressure from the breeze of a fan the other side of the room so wouldn't have been effective. If we moved the fan position it was ok.

[BertieBotts]

The Angelcare ones have been debunked, they work on a faulty premise. The ones which measure oxygen saturation are better in terms of warning you if the baby is at risk of positional asphyxiation or suffocating. If I was in the market for one that's what I'd get.

I'd be extremely wary if those cheap copies on amazon with the million keyword product names. They will be direct imported from outside the EU which means they might not meet our safety standards and I wouldn't want to put that into close contact with my baby every night.

[RenegadeMrs]

We have the angelcare mat and it worked well for us. Only sounded once she started rolling. However, I hated the monitor that came with it. It was hard to position and even when the screen was off it gave out light. It was like sleeping next to the Blackpool illuminations.

[Lou573]

I had the angelcare mat with first baby and didn’t get on well with it - couldn’t use it with the Chicco next to me crib and then in the cot the wires are annoying and we got quite a few false alarms in the middle of the night when she wriggled into a corner.

Baby no 2 we have both the sock and the Snuza clip. Sock is great -she was a NNU baby so we got used to being able to check her sats. Downside is you have to remember to charge it everyday as the battery life isn’t great. No false alarms.

Snuza - this was fab with a tiny newborn and so easy to use, no set up or wires or phones needed etc. Now she’s mobile it can get dislodged sometimes and gives a false alarm.

[MrsRose2018]

@squishsquashed yeh I've read all the reviews about the mat saying you need to turn it off otherwise you'll get a shock 😂

We set up the snuzpod and are (against the instructions Tbf) having it an inch or so away from the bed so we don't set the alarm off

That's really good to know about the fan though!!

OP I should have added the the nappy clip - it's akin to the snuzhero concept but shows the vitals on your phone like body temp and breathing on your phone

Also if you're interested this camera is fantastic and again connects to your smart phone as well!

I literally must have spent WEEKS searching this stuff and trawling reviews! It's not got a lot of reviews on amazon but off amazon it does! There isn't a consistently reliably reviews camera IMO so eventually you just have to bite the bullet


KODAK Cherish C520 Video Baby Monitor — 5" HD Screen & Mobile App, Hi-res Camera, Remote Zoom, Two-Way Audio, Night-Vision, Long Range and WiFi https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07YGQ2C9W/ref=cmswwrcppapiii_Kk40EbK776Y72

[Squishsquashed]

Actually the other thing to mention is the wires - I'm not sure if any of the other brand mats available have encased wires but the Nanny mats literally just have wires from mat to button unit. It's not so bad in the Moses basket as the wire from one mat is fairly short, and the baby isn't mobile, but once we got to connecting two mats together for the cot it felt like there was a lot of loose wire that could be a strangle risk. We mitigated it by winding it round the boards under the cot and then taping the wire running up the side of the cot to where the button panel was clipped, and she was never really alone with it without us watching her on monitor, but I think it is a design flaw.

The monitor you have got looks really good, I like that there is a parent unit as well as it being smartphone compatible. The first monitor we got could only be used on a smartphone synced with WiFi which was fine at home but got really irritating if we went anywhere else as seemed to take forever to connect and then it wasn't very peaceful constantly refreshing phone and keeping app open while we were with people. We have one with irs own parent unit now and it's so much easier, just switch it on and turn volume up maybe glance over at it sometimes!