Peace of Mind with Owlet

This post was sponsored by Owlet, but as always, all thoughts and reviews 

expressed are my own. Thank you for supporting the companies that continue to 

make this hobby of mine possible!

I think one of the scariest things about being a parent is nighttime. You so desperately want your babies to go to sleep so that you can get some sleep, but then once they are asleep you can't help but worry. Are they safe? Are they still breathing? What if I don't hear her if she wakes up? I'm a pretty easing going parent, too easy, some might say, except when it comes to sleep. Peace of mind at nighttime can be hard to come by when you're a parent.

I like to keep my babies close during those first few months. I sleep better with them in my room, and I'd by lying if I said I didn't check on them a few times in the middle of the night to feel for their chest moving up and down. Emmy likes to sleep wrapped up like a burrito so sometimes it's hard to tell if she's moved at all once I've put her down for the evening.

And no matter how many times I check on Emmy, nighttime still makes me nervous. Plus, she goes to bed hours before me, so I'm not always upstairs when she's sleeping. This is where Owlet comes in and gives me peace of mind. The Owlet Smart Sock 2, which debuted last month, tracks your babe's heart rate and oxygen saturation and is designed to notify you if either falls out of the preset zones. As a registered nurse turned stay-at-home-mom, this technology is amazing to me.

The Owlet Smart Sock 2 comes with a small, minimalist base station and 3 different sized socks which are meant to grow with your baby. For reference, Emmy is wearing the second sock, which is designed for ages 1-4 months. The sock can be worn on either foot, and even with a squirming baby, is easy to put on. Then you download the Owlet app on to your phone and it will take you through the set-up, which was also incredibly easy. I did have issues getting my wi-fi to connect with the base, but I followed the trouble-shooting guide and all I had to do was restart my phone. There's also a short video on the app when you're setting it up which I found useful, so I would definitely recommend not skipping it. You can customize the app to your baby by adding his/her birth date and photo and you can turn the base station off and on right from the app. If an alarm goes off, both your phone and your base station are designed to notify you.

I can't compare the Smart Sock 2 to the original one since I never tried that one, but from what I've learned, the improvements Owlet made to their original design have only further enhanced the brilliance of this product. The sock has been redesigned so that it fits more securely and the sensors are positioned so that there are fewer false notifications. The bluetooth range has been increased to 100 feet, which means the sock can be further away from the base station now, and the socks have been made open toed, making them more breathable and also allowing placement on either foot.

We've been using the Owlet for a few weeks now, and I cannot emphasize enough, the peace of mind it has given me when I go to bed at night. Or anytime Emmy is sleeping. I know there are so many "must have" baby products out there nowadays, but I honestly think, sponsored post or not, this is that one item that every parent should have, whether you're a first, second, or third time parent. And if you're not a parent, but you know of one, or one to be, do them a favour and let them know about this product. If I could go back in time and have this technology for when Sully was a baby (had I known it about then), I 100% would!

Shopping with Kids Made Easy

Sometimes, as a mom, I find myself torn on baby items. On the one hand, I'm a big believer in less is more and that you don't need every new and amazing baby gadget out there. Like the shopping cart cover, I mentioned in my 10 Most Useless Baby Items post. But on the other hand, there are some really cool baby gear items out there - items I don't necessarily need - but that do make life just a little bit easier. And now that I have a toddler and a newborn to take care of, I'll pretty much do whatever it takes to make doing things out the house easier for me.

As a parent of a newborn (or a baby who still travels in their bucket seat), I find shopping to be one of the most challenging things to do. The timing of it all has to be perfect in order to count on a successful outcome: nurse the baby, burp the baby, take toddler to toilet, get toddler's shoes and coat on, change baby's diaper, put baby in car seat, check that diaper bag is stocked, put my own shoes and coat on, run back to the pantry for extra snacks (god forbid you forget the beloved fruit snacks!), grab a water bottle, haul everyone out into the car, clip baby's car seat into the car, run around to other side and put toddler into his car seat, then finally, buckle myself in. Phew. And we haven't even made it to the store yet!

Then, once you get to the store, after you've bribed your toddler with aforementioned beloved fruit snacks to ride in the front seat of the cart, and after you've put your baby's bucket seat into the cart, you realize there's not a lot of room left to actually buy groceries. Which is the whole point of all this effort in the first place. Yes, sometimes I baby-wear and sometimes, I wait until the weekend so I don't have to lug around both kids, but more often than not, I don't have the energy nor the time to unbuckle my sleeping newborn to strap her onto me in order to go grocery shopping. It's also winter out in my area of the world, so if it's a particularly cold day out, I prefer to keep my baby nestled in her covered car seat.

Shopping with kids is tons of fun!!

Then I started seeing these shopping cart hammocks all over my social media. I'm not a fan of having to haul extra things around with me, but the more I saw pictures of cute babies hanging out in these hammocks, the more I was sold on how genius the idea was. These shopping cart hammocks from Binxy Baby are designed to be used in two different ways: 1) you can place your baby (from newborn  until they can sit up on their own) right into the hammock, or 2) you can strap your bucket seat (up to 50lbs) into it.

The premise behind it is to make space in your cart for whatever it is you're buying and to promote car seat safety while shopping. There are two things that I'm very passionate about when it comes to my kids: car seat safety and shopping cart safety. I know we've all done it, or have seen people do it, but you cannot balance your bucket car seat on top of the cart. If that cart were to tip over (which is easier to do than you think it is), your car seat will go flying. I can't even begin to imagine how horrifying that scenario would be. Luckily, you don't ever have to put yourself in that situation if you have a Binxy Baby.

The Binxy Baby is super easy to use - it just clips on to the sides of the cart and then secures with a strap and Velcro. If you're putting the bucket seat right into it, then there's a third strap that secures the seat into the hammock. If you're putting baby right into the hammock, then there's a seat harness to secure baby. The hammock also folds up and easily fits into your diaper bag.

I've tried the hammock both ways now, and you know where my favourite store to use it at is? Winners & Homesense (TJ Maxx for my American friends)! Their carts are ridiculously small and a bucket seat does not fit into the holding part of the cart well at all. Plus, even if you do manage to cram it into there, you literally have no room left over for your diaper bag or things you want to buy. And I'm pretty sure no one leaves Homesense empty handed!

If you're not a fan of baby-wearing, and your baby doesn't like to shop while in it's bucket seat, or maybe you just hate hauling that thing around anyway, then I think you'd love the Binxy Baby Shopping Hammock. You can even use my referral code to save 10% off the purchase of one (and I'll receive $5 in return). These would make a great baby shower gift!

*I received the Binxy Baby in exchange for this post,  but as always, all opinions and reviews expressed are my own. 

Thank you for supporting the companies that continue to make this hobby of mine possible! 

Would you use something like this?

Moms, what's your preferred method of shopping with a newborn? Baby-wear or keep baby in car seat?