Owlet, a Hardware Battlefield darling, announced that they are going out of beta this weekend and will be available to new parents who want to make sure their wee ones are breathing at night. The announcement comes in conjunction with actual testimonials from parents who feel that Owlet saved their babies’ lives.
Wrote founder Jordan Monroe:
Andrew, Pia, and Easton. These are the names of the babies who were unable to breathe in the middle of the night, and their parents were alerted by the Owlet Monitor in time to intervene. Two of the children were turning blue when their mothers picked them up and stimulated them to start breathing again.
This is our announcement to the world today: Owlet has strong initial evidence that it really can alert parents if, for some reason, their baby is unable to breathe. We are also happy to announce that we are now taking Owlet out of private beta and making it available to the public.
Monroe is careful to point out that Owlet does not prevent SIDS but instead lets parents know when the child is suffocating.
Being a parent I know the strange anxiety of creeping up to a quiet bedroom without knowing what exactly is going on. Owlet, at the very least, can confirm to a new daddy or mommy that baby is still breathing. This desire to check is strong, unnevering compunction and one that is assuaged by a simple bootie.
The bootie costs $249 and is available for order now. While the cynic in me says maybe it’s better to clap eyes on the wee one while they are sleeping instead of depending on an electronic bootie, peace of mind is often worth more than money and technology might let mom and dad sleep at night.
Owlet recently raised a $7 million series A.