High Tech Baby Monitor Tracks Breathing, Movement
BOSTON (CBS) - From Fitbit to Google Glass wearable technology is becoming more and more common. Now a Boston company is bringing the idea into the baby nursery.
"It tracks everything. It tracks all the movements, if he flips over to his belly, if he goes onto his left side, his right side," says Heather McGibbon, mom of 5-month-old Camden. She is talking about Mimo, a high tech baby monitor in the form of an organic onesie. Green stripes sewn into the fabric keep tabs on a baby's breathing while a cute little magnetized turtle captures sound, skin temperature, and position.
"We do think this could potentially replace the more traditional baby monitor," says Dulcie Madden the co-founder of Mimo. "Our whole goal is to get parents more sleep." And it's not just about one night's sleep. Parents can input when their baby eats, takes medicine, or what they wear to bed all to try to find out what works best. "Over time we are able to actually run more algorithms to help you see what helps your baby sleeps better," says Madden.
A Mimo starter kit goes for $200. It's compatible with newer iPhones, iPads, and Android devices. And expect to see more high tech monitors in baby stores soon. Like the Owlet, Sproutling and My Sensible Baby from a Somerville start-up.
But, technology can mean glitches. Heather tells us the app has been slow to load some days delaying real-time information. When Mimo is up and running Heather can get notifications sent to her iPad if Camden spikes a fever, rolls over, or stops breathing. But is this all too much information for parents? "I don't think it's too much information because you are able to... you can turn off notifications," explains Heather.
Right now Heather has Mimo set to only alert her if Camden stops breathing. Heather is keeping a separate video monitor nearby too and maybe getting a few extra hours of much-needed sleep, "it definitely helps me be less stressed about my child."
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