Owlet Baby Care Raises $15M in Venture Capital Funding

Owlet Baby Care, the Lehi, Utah-based maker of the Owlet Smart Sock, an infant oxygen and heart rate, raised an additional $15m in venture capital funding.
                 

Backers included Eclipse Ventures and Eniac Ventures, as well as new investors Trilogy Equity Partners, the Amazon Alexa Fund, RTP-HC, Capital Integral and Broadway Angels.

The Techstars company, which has raised $25m in total funding, intends to use the funds to expand its reach into retail and international distribution, launch two new product lines and conduct a large infant health study.

Founded in 2013 by Kurt Workman, CEO, Owlet Baby Care has developed a monitor that tracks a baby’s oxygen and heart rate. Using pulse oximetry, the same proven technology used in hospitals, the Owlet Smart Sock is designed to send notifications to the Base Station and via Wi-Fi to a smartphone, if baby’s heart rate or oxygen fall outside a preset range.
As part of this new funding, Owlet has become the commercialization partner on a $1.5m grant from the NIH to further infant health research. This brings the company’s total grants from the NIH to $3 million since 2015.
The company will launch an IRB-approved clinical study in 2017, which will focus on collecting a large set of infant health data to provide clinicians and researchers insights into an infant’s health and wellbeing.
Also in 2017, Owlet will release a connected care feature giving users access to their data and the ability to share that data with pediatricians.

Childcare workers say infant care is biggest need

New mom Julia Fuentes says she got lucky finding a child-care center with an available place for her 9-month-old daughter, Penelope.
           

Many child-care centers in the Brazosport area are at capacity when it comes to infants, including some with a year-long wait-list.

Some parents will come to the center saying they just found out they’re pregnant and want to put their child on the list, which can have a wait time of up to a year, Assistant Director Cindy Ward said.

The wait-list is long enough to fill a whole other child-care center, Ward said.

“There’s a huge need,” Ward said. “It’s really disheartening to say, ‘I’m sorry there’s no room.’ We’re in need of new centers in the area.”

Donna Kenney, director of the Big Kids site for Children’s Garden in Lake Jackson, said the biggest need is for infants and toddlers.

The state’s Department of Family and Protective Services also requires a specific number of caregivers per age group. There can only be four infants to one teacher, for instance, but there can be up to nine 1-year-olds per teacher, DeLaGarza said.

Infants require more care than an older child, she said.

“Most everyone here that I have came from another day care, and that says a lot too because it’s like they didn’t have options,” she said. “It’s pretty sad because these people have to work, and if they’re going to work everyday not happy, that makes for a miserable day for them.”

While major industries, such as, Dow Chemical Co., BASF Corp. and Freeport LNG have grown, Ward believes the need for child care isn’t any worse than when she started working at the center nine years ago.

The center also is the only facility in the area to be accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The accredited center means the ratio of children to teachers is lower compared to other child-care facilities, Ward said.

The center caters to a mixture of college students, faculty and residents. It has about 80 children between the ages of 6 weeks and 6 years.

Single men in Japan are signing up for baby care classes

Masaya Kurita, a 31-year-old bachelor living in Tokyo, cradles a plastic baby, gives it a gentle wash in a small basin, and places it back down on a neatly folded towel.

He has no partner and no baby on the way, but has opted into a male-only 'ikumen' - or child-rearing - course, hoping it will better his chances in finding a life-long partner.

The course on Sunday (September 18) was organised by Osaka-based company, Ikumen University, with the explicit aim of helping bachelors actively seeking partners portray themselves as marriage-worthy. Ikumen is a term that combines the word 'men' with 'iku', which means 'nurture' in Japanese.

The course involves learning how to bathe and dress a baby, as well as how to - what the course organisers say - understand a woman's perspective on child-rearing through exercises such as wearing a seven kilogram pregnancy jacket, the company says.

On top of that, data published by the Ministry of Labor showed that men who did tie the knot rarely took paternity leave, tipping much of the burden of child-rearing onto women.

Only 2.65 per cent of men took paternity leave in Japan during the fiscal year of 2015, a far cry from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's goal of 13 per cent by 2020.

Moms whose infants died in day care petition for 6 months parental leave

A mother who lost her 15-week-old baby on the first day of day care wants to hear more from Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton on parental leave.

Amber Scorah took three months maternity leave after her son was born last year. Even though her work’s leave policy is more generous than many other employers, Scorah didn’t feel like three months was enough time off. She struggled leaving baby Karl, even asking her employer if it was possible to take more time off. It wasn't if she wanted to keep her job. So, like most working moms in America, she took him to day care. When she went back at lunch to check on her son, he was dead. You might have read her heartbreaking story on a New York Times parenting blog last winter.

"I saw my son unconscious, splayed out on a soft changing table. His lips and the area around his mouth were blue, and the day-care owner was performing CPR on him, incorrectly," she wrote in the article.

The cause of death was inconclusive.

Ali Dodd’s story isn’t much different than Scorah's. Dodd’s son, Shepard, suffocated in a car seat when a childcare worker didn’t check on him. It was his sixth day at the day care. He was “still too little to lift up his own head,” she said. Dodd didn't get any paid leave off. Shepard went to day care at barely 11-weeks-old.

What You Really Need For Baby’s First Weeks

Wear

5 short-sleeved onesies or undershirts
3 long-sleeved onesies or undershirts
7 one piece sleepers – zip or snap
2 pairs soft cotton pants
6 pairs socks or booties
1 light cardigan or hoodie
1 snowsuit or bunting bag for a winter baby
3 pairs scratch mittens
Swaddle and Cuddle

2 thick cotton blankets
8 thin muslin receiving blankets
3 “swaddlers” with straps

Feeding

1 Boppy pillow, or similar
15 burp cloths (to also use as bibs)
2 Lansinoh cream/ointment (for breastfeeding)
1 breast pump (optional if not returning to work shortly after birth)
6 pairs of nursing pads
2 – 3 nursing bras
6 four-oz. bottles (if formula feeding…1 – 2 or buy as needed if exclusively breastfeeding)
6 eight-oz. bottles (if formula feeding…buy as needed if breastfeeding)
1 bottle and nipple brush
bottle drying rack
Formula (if planning to exclusively bottle feed – check the expiration date and don’t buy too early!)

Diapering

If cloth diapering:  4 dozen reusable diapers, 8 water proof covers, 6 snap closures OR about 3 dozen all-in-ones
If disposable:  1 box Newborn size, 1 box size one
diaper pail
changing pad
2 boxes disposable wipes OR 12 washcloths designated as diaper wipes
1 diaper rash cream, paste or spray

Bathing

1 plastic bath or sink bath insert (optional)
12 washcloths NOT used for diaper station
baby soap or wash
2 hooded towels (optional…you can always use the family towels)

Sleeping

1 approved crib, bassinet or Co-sleeper with appropriate mattress
3 waterproof pads
4 fitted crib sheets
2 sleep sacks
white noise machine (optional, but often useful)
(If bed-sharing follow the Safe Sleep 7 Guidelines, available at www.llli.org.)

Health and Hygiene

infant nail clippers
1 baby-specific or rental, near-natural free and clear laundry detergent
1 soft bristle infant hair brush
1 baby comb
1 infant thermometer
1 bulb syringe

Travel

approved stroller
car seat (have it installed BEFORE you leave the hospital)
pack and play (optional)
1 – 2 slings or soft baby carriers

Extras (all optional)

changing table
rocking chair
diaper bag
sun shade for car
2 – 4 pacifiers
rattle
toys
mobile
floor gym
Don’t Forget

Food plan for parents!
Support and help!

What Do You Need to Know About Herbs For Breastfeeding?

Herbs to affect breast milk supply – sounds a bit risky, don’t you think? What goes into the milk, goes into the baby.

There are definitely herbs that should be avoided while breastfeeding, but there are also herbs for breastfeeding that have documented effects on breast milk supply if used in the right amounts; both to increase and decrease milk supply.

Here you can learn which herbs that may increase or decrease milk supply, which herbs to avoid while breastfeeding and what myths there are on the topic.

Herbs to increase milk supply

Perhaps the most well known milk-increasing herbal remedy is fenugreek. Fenugreek is a plant grown primarily in the East, particularly China and India, but can also be found throughout some European countries. Many Moms are familiar with fenugreek as it’s a main component of store-bought curry powders. Studies have found that consuming fenugreek tea daily not only increases maternal milk supply but also helps newborns put on weight. In one study, babies whose Mothers consumed fenugreek tea generally lost less weight immediately following the birth and also regained this weight quicker than others.

Similarly, fennel has also been found to increase breast milk supply. Fennel is known for its aniseed-like flavor and, like fenugreek, is often added to Indian curries for a bit of flavor and spice. It’s thought that fennel helps to increase the milk supply because it contains phytoestrogens which are chemicals found in plants that mimic the actions of female sex hormones, particularly estrogen. Researchers suggest that phytoestrogens stimulate the milk glands, producing more milk.



To make fennel tea, crush 2 teaspoons of fennel seed and add 1 cup of boiling water.

A third helpful herb for breastfeeding milk supply is blessed thistle. This one is less well known than the others, but comes from the same family as milk thistle which is a common remedy for liver problems.

Blessed thistle, along with fenugreek, is one of the few herbs actually medically recognized as an aid to breastfeeding. Blessed thistle is consistently shown to work so well that it’s the recommended herb for inducing lactation in non-biological Mothers.

Find Out What to Eat While Breastfeeding

Do you remember the long list of foods to avoid while pregnant? It is all gone now. What you can eat while breastfeeding is… almost everything!

Most foods will not harm your baby, but his or her wellbeing may be affected. Then there are some foods, especially some fish, that really should be avoided. And for colicky babies, breastfeeding mom can make a difference by adjusting her diet.

This article will show you what foods are and aren’t appropriate while breastfeeding and why.

The good news is that the body will more or less produce excellent breast milk no matter what you stuff your body with. (OK, within limits!)

The bad news is that if you follow a really poor diet, your body will be depleted of important nutrients, such as iron and calcium. You might become more tired than necessary; get headaches, experience poor complexion, as well as other issues.

My first piece of advice is to remember to eat food in the first place!

It is very easy to not prioritize eating when you have a baby who wants to be in your arms more or less all the time. So make a choice to eat healthy food or you will almost certainly reach for convenience food such as candy, and other choices that are not that great if you want to feel good and maybe lose some weight!

What To Eat While Breastfeeding

★ Water
★ Whole grain
★ Fruits
★ Spicy foods
★ Gassy foods
★ Fish

Warning: Never ever get drunk while you are responsible for your baby – breastfeeding or not!