Do I Really Need A Snoo
Im going to be completely real with you here.
Is this your first baby?
If so, you dont need to get a Snoo.
I toughed it out with one because I didnt know this thing existed!
Snoo was still fairly new at the time I had my first baby.
But heres the thing instead of the safest baby bed around rocking your baby to sleep, youll either spend hours of your day walking around with your newborn or hoping to God that a car ride or baby swing works to relax baby for you
That is before you have to VERY carefully lift baby out and hope you can put him or her down in their crib without waking them up.
This was me with my first baby!
And it was ROUGH.
She didnt sleep more than 6 hours straight until she was 9 months old and Lord, was I burnt out.
There were no glorious newborn stretches that lasted between 12 to 14 hours for my firstborn she just wasnt a good sleeper.
Thats why I jumped at the chance of purchasing a Snoo!
I just couldnt imagine doing that again let alone being sleep-deprived with TWO children.
Heres a mommy sanity moment brought to you by the Snoo I dont think I enjoyed a cup of coffee that much in 4 months!
Can You Use Other Soothing Techniques With The Snoo
You can use any safe soothing techniques you want, such as taking your baby out of the crib to cuddle, rock, or soothe them yourself.
We chose to give our baby a dummy, but as his arms were swaddled it meant he couldnt teach himself to replace it when it fell out.
Importantly, you shouldnt place any other loose items in this or any other newborn crib: no cuddly toys, comforters, muslins or blankets. This is particularly important with the Snoo because it moves, and a loose item could end up over your babys face.
What Age Is It Suitable For
The Snoo is designed to be used from birth to around 6 months of age. It is relatively small for a bedside crib, but it can hold a baby weighing up to 11.3kg, and Happiest Baby claims it has been tested with a 9-month-old baby in the 95th percentile for height. My son was born in the 97th percentile for height and weight, and although he looked snug by the end, he never seemed uncomfortable.
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Overall We Have A Love
The Snoo is very helpful in the early months. I firmly believe we got more sleep than we would have otherwise. Weve been using it for nearly three months and plan to do so through the weaning process when we transfer our son to a standard crib. And I do recommend it to other new parents.
But, as I mentioned, we do have fears about the weaning process and theres part of me that cant wait to say goodbye to the Snoo.
To 3 Months In The Snoo
After the initial chaos, I started to appreciate having the Snoo a lot more. Putting Sam to sleep at night and after those late-night feedings was a lot faster. When I put him down in his “dumb” bassinet , I had to rock him with my hand on his chest for at least 15 minutes just to coax him back to sleep, which can seem like an eternity at 3 a.m. The Snoo did the work for me. Most nights, it would rock him back to sleep in the time it would take me to get back from the bathroom. And I’m pretty sure he’d sleep for a longer stretches in the Snoo. But since his sleep was so varied, there’s no way for me to know for certain.
Tip: Customize in the Snoo app
Sam was a loud sleeper, he groaned and let out little wails throughout the night. They were loud enough to wake me up, but not loud enough to activate the next level on the Snoo. Once we increased the sound sensitivity on the Snoo, it would pick up sooner, which meant he would calm down faster and make less noise.
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Reasons You Dont Need A Snoo
The SNOO is $1400 or can be rented for $150 a month. You might be willing to pay that for a good nightâs sleep especially if you had a bad sleep experience with an older child. You donât NEED the SNOO. You can achieve the same actions that the SNOO does with your very own hands. I teach parents how to help their newborns become drowsy while in the crib every day for a fraction of the price using my “Calm but awake” Method in my online newborn class.
95% of my private coaching clients, with babies 4 months or older, here in silicon valley use the SNOO. That goes to show you that it can help you in the first few months but it isnât insurance against sleep problems long term. When you have a machine rocking your baby in the night for you it definitely helps them sleep in the short term. However it can rob you of the learning curve becoming a great sleep detective and figuring out what your babies cries and body language mean. In addition when they grow out of it, they donât know how to fall asleep without it.
Most kids grow out of the SNOO around 4 to 5 months of age or as soon as they start to roll they need the space provided by a cirb. Iâd rather you spend $1400 on a high quality organic mattress and crib/toddler bed for your baby that will last her until sheâs a toddler or preschooler.
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The Safest Baby Bed Ever Made Claim
This is the obvious place to start the way Happiest Baby advertises their bassinet.
So, whats that all about, and how come no one is disputing it?
The baby bed market is cutthroat. That sounds wrong, but its true if the competitors could stop Happiest Baby from making the bold claim about SNOOs safety, they absolutely would.
But they cant.
Because the claim is based on data the number of sleep hours logged in the SNOO app without a single case of sudden infant death.
I dont have the current numbers, but that number was 50 million in 2019 and over 75 million in the first quarter of 2020.
Since then, SNOOhas only gained popularity among new parents, and I can safely assume its well over 120 million today.
Whatever the number is, no other bassinet can make that claim, which is why SNOO is toothing its horn with it.
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How Do You Set It Up
It took just a few minutes to set up: all you need to do is click the legs into place, add the mattress, cover and sheet, plug it in and its ready to go.
The basic functions can be controlled using the power button, but youll need to scan the QR code on the base and download the app to use the Snoo to its full potential.
More Reasons Im A Major Snoo Fan
The extensive research thats gone into creating this bassinet is truly outstanding as is the amount this amazing company gives back.
In March 2020, Happiest Baby donated hundreds of Snoos to hospitals around the United States, Europe, and Israel to assist doctors and nurses in short-staffed areas!
On average, it also saves nurses about 1.7 hours a shift!
My Snoo baby sleeps so well compared to the way my first baby did!
And Im not shy about how much I love this bassinet.
Im so grateful for the fact that a product like this exists because it helps in resolving one of the biggest burdens that come with being a new parent sleep deprivation.
I recommend the Snoo to ALL first-time and ESPECIALLY second-time parents because:
- its a safe sleeping option that promotes back-sleeping for babies as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics
- it helps babies AND new parents get more sleep from 1 to 2 hours more each night
- it naturally sleep trains your baby theres no need to cry it out when this bassinet calms fussing and helps soothe your baby
- its like having an extra set of hands around 24/7
If youre like me and dont have a lot of help at home, the last point is especially important.
Because doing childcare 99% or even 50% of the time is physically and emotionally exhausting dont ever let anyone convince you otherwise!
The Snoo is a game-changing product and I hope thatll you love it as much as we do.
Congratulations and happy Snoo-ing, friends!
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What If Baby Spits Up In Snoo
Thats why there is no need to worry about your infants safety should she throw up in SNOO. SNOO allows your baby to turn her head to the side when throwing up. And, SNOOs motion does not increase spitting up. In fact, fussy babies often vomitbecause they are tightening their stomach muscles when they cry.
Should You Buy A Snoo Or Rent A Snoo
Obviously, not everyone has the means to drop nearly $1,600 on a bed, only recommended for use the first five or six months of a baby’s life. However, Happiest Baby started a rental program to make the bed more readily available, bringing the cost down to $159 per month, averaging $5 per night. After use, the brand refurbishes the bed for another family’s use.
There’s a special deal if you commit to the Snoo — you’ll pay $159 to rent the Snoo for baby’s first four months, and then pay just $49 per month for months five and six. With this deal, you can rent a Snoo for about half the cost of buying one.
Your best move, however, may be to buy the Snoo outright. That’s because the resale market for the Snoo is strong, with some used bassinets selling for more than $1,000 on eBay.
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Why The Snoo Works
The SNOO combines four out of the five Ss from Karps book: swaddling, shushing, swaying and optional sucking if your baby is into pacifiers, whichin my experience raising three babieswill calm anyone down. The motions and sound imitate life inside the womb, which helps babies get through the fourth trimester as they wake up and discover the world they now live in.
How Does The Rocking Feature Work
The baseline of the Snoo features a gentle side-to-side rocking motion, accompanied by white noise thats designed to mimic the sounds in the womb. You can see a video of the Snoo at baseline level here.
Each level increases the amount of rocking and the volume of the white noise, and these kick in automatically when the baby fusses or cries .
The highest level will time out after a few minutes if the baby doesnt calm down, alerting the parent that theyre needed via an app notification.
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Is Snoo Safe: Does It Really Pay Off
The baby stuff market is competitive, and frankly, marketing has a lot to do with how successful a product is.
Todays parents are overwhelmed with products that are marketed as a necessity for babies, and this often works. More than ever parents are spending money on numerous models of cribs, baby seats, strollers, and so on.
A product that has been gaining a lot of attention is Snoo. So lets go over this product and talk about whether is Snoo safe.
Main Points
- The baby stuff market is very competitive.
- Every company claims that their product I the best, the safest and so on.
- Parents need to figure out what is best for their specific needs.
- Snoo is a modern robotic bassinet designed to cradle your baby when it gets fussy.
- Some parents claim that the Snoo makes their babies very dependent on the robotic bassinet.
What Would You Have Wanted To Know Before Buying The Crib
Id have liked to have known more about how the app can be used to customise the experience . This is in the manual but theres a quick start guide too and I just used that.
I also discovered a couple of months in that there are active communities for Snoo users on both Reddit and Facebook, which are great if you have a question or need help and support during a rough sleep period.
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What Is So Great About The Snoo Bassinet
The SNOO smart sleeper is no ordinary bassinet. This smart bassinet makes claims to solve every new parents problems of night wakings and anxiety by providing a safe and helpful solution for newborn sleep.
The SNOO is made to soothe crying babies to sleep while providing a safe place for baby to rest on their back. It was created by world-renowned Pediatrician, Dr. Harvey Karp. He had previously wrote the book, The Happiest Baby on the Block, which can be hailed as a new parents bible to help babies sleep better.
He created and teaches the 5 S approach to soothing a newborn, which includes Swaddle, Side or Stomach position, Shush, Swing, and Suck. These strategies provide conditions that mimic the womb so that a newly born baby can continue to feel safe and cozy, exactly how they felt in moms belly.
He successfully incorporated most of these strategies as the basis of the SNOO. These strategies attempt to help infants fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
Can You Use Breathing Monitoring Monitors Like Nanit Or Miku With The Snoo
Since the Snoo employs constant, gentle motion to help your baby sleep, and monitors like Nanit and Miku rely on computer vision to notice the movement of your babys chest to determine that breathing is going on, the two arent compatible. That said, wed note that youll use a baby monitor for years, youll use the Snoo for a maximum of 6 months, so we dont necessarily recommend choosing your baby monitor based on this.
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Snoo Actually Cause A Flat Head
The Snoo is a device that looks like a new-style baby crib. Its made out of plastic and comes with everything you need to teach your child proper sleep habits. The product makes the process of putting your child to bed much easier, so its a great way to make sure your baby is well-rested in the morning.
What you might not know is that the Snoo actually uses traditional rocking motions instead of head or body movements. That means that your baby isnt sleeping as quietly as one might expect. You should be able to feel some pressure on the top of your sons head during his first night with this product. But it shouldnt be enough to keep him awake throughout the night he should still be able to fall asleep on his own after one week or so.
Generally, there are no recommended side effects associated with using this product however, there are potential risks associated with any new technology being introduced into the market such as SIDS . For more information, check out our article here
The Snoo Is A Very Smart Prop
Lets face it, the Snoo does it all.
Auto-triggered motion combined with white noise helps to keep baby sleeping, while swaddling keeps baby feeling secure and helps with their Moro reflex. When baby inevitably wakes up in the middle of the night , the Snoo detects crying with microphone sensors and adjusts the intensity of the white noise while gradually increasing motion. After a few minutes, if baby is still crying, the bassinet stops, signaling to mom its time to come and feed, as babys likely hungry if theyre still awake.
The nice thing about this product is that, when babys not hungry and just wakes up in-between sleep cycles, the Snoo does the dirty work for parents. It rocks baby just like mom would to put baby back to sleep. As a result, parents are going to get more sleep, and hey we cant argue with that! The newborn phase is very exhausting and every extra hour of uninterrupted sleep that parents can get is a huge benefit for the entire family.
However, it is still a prop.
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The Backstory: Why We Purchased The Snoo
One word: sleep! In all honesty, the Snoo was an emergency panic buy. Before Ava was born, I researched all the latest baby gadgets to see what we might need to upgrade since pulling Bashs old gear out of storage. The Snoo had initially caught my eye, especially considering I was already a Happiest Baby on the Block devotee. However, we decided to first try having Ava sleep in her UPPABaby bassinet for the first few months just like we did with Bash. But going on day 5 with increments of 2 3 hour sleep sessions, I became a desperate zombie. While newborns are generally great sleepers, one night, it took about 45 minutes of dance-rocking her back to sleep . I panicked that she might be one of those babies who needs motion to get to sleep. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so without hesitation, we immediately purchased a Snoo.