Baby Gear Review: The SNOO

Shortly after Greyson was born, I posted about my New Mom Must-Haves and I am adding another MAJOR item to the list… The SNOO sleeper by Happiest Baby. This has been by far one of the most asked about baby items I use and today I am sharing my experience with the SNOO, along with a bunch of questions all you mamas and mamas to be have asked me!

Photography by Morgan Foitle

Greyson is now 3 months old and has been sleeping through the night since we has 6 weeks old (read his detailed sleep schedule here). I literally have to wake him at 8am for his first feeding.  I cannot stress how much of a game changer the SNOO is.

How does the SNOO work?

The SNOO works like this: you swaddle your baby with a SNOO Sack (comes with theSNOO). The SNOO Sack has “wings” – clips that attach your baby to the sides of the SNOO so he can’t roll over (nearly all experts believe healthy babies should sleep on their back to reduce the risk of SIDS and SUID. Once your baby is strapped in, The SNOO gently rocks your baby and plays white noise through its integrated speakers. This gentle motion and white noise continue all night unless your baby gets upset. If this happens, SNOO recognizes it with its sensors and attempts to calm your baby with several levels of greater intensity – both in white noise and rocking. Ideally, your baby is calmed and goes back to sleep without you having to lift a finger – or get out of bed and it’s nothing short of AMAZING!

Like I said Greyson has been sleeping through the night and I truly think it’s because of SNOO. There was one night (actually last week) when I decided to leave SNOO off completely and lo and behold Greyson woke up twice, he normally doesn’t wake at all! I know many of you asked are you worried that your baby will become reliant on the SNOO, but I whole heartedly don’t believe that will be the case. The SNOO teaches your baby to learn to self sooth without mom or dad having to hold him. If SNOO would have been on that night Greyson woke TWICE, it would have be able to calm him back to sleep, just like I would had to to do. SNOO is helping Greyson to learn he doesn’t need to be picked up and held to fall back asleep.

Conclusion: The SNOO changed the game for us. Our baby started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks and we haven’t looked back!

***UPDATE –read how it went when we weaned Greyson from the Snoo and transitioned to the crib.

Now onto all the questions you mamas had…

1. Did you start him in as soon as y’all got home from the hospital? Are the clips for the swaddle that you attach to the actual bassinet simple to get him out of for diaper changes in the middle of the night?

We did start Greyson in the SNOO right when we got home from the hospital. The clips or they are called “wings” keep the baby secure while the bassinet sways, as I mentioned in more detail above. There are two zippers so you are able to unzip the lower half of swaddle to change him without having to take him out of swaddle or out of the bassinet.

2. It’s quite expensive if I recall. Is it worth the money? How long can it be used? Does it have audio options? Does it make noise when it’s operating?

It’s not a cheap piece of baby equipment and I can see it not being an option for many parents. However, I do know of some parents who opted to go without, citing the price as the reason, only to then to scramble and buy one after their first sleepless week. I mean after a few nights in a row of not sleeping that price tag doesn’t seem so high anymore. The SNOO definitely earns its $1,160 price tag. It breaks down to $7/a night.

The SNOO can be used until 6 months or 38 LBS.

There are three distinct white noise options to help calm your baby, and it uses built-in microphones to detect noise, and then caters the sounds and motions to properly soothe your child.

3. Did you use the Snoo for all of his naps too?

Yes, we do.

4. What’s the saddle called? His looks inescapable… Just what I need for the little arms that manage to sneak out!

The swaddle is called the SNOO sack and can be found here. It’s amazing!

5. Do they get dependent on the noise and rocking when the whole point is to get them accustomed to a more quiet and still sleeping environment (eventually)? Due in 5 weeks and super interested. Thanks!

The SNOO has a wean option, where the crib will help to soothe baby back to sleep, but once asleep the motion and sounds stop. This helps baby prepare for the transition to the still life of a bigger crib. As far as quiet sleep environment, my 3 year old still uses a sound machine. 😉

6. How will you transition him to the crib from the snoo?

As mentioned above, the app has a wean option, which turns the motion/sway off when the baby is sleeping and I just started using. Once Greyson is 5/6 months we will transition to crib with same sleep environment with a dark room, swaddled and white noise.

7. How has this been with breastfeeding? Waking in the middle of the night to feed? Growth spurts?

This has been just fine with breastfeeding. In the beginning when Greyson was a newborn, I would just wake him to feed, per the schedule our doctor recommended. I also started pumping late in the evening to keep my supply up when Greyson started sleeping through the night.

Right now, Greyson (3 months) rarely wakes in the middle of the night for feedings, but if he does, I just nurse and put him right back down to sleep.

For growth spurts, I intend to do the same, if he wakes to eat early, I will nurse!

8. Would you recommend this over the halo bassinet?

I have never used the Halo Bassinet, but I think there is no comparison, as to what the SNOO can do vs the Halo.

9. Can you leave your baby’s hands outside of the snoo swaddle?

Dr. Karp, the creator of the SNOO, really recommends snug swaddling for the first few months—it is the first of his 5 S’s for soothing babies and essential part of the calming process.  However, once babies are a bit older, it is okay to let their arms out. This is why the large SNOO Sacks feature arm holes.

10. I usually put my swaddled baby on his side so that if he vomits a little it would go out of his mouth and not choke. Wouldn’t this do the opposite since the baby is forced on his back ? I hope you can answer this 🙂

The American Academy of Pediatrics AAP recommends that all babies sleep on their back.

AAP recommendations on creating a safe sleep environment include:

• Place the baby on his or her back on a firm sleep surface such as a crib or bassinet with a tight-fitting sheet.
• Avoid use of soft bedding, including crib bumpers, blankets, pillows and soft toys. The crib should be bare.
• Share a bedroom with parents, but not the same sleeping surface, preferably until the baby turns 1 but at least for the first six months. Room-sharing decreases the risk of SIDS by as much as 50 percent.
• Avoid baby’s exposure to smoke, alcohol and illicit drugs.

I do want to note. This machine is not a cure-all, nor is it designed to be one. It isn’t designed to work, nor will it, if the baby is not ready to be soothed. If a baby is uncomfortable (i.e. reflux, hunger or sickness), all the shushing and rocking in the world will not work to calm the child. However, if the baby just needs a little extra cuddle time, it can carve out a few extra minutes for you! It does what you would do if your baby was upset: rock her, soothe her with shh’ing sounds and keep her cozy. I found that it was able to help soothe Greyson back to bed and slightly increase time in between full-on wake-ups!

I hope you mamas found this helpful! Please feel free to leave any more questions below and I will be happy to answer!

Happy sleeping!

xx

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