Let me start out by saying I initially hated our Snoo. I did a ton of research when I was pregnant, spent trips, plane rides, and late nights not sleeping but reading. I felt quite prepared and sold on making the Snoo part of our home and baby boy’s permanent bed. I want to be very transparent and tell you that I purchased our bassinet on my own. This post is in no way sponsored or endorsed in any way. These are all my thoughts and feelings as a new mom. I hope it helps make your decision to buy or not buy the Snoo a little easier.
I will admit I did not anticipate the trial and error that one encounters when living with a newborn. I focused so heavily on being pregnant, my registry, and decorating the nursery, the idea of living day-to-day with a new baby sort of escaped my mind. I am sure you are sitting there scratching your head thinking, “What did you expect to happen when you went home?” and to answer your question, I have no clue what I was thinking! Apparently, not too much!
I shared my top registry items here, and we did not physically have our Sleeper yet, but it did make my top items list! Like I said, totally sold on it, seemed crazy to not include it!
As you might be aware I ended up having a C-Section and lifting, moving, sitting and bending were all a challenge. We started off sleeping in my office for the first two weeks. All five of us crammed into a Murphy bed and space was not on our side.
John wedged the Snoo up against my side of the bed. I will admit we were stupidly co-sleeping with Leo in the doc-a-tot for the first few days home. One night I woke up and a blanket had found its way too close to his face, and I cried for about four hours. I was sleepless and checking his breathing about every thirty minutes. Something needed to change and quickly.
Wide awake at one a.m., I started googling about all the things we were doing and how they were all terrible ideas. I freaked out, what was I thinking? I went into level ten panic mode. I pulled all of me up out of bed and grabbed the swaddle that comes with the bassinet. I told myself this was happening and I zipped that baby into it so fast and prayed for the best. Of course, he slept like a champ. I remember grabbing John and saying, “Oh my goodness, honey, go look he is in the Snoo!”
Hello, sleep-filled nights. Hello, my new best friend!
The trick for us was to believe it would work. I doubted it, and I thought Leo needed his hands out and up over his head. Even the nurses at the hospital said he was breaking free of the Halo swaddles. He was a little Houdini baby! If you read the Happiest Baby on the Block, (I highly recommend it or watch the DVD), Dr. Harvey Karp, preaches the benefits of swaddling. Babies have a startle reflex that makes them feel as if they are falling. I watched Leo startle himself over and over as a tiny needy newborn and finally said enough. We are doing the damn thing.
I have not looked back since or doubted our investment.
Trust me it was not easy to make myself do it. Zipping baby boy into that little straight jacket almost felt cruel, but when he slept four hours, five hours, and as of the past two nights seven hours, it feels fabulous seeing him wake up so happy.
I am a believer.
I had to train myself to remember the benefits were mostly for him, but can I be honest, I would pay whatever it cost to get a sound nights sleep. I went from not sleeping to sleeping. We all did because when mom is sane, the rest of the house can function. So, in the end, I genuinely believe the Snoo is more for parents more than anything else!
Babies are safest on their little backs. The Snoo keeps them there. Essentially the bassinet acts as if it was you gently rocking the baby back to sleep all night long. And a night nanny would cost far more than this bassinet.
They include three swaddles with the Snoo, small, medium, large. The swaddle has wings that clip into the smart sleeper and once engaged the app based bassinet can start swaying. There are four levels of movement and sound. When your baby cries, the Snoo works harder to calm him and cycles through four levels of increased motion and sound. You can also raise these from the app. Once it hits the last level, and your baby is still fussing, it will turn off because obviously, something is wrong such as hunger, needs to burp, or he needs a diaper change.
I have had a few issues with the app working. Trust me when I get that babe swaddled and lay him into the bassinet, and I cannot get the app to start. I have some choice words at two and three in the morning. There is a handy little button at the front of the sleeper that you can press and that has been my lifesaver. ALways having my phone pulled up to the app is stressful at times and one only has so many hands!
I wish I would have trusted myself from the beginning and just put that baby in the Snoo from the start. But, we have lived and learned and now seven weeks later here we are making the most of it.
I am sure you are also wondering about the price tag. I do agree it is a wee bit high as most bassinets on the market is a fraction of the price somewhere around $300-$100, and this bad boy registers at a whopping $1160! It is quite steep, and I would hope that eventually they will reduce it or find a way to make it a bit less. It is available on both Amazon and Pottery Barn Kids, and this would be a great registry item!
These are the top Bassinets for 2018 according to The Bump. They do rank the Snoo as number one.
On a scale of 1 to 10, my overall rating is an 8.5. I love the safety, aesthetics, movement, and built-in white noise. I would love to see the Snoo Leg Lifters included with the bassinet and an upgrade to the app with more advanced features.
I am sharing a few of the Snoo Logs below. My hubby also took a video of the process for you so be sure to check that out and feel free to subscribe to our Adventures with Leo YouTube channel! Loads of fun reviews and videos as we do more traveling and talk about all the products we are loving!
Thank you so much for this review, I have been waiting to see how y’all would like it!! I am not even pregnant yet, but would love to get a Snoo whenever that time comes and since they offer an amazing military discount, I was hoping it would be worth it! So glad y’all are able to get some sleep at night now🙌
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Again it was not magic for us in the beginning and I almost said quits on it but I am so glad we stayed with it. This is the only bassinet that keeps them on their back. He is a big boy and I have a feeling he will start rolling soon so I am happy to know this will help keep him safe and sound at night. There is so much to learn and each baby is quite different but I think you will also love it! And I am so happy to hear they offer a discount to the military that is so well deserved!!! Thanks for the comment and for popping over to say hi! Tamara
I’m so glad you have loved your Snoo. One thing I’ve read and has kept me from buying it is the transition from Snoo to crib I heard is near impossible. You almost have to “retrain” the baby how to sleep again because they become to reliant on the motion of the Snoo. What are your thoughts on that or have you come across how to handle that?
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I actually spoke to a sleep specialist and the app has a weaning option. This allows for the white noise (which we love and are big fans of to begin with) and no motion helping to wean them into their cribs. I am sure there will be struggles as with anything else but I have to say the sleep is welcomed for the next little while!
Thanks Tamara!
I, like others, have been waiting for your review. I’m pregnant and due in early December. I have already placed my order for the SNOO, but I still like to hear honest opinions. It is a true investment, but getting healthy sleep for baby and us is a big priority. At the end of your post, you mentioned you wish the SNOO included legs- did you mean logs? I just want to make sure I know if I need to purchased things separately- I know we will need additional swaddles. On that note, how many extra of each size do you recommend? I am so happy that you have been open with your journey as a new parent. I am admittedly anxious, but you seem very happy despite the little everyday struggles of new parenthood. Thanks so much!
Too bad nobody talks about normal newborn behavior ! It is NOT normal for a newborn to sleep extended periods of time. They weren’t made to do that. It is a survival inborn in infants to awaken and feed. It is scientifically documented that they have shorter sleep cycles for SURVIVAL, to feed!
There is no chance a newborn will roll to his tummy . Newborns do not need to be swaddled past a few weeks, much less secured down. It’s crazy that parents want everything for THEIR sleep. Unbelievable!!
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Hi Laura! Thanks for stopping by – Dr. Harvey Karp is the inventor of the Snoo and is a nationally recognized pediatrician who specializes in sleep for babies! I would highly recommend you see his work or more of what he has done to help parents, babies, toddlers, childcare providers, and especially first-time parents! The Snoo is pretty amazing and it was great for us and our lifestyle.
My little guy is just a few weeks older than Leo and we had almost the same exact experience with our SNOO! We thought he wanted to be swaddled with his arms out so we weren’t using it for the first few weeks. One night we decided to swaddle him with his arms down and turn on the motion just to see what would happen and he slept for nine hours! He’s been sleeping through the night ever since. Now that he’s three months we’re slowly starting to wean him from the full swaddle and put his arms out and he’s still sleeping well. Hope that gives you a little reassurance for when you transition your little guy!
Thank you so much for this! I’m doing so much research on what to and what is worth investing in for my little babe coming in April!
Thank you for your honest Snoo review! Have you transitioned out of the Snoo? If so, was it a smooth transition? Any update would be great!
Thank you!
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Hi Darcy – Yes we transitioned out a few weeks shy of six months. I loved our time in the Snoo, wish we were still in it mostly because I slept and had so much peace of mind! We did use Sleep Training to get him into his crib and it worked. We have had a few bumps as traveling was not the best for him and definitely, the time zones and change of scenery messed him up a little. But overall it went great. He is a pretty good sleeper all around and is currently taking three naps a day. We just started teething so nights have not been as solid we were at 10 hours straight for a while but we will definitely get back there! The first tooth has been spotted so hoping there is a little break on the horizon!!!
Hi, how was it with post c section and the snoo. I had a halo bassinet and loved it for the swivel and bed height accessibility but still had to do the 5 S’s manually and was curious how it is with a c section.
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The Snoo is quite low, so I do not think it would matter or be an issue! We are anxious to use ours again as it indeed was so helpful not only for my peace of mind, but the built-in noise, movement, and swaddle were terrific! They also have a fantastic support team that is very helpful anytime we had issues or questions!