I received more requests for a review of the SNOO than any other specific product in all my years of blogging! This magical bassinet has been such a blessing, and I’m beyond grateful to the Happiest Baby team for sending it my way. It was a gift, and I’m doing an honest review of the SNOO that I hope is helpful to new moms.
If you’re wondering what the SNOO Smart Sleeper is, let me explain. If you’re a mom, you’ve probably read The Happiest Baby on the Block, a book by Dr. Harvey Karp (Pro tip: Watch the DVD too), which outlines the five S’s to sooth fussy and crying babies: Shushing, swaddling, side/stomach position, swinging, and sucking. They work… like really work!
Dr. Karp and the people at Happiest Baby took those “S’s” and created a bassinet that does three of them for you. This contraption swaddles, shushes and swings all at once, creating a system where tired parents get help soothing their baby from the other room. When the baby cries, the SNOO kicks in, swinging faster, and shushing louder.
It has four levels of intensity, and when it hits level four for a few minutes and the baby is still crying, it will turn off and send an alert to your phone app, telling you to check on her in person. You can also control the intensity from the app.
So why is that so awesome? It saves you lots of time soothing your baby during the day and lots of sleep at night!
It has been really wonderful for Amalia, but heads up to new moms, she wouldn’t sleep in it (or anything flat on her back) for the first 3-4 nights home. After she got used to sleeping on her back, however, it has been a game changer.
Review of the SNOO: What I love
1. Knowing my baby is safe: First and foremost, her safety is my number one priority at all times, but especially at night when I don’t have eyes on her at all times. During those first few nights at home, I would freak out about SIDS if she slept in the Rock ‘n Play or even in her crib. I had read a lot about the SNOO and how it’s built with safety first, because the way the swaddle clips in, babies can’t roll over. It gave me a peace of mind that nothing else could. That alone was worth it for me.
2. The hours it’s saved me: When Amalia starts to fuss or cry, at this point, she can put herself back down, but when she was really little, she definitely couldn’t! The SNOO would rock her back to sleep 9 times out of 10 which saved me from going in there to sooth her. When I was completely exhausted in those first few weeks and could hardly stand up, it was a life saver. I was able to nap during the day, and I think it helped her learn to self sooth because I wasn’t going in there constantly.
3. The sleek design: Most bassinets look either overly baby-ish or bulky and ugly but this one is sleek and chic. It looks gorgeous in her nursery as you can see above. For a view from the top, scroll down. Yes, Boots guards her while she sleeps!
4. The easy swaddle: Amalia is a little Houdini and can magically escape all swaddles except for the one that comes with the SNOO. It holds her in nice and tight and makes her feel safe and secure. In the photo below she is double swaddled because when she was really little, she was too small for the size small swaddle that came with it. But now she fits perfectly and is about to upgrade to the medium.
Review of the SNOO: What I don’t love
1. The price tag: Ours was gifted to us, but we were going to buy it before we knew that we’d get it gratis because of the experience our friends have had with it. This bassinet isn’t cheap, but I figured that I’d use it for both of my kids (if I’m lucky enough to have a second!) and then my sister will use it for hers.
2. Accessories: It only comes with one sheet and one of each size swaddle. When they’re dirty, it’s tough to wash them in between naps. I found out last week that you can actually buy more of each so at least there is that option!
3. Dependency: We were really worried about her becoming dependent on the shushing/swinging, but we quickly learned that she’s also great sleeping in her crib now that she’s a little older, and doesn’t have a problem going between that and the SNOO. At the beginning, she was definitely dependent on it, but I don’t see that as a huge problem because she would have been dependent on us coming in and picking her up too.
Overall review of the SNOO
Yes, it’s a pricey piece of machinery, but my advice is that if you have any wiggle room in your budget or if you have some generous friends who want to chip in for the best baby shower gift of all time, get the SNOO. We have been so so grateful to have it!
Thank you to The Happiest Baby for gifting us a SNOO Smart Sleeper. All opinions, as always, are 100% my own.
