When I became pregnant with our second baby, getting enough sleep was my top priority, and the Snoo [1] seemed like my best chance. My husband's new job as a first responder required him to work up to 16 hours at a time, with some shifts taking place overnight. Having already survived one newborn tour of duty, the memory of my former self struggling through those early weeks of sleep deprivation and the baby blues with our first son was still fresh. My husband had a different job back then and had been by my side for all of those night feedings and nappy changes. If it was difficult then, I couldn't imagine how much harder it would be on my own with my toddler added to the mix.
What Is the Snoo?
My quest for better sleep lead me to a product called the Snoo Smart Sleeper [2]. The Snoo was created by paediatrician and child development expert Dr. Harvey Karp. It's a smart bassinet that is designed to soothe a baby in less than a minute by recreating womb-like sounds and motions, which adjust in response to your baby. Unlike most other newborn bassinets, it can also be used for babies up to 6 months old (or when the baby gets up on his hands and knees). After studying thousands of infants who slept in a Snoo, Dr. Harvey Karp and his team at Happiest Baby [3] discovered that most of those babies slept an extra hour, if not more. By 3 months old, they were also regularly sleeping over nine hours each night.
How Much is It?
It sounded like a miracle product — a robotic night nurse [4] that could also stick around during the day for naps? Yes, please! While it's certainly more affordable than hiring help, it's still a big investment, having (finally) launched in the UK for £995 [5]. For parents who are on the fence about whether or not to make the financial commitment, Happiest Baby offers a Snoo rental alternative [6] in the US, and rumour has it this may also be available in the UK in future. I was fortunate enough to be able to test one out for review purposes, and honestly, I now believe it would have been worth every penny.
How the Snoo Helped My Baby Sleep Through the Night
During the first couple of weeks when feeding every few hours around the clock is necessary, I was able to put him back to sleep quickly by just placing him into the Snoo, pushing the power button, and letting it do the work of lulling him to sleep. There was no middle of the night pacing, shushing, and rocking, which shortened my wake windows for each feeding.
At bedtime or naptime, I would put him in the Snoo drowsy but awake, and if he fussed, the Snoo would respond by gradually increasing the sound and changing up the motion until he fell asleep. My mum and sister would marvel as they watched the phone videos I'd captured of him transitioning from fussing to sleeping before their eyes.
If he was resisting sleep, the motion switched from slow swaying to quick, rhythmic movements that made his little head jiggle like a bobble head, which was usually all it took. If he fussed for more than a couple of minutes before I intervened, the Snoo would turn off automatically and the app would alert me. When this happened, it usually meant he needed to be fed or have his nappy changed. I found that squeezing in as many good feedings as I could during the day (every two to three hours) and giving him one last dream feed [7] before I went to bed between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. also helped him sleep better at night.
How Long Can a Baby Sleep in the Snoo?
By 2 months old, he was sleeping nine hours with one middle-of-the-night feeding in between (usually around 3 a.m.), and by 3 months, he was sleeping about nine hours without the middle-of-the-night feeding. While Dr. Harvey Karp recommends keeping babies in the Snoo for five or six months [8] (or until baby can push up on hands and knees), at almost four months, I began putting him down for some of his day naps in his cot. Since he would be napping in a cot at my mum's house when I returned to work, I wanted him to get used to sleeping in one at least part of the time.
Like a lot of parents, I was worried that he would get too dependent on the Snoo's constant motion, but thankfully, that hasn't been an issue. When it's time for him to nap in a cot, I've found that playing a white noise machine, swaddling him, and placing my hand on his chest to rock him in his cot has helped with the Snoo to cot transition. Snoo also has a weaning setting [9] that parents can use when they're ready to transition their baby to a cot full-time. This setting turns the white noise on in the Snoo but turns off the constant motion. The motion will still kick in if your baby cries.
Why I Think the Snoo Is Worth It
While I think there were multiple factors that contributed to me having a more positive experience after the birth of my second baby, I also believe that having the Snoo was one of the biggest. A lack of sleep is more than just an annoying, new parent struggle. Poor sleep quality can trigger or intensify feelings of postnatal depression [10], affect breastfeeding success, increase your chance of developing mastitis [11], and so much more.
When I think about myself after the birth of my first baby — from my emotional state to my breastfeeding struggle [12], which included a painful mastitis infection — it makes me wonder how much, if any of it, would have been different had I used a Snoo. I think it's impossible to say for sure, but I do know that the days and nights I cared for my second baby without my husband, even with an early rising, potty-training toddler, I felt more centred and energised using the Snoo than I did during my first postpartum experience.
If you're not sure whether or not the Snoo is a good fit for your family, I highly recommend taking advantage of the 30-day trial period after purchase to see for yourself.