When baby sleeps… Everyone sleeps” – Happiest Baby’s motto
One of the very first items I wanted to get when I found out I was pregnant was SNOO. John and I are very sleep-dependent people and since I work an unconventional job that basically requires me to be “on” 24/7 I knew we were gonna need some help in the sleep department. I wanted to get whatever would help us sleep, feel well-rested, and in turn, energized during the day with our new baby which I know isn’t the “normal” for new parents. Generally, people associate babies with zero sleep, and while that is the case for a lot of parents, John and I both didn’t feel too sleep-deprived and six months later, we still don’t. Now I’m not here to brag about all the sleep we got but to provide you with some tips that worked for us. Keep in mind, every baby is different and responds differently so what works for me may not work for you.
So what is SNOO?
- SNOO is a baby bassinet that responds to baby noises. It enhances and improves a baby’s sleep with gentle rocking motions and soothing white noise, as well as snug, safe swaddling.
- The idea is to emulate a similar environment of calming sensations in the womb.
- With the calming rocking rhythm, the SNOO can add up to 1-2 extra hours of sleep per night
- As the baby cries or fusses, the SNOO automatically responds with increasing motion and sound (5 different levels of noise and sound)
- SNOO also connects to your phone through their mobile app making it really convenient to track your baby’s sleep and provides a daily sleep report.
- Helps the baby learn to self-soothe
- Keeps baby safely on the back thanks to the SNOO sack’s special swaddle wings that attached to the bed
- Recommended age: birth to 6 months (or whenever the baby can get on hands and knees)
Quick reminder, for the first 2 months, we had a postpartum nanny. While the postpartum nanny was with Cassian day and night, we still used SNOO. Cassian was a great sleeper so we didn’t notice a huge difference with SNOO, in the beginning, but everyone says the SNOO really kicks in past the 1-2 month mark so that was expected. The one thing I did love about SNOO since day one, was I felt at ease knowing he was safe and unable to roll/move around since he was swaddled and strapped in. It honestly gave me peace of mind during his naps and especially at night.
After the two month mark with SNOO is when we really noticed a big difference. He was still a great sleeper but once in a while he would wake up abruptly and SNOO would gently put him back to sleep. Having SNOO put him back to sleep in the middle of the night was literally everything! SNOO would do it’s thing and Cassian would be back asleep and so would I! The other reason that sold me on the Snoo is that it also helps sleep train babies at a young age.
I also LOVED the SNOO app. The fact that it tells you exactly how long he slept or if he woke up in the middle of the night was valuable information that we used helped build his sleep schedule. I could say it was one of the best parts of the entire experience. I learned so much about his sleep pattern and that gave me the tools to continue sleep success!
Here’s a few tips on the SNOO that worked for us:
- First month, we used the Snoo for 50% of his nap and for all night time sleep . We got him used to it and he started to understand this was his safe place/his bed. After the first month, we did all his naps and night time in the SNOO.
- We used motion limiter for the first two months (unnecessary, all levels of motion are safe, but we liked it that way)
- At 4 months, we started to use the weaning motion which basically would only rock him when he started to fuss or cry. (Happiest Baby recommends starting this at around 5-6 months of age, but this was something that worked for us, again he was a great sleeper so if your baby is more sensitive or wakes often, then don’t use weaning mode till 5-6 months)
- During the weekends we didn’t use the Snoo as we would travel to my parent’s house and he slept perfectly fine in his bassinet so you don’t need to worry about babies getting dependent on it. SNOO doesn’t really do that to babies which I know was a concern for many people.
- Make sure to swaddle correctly as they get older they try to escape which can interrupt sleep stretches (Happiest Baby has customer care available 7 days/week for any help you might need!)
- We bought leg raiser since he has reflux which helped his digestion.
Personally, it was 100% worth the investment for us. We are now sending the SNOO to my sister-in-law since she’s due in a few weeks but they also have a rental program which is such a great way to go if you’re considering getting SNOO. Let me know if you guys have any other questions regarding SNOO.