You might have heard about this little magical bassinet named The SNOO. The Smart Bassinet is just that; smart. It has the ability to settle your baby to sleep and keep them sleeping longer through the clever features. SNOO responds to your babies cries by gentle rocking and calming white noise, while the swaddle allows them to feel cuddled and safe. It was designed to recreate the same motions, sounds and security of a mothers wombs so that a baby gets better rest and so does mum.
I’m about to answer all the most frequently asked questions about Happiest Baby Snoo. Let’s see if this smart bassinet is really that smart and what the verdict is on whether it is worth the price tag!
What does the SNOO do?
The SNOO is designed to mimic your womb in pregnancy. The one place your baby is familiar with where they feel safe and secure. The custom swaddles (which also include an arms out option) allow them to feel snuggled when you zip them up. As you turn it on it gently begins rocking them from side to side with a soothing white noise sound. It helps to keep your baby asleep longer by gently swaying them through sleep cycles or help them drift off to sleep.
Favourite thing about The SNOO?
I keep our SNOO in our living room as I work from home and have a busy and loud two year old. This means the SNOO essentially acts as my in home ‘nanny’ service. I can pop Cruz our son in it and he will be off to sleep within 1-3 minutes without my assistances so I can keep up with my two year and work. It even helps him to stay asleep when Elle (our two year old) is singing and dancing the house down which means better day sleep has equalled exceptional night sleep! You can’t complain about that!
Won’t a baby become dependant on it?
Using the SNOO is the same as you rocking, feeding or patting your baby to sleep. All dependancies require weaning but the SNOO has a feature for that. You can control the way the SNOO works with an APP and when you are ready to wean them you can select the weaning feature which will begin to transition them out of it. In saying that, although it is recommended to use the SNOO for all sleeps – we actually don’t utilise ours at night time purely because we have a two-storey house and with the frequent use of it downstairs in our lounge room I chose to not commit to the use of it at night time (so that I wouldn’t have to bring it upstairs). This positively has not affected our night time sleep! Cruz sleeps 7pm-7am (give or take the occasional wake up some nights) since we started using the SNOO from 7 weeks of age after he was previously waking every two to three hours. I believe this is because he now gets better day sleep due to the use of the SNOO so it results in better night sleep.
I remember I used to enter the ‘night shift’ with my daughter dreading it but this time I go to sleep at night knowing I will get the rest I need to parent calmly again the next day.
Do you think it helped to form a sleep routine?
The SNOO has definitely helped to create a consistent sleep routine for Cruz. This is because it gives him the best amount of quality sleep he can get without relying on me to help him transition through sleep cycles. Babies typically begin to hold a 45 minute sleep cycle the older they get and can struggle to transition to the next sleep cycle without assistance so the SNOO makes this sleep cycle transition possible (second time mums will know what I am talking about especially) Those dam sleep cycle transitions used to have me back in the room with my first daughter consistently and because I just don’t have the time for it this time with our two year old the SNOO allows us to keep that sleep routine for him.
How long do you use it?
The recommended time to use it is from birth to 6 months. Just as you would with any bassinet around 6 months is a great time to transition a baby to a cot. Cruz is currently 4 months and 8kg with plenty of room still to grow in it. I am confident we will get up to six month of use out of it. I will begin utilising the weaning feature when I am confident Cruz is ready to transition to a cot for all sleeps.
Does it settle a crying baby?
The answer is YES! If the crying baby has been fed, clean nappy, burped and is ready for sleep or overtired it will settle the crying baby. The Smart Bassinet responds to the sounds of your baby so if it ‘hears’ crying that progressively gets worse it mimics what you would do as a mother by beginning to pat them fast and pace the halls quicker the SNOO increases it’s gentle sway to rock and calm them quicker before slowing back down.
I follow optimal awake times for our son so I usually avoid any tears because I am putting him back in the SNOO for a sleep before he is overtired. However, I have had to put him down in there a couple of times when he is overtired from missing his sleep time window and it means the SNOO was able to comfort him to sleep quicker than I would’ve been able too (hello mum of two under two life!).
Is it worth the Money?
The SNOO isn’t the cheapest product on the market but neither is a full time nanny or the result of you losing sleep. The SNOO is worth it. I think a well rested mother is a happy mother. I think it is 100% worth the money investment in it. It holds great value as a product so if you consider the price you pay minus the price your resell it for and then times that by 6 months of use hiring a nanny for 6 months would be more expensive.
I believe it is an essential item for mothers with more than one child, those who work at home and those who know they don’t cope well with sleep deprivation. It will one product you consistently rave about. My sister used my SNOO when she came over with her 5 month old daughter who had never used it before and she was asleep in 5 minute. This means it doesn’t matter about all the previous ways you settled a baby to sleep – the SNOO was developed for any baby to feel comfort and secure enough to go to sleep and keep sleeping.
How much is the SNOO?
The price tag is one that might make you gasp at first. It will set you back $1300 USD which in the current climate equates to over $2000 AUD. You can purchase and have to delivered within a week from the Australian link Happiest Baby here. It might sound like a luxury item but remember it has good resell value and is one item you will want to hold on to through all babies!
I hope this helps you make the decision best for your family. Please pop any extra questions you’d like to be answered below and I will get back to them.
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