If you are expecting or have a newborn, you have definitely heard about the SNOO. We both bought the SNOO. Gab bought it out of desperation after a very rough night with her firstborn and Mahtab bought it for her second child as a second set of hands while juggling a baby and a toddler.
We are Ottawa Sleep Consultants, and many people have asked our opinion on the SNOO. This isn’t a regular bassinet — and it doesn’t come cheap. The SNOO retails for over $1200, and in Canada, there is no official rental company that can offer it on a short term rental.
Is it worth it for only a few months of sleep?
Yes! It worked for us. We were lucky that both our babies slept well in the SNOO. After the first few nights, our babies adjusted to the SNOO and slept for longer stretches (2-3 hours at a time) when our children were newborns and would stretch out to 4-6 hours by 8-10 weeks. There still were some long nights with lots of wakes and. we still had nights where the babies were cluster feeding, and/or needing extra cuddles.
What's fun about the SNOO is you can track your baby's sleep on their app. It lets you know how long your baby slept which also lets you know how long you slept!
As first time parents, we were very nervous and anxious when it came to baby sleep. The SNOO gave us peace of mind knowing that our baby was safe. The swaddle straps the baby into the bassinet (on their back) which prevents them from rolling.
You can rent the SNOO from the Happiest Baby company if you are travelling in the U.S. Rentals come with a new mattress, sheet, and swaddles that you get to keep.
Cons:
The biggest downside to The SNOO is the cost. Although we had positive experiences with the SNOO, we know of some babies who did not respond well to it.
It is expensive for something that may or may not work. However, you can sometimes find it on sale at Indigo and it is quite easy to sell once you're done with it!
The SNOO is not a long-term solution. Although according to Happiest Baby, it's designed for babies up to 6 months of age, in our experience, we both had to transition our babies to cribs by 4 months of age as the SNOO wasn't working as well anymore. At this point, we had to sleep train and transition our babies in a crib. (Follow our Instagram to check out tips on how to transition your baby into the crib).
Ok, so what about when the SNOO stops working? What do you do now?
It happened to us, and it will likely happen to you. At one point, your baby either outgrows the SNOO or you spend more nights adjusting the SNOO's settings than you are sleeping.
Here are some signs it is time to transition your little one out of the Snoo.
Your baby is over 4 months of age
and:
You've spent more then 3 consecutive nights adjusting the settings of the SNOO to rock your baby to sleep
Your baby can no longer be soothed by the SNOO. It stops rocking and the cycle ends multiple times a night
Your baby is fighting out of the swaddle
You find yourself "double" swaddling your baby, going against the SNOO-designed recommendations
Your baby no longer sleeps.
If your baby is 4 months of age and has experienced any of the common SNOO problems, it may be time to consider transitioning them safely into their crib. This would be the time that we would strongly recommend teaching your child how to fall asleep independently.
Overall, we would recommend the SNOO if it is in your budget. That being said, it is important to have realistic expectations when it comes to newborn sleep. Newborn sleep is unpredictable and has no schedule. Although the SNOO may help, it is also important to add that your newborn will have nights where they wake up multiple times a night, and even though it is recommended for babies up to 6 months old, in our experience, babies likely outgrow it before then. At which point, the SNOO will lose its sleep effects.
If you are ready to make the switch from the SNOO to the Crib, please book a discovery call. We are here to help!
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