Have you heard about the latest and greatest in baby sleep contraptions? It’s called the SNOO Smart Sleeper, and it’s designed by Dr. Harvey Karp, creator of the Happiest Baby series, and the 5 Ss.
This bassinet is the robot that’s coming for the jobs of night nannies and overnight postpartum doulas. But we’re not afraid of the rise of the machines- in fact, we find the SNOO quite helpful after having used them with several families. If you’re considering purchasing one, keep reading for our thoughts.
What exactly is a smart bassinet? Dr. Harvey Karp has designed a crib that works to recreate the comfort of the womb for your baby. If you’re familiar with the 5 Ss for soothing baby, you know that white noise/ shushing, rocking and swaddling are all quite effective in settling an infant. But, the process can take some time when you want and need to be sleeping.
This crib does that for parents. Babies are placed safely on a flat surface in an attached swaddle (that doesn’t require blanket origami, and prevents rolling.) When your baby is zipped in, you simply push a button and the bassinet begins to rock her to sleep. The crib also provides white noise.
It’s not new to have a surface for a baby that rocks them and makes noise. Where the SNOO differs is its technology that adapts the sound and motion to soothe her. And with the associated app, you can adjust the settings as you see fit. The app also allows the SNOO to track as your baby gets older and approaches six months, so that the motion and noise adjusts with her.
All of this is cool, but how do you know if it’s right for your family?
You might benefit from the SNOO if:
You need extra time to get to your baby.
- Parents of multiples (can benefit from a SNOO since while one baby has to wait to eat and may fuss, the bassinet wil rock a bit more intensely and soothe them.
- If this is not your first baby, and you’re working with the routines of more than one child, the SNOO can help with this too.
- For families that feed formula or exclusively pump, the SNOO buys you time to warm a bottle before your little one has a complete meltdown.
Sleep shaping is important to you.
- The SNOO helps you put the baby down drowsy but awake, and rocks them to sleep outside of your arms. This is a key part of having babies who fall asleep without you, or without eating that is important to some families.
You want to swaddle and use a flat sleep surface but you’re unsure about how.
- Swaddling is extremely helpful when done safely, but many parents are nervous about blankets and sleep sacks. The zip up SNOO swaddle is like foolproof swaddling without having to learn.
- Unlike many advertised sleep surfaces, the SNOO is flat and compliant with American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for safe sleep.
As with everything, the SNOO isn’t right for everyone.
Some parents will balk at the cost (currently $1295 to buy, or $3 per day to rent), particularly for a temporary crib.
Product guidelines say that babies are safe using the SNOO until they’re pushing up on their hands and knees, and the sleep sacks are able to be used until your little one is 26 pounds. You are not encouraged to use the SNOO after your baby is six months.
It also should be noted that because the SNOO does allow babies to sleep longer, exclusively nursing parents may find that their baby is ravenous when she does wake. The initial hunger cues might be missed.
However, both babies and parents can adjust to this.
With some of our postpartum clients, we create routines overnight where the doula or parent wakes the baby at predetermined periods if they haven’t yet woken up. Then, after they’re burped and start to settle, we zip them back into the SNOO.
We’ve found that parents and babies both LOVE the SNOO. It can seem like a postpartum doula living right there in your nursery!
You feed the baby, and the SNOO soothes her back to sleep, allowing you to get more rest.
Thankfully, we can recommend this product knowing that it won’t put us out of work. After all, there’s nothing that substitutes a caring trustworthy person for a baby who just wants to be held. And SNOOs can’t get a nursing mom a snack and blanket at three am.
Have questions about if the SNOO is right for you? Ask us in the comments!
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