If you’re a new parent, it’s likely that you’ve heard of the latest gadget – the SNOO. If you haven’t, it’s a revolutionary bassinet which senses your baby’s cries and rocks them to settle them. The creators of the SNOO say that it adds up to 1-2 hours of extra sleep overnight.
So.. is it as good as they say? And most importantly, should you buy one? Here is my honest review (I have not received any payment or benefit from this post)
SNOO - The good bits
It senses your baby’s cries and gently rocks them to soothe them. This was a godsend for me with 2 other children to run around after. Sometimes babies just need a gentle rock to help them resettle. The SNOO can take care of these little moments and help to calm your baby back to sleep. I loved being able to pop my daughter down for her sleep and get dinner on or help my kids with their homework knowing that the SNOO could gently calm her if she needed a little bit of extra help to nod off.
It comes with special zipper sleeping bags that clip into the sides of the bassinet. These are great as you have the added confidence that your newborn can’t roll in their sleep and pose a SIDS risk.
The SNOO comes with a great app which allows you to control the rocking settings right from your mobile phone. It will also send you alerts if your baby has woken up and needs you. The added bonus is that it also tracks their sleep so you can notice patterns in their sleeping routine.
Hands free rocking and the built in white noise is the bomb. I have a chronic back condition so I found that the constant bending over a bassinet or cot to pat and calm my babies really tough. The SNOO was such a relief! You still calm and settle your baby of course, but only when they really need you.
SNOO – The not so good points
It’s really only for the first 6 months. A common complaint is that the length of the SNOO means that newborns usually outgrow it at around 6 months. I was very lucky that my girl was quite petite and we managed to squeeze her in until about 8 months.
They are quite expensive. Including shipping, they end up costing around $2000 AUD. This can be prohibitive to most people. We bought ours second hand for around $1300 and ended up on-selling it for the same amount after 8 months. It’s well worth checking out Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree for second hand SNOOs. They seem to hold their value well so you probably won’t lose much on it if you buy one second hand.
Some people criticise that the SNOO leads to a disconnect in the relationship between parents and their baby. This is a bit of a contentious topic. I personally don’t feel that they at all detract from this. Babies still need their Mum and Dad. If they are hungry or truly upset the machine will stop trying to settle you after a few minutes and will let you know. The machine really is only designed for calming a baby that just needs a little bit of help falling asleep.
Some people worry that the SNOO makes babies reliant on the rocking to get to sleep. I must admit that I was a little nervous about this when it came closer to the time that we had to wean our daughter off of it. Would she be able to transition to a normal cot? The SNOO tracks the age of your baby so when they’re approaching the time that they’ll need to transition, it will prompt you to turn off the rocking. That way, they’re still in the familiar bed they’re used to with the white noise and the sleep sack, but just without the gentle rocking. This worked great for us and our daughter transitioned over to her cot easily and painlessly.
The verdict. Should you buy a SNOO?
In my opinion YES! If you can afford one, you should absolutely buy a SNOO. My only regret is that they didn’t exist when I had my first 2 babies. It sure helped make life much easier for me with my youngest and helped me get some much-needed rest. Parents are tired out and exhausted in those early months. Devices like the SNOO are a godsend. Good luck!
Amy xx
Need some more tips on calming and settling your newborn? Check out my 6 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR NEWBORN CALM & SETTLED post.