Natalie Shalk, Airbnb communications lead, mother of two, and curator behind the California travel inspo account @TheRedwoodCoast, credits Snoo as the best baby bassinet on the market. “I was always nervous about the idea of my baby rolling over in the night. So to me, the Snoo was worth its weight in gold, just for the mere fact that it securely swaddles your baby on their back to keep them in a safe sleep position,” she said of her experience. “It was just the peace of mind I needed as a new, tired mom.” Natalie also highlighted the versatility of Snoo: “We used the Snoo for both of our babies, though they used it a little differently. Our first didn’t like the swaying, so we only used it for the white noise and the swaddle security; while our second liked the swaying, so we used all of the features.”
Stretching sleep
Lucy Rose Taylor, California-based family lawyer, had a positive experience with Snoo. After receiving Snoo as a hand-me-down, Lucy’s daughter Sunny slept in the bassinet starting from her first week of life. “We were lucky with Sunny’s sleep from an early age. Admittedly, it’s tough to say if Snoo was effective or if she was just a good sleeper,” Lucy explained. “My intuition is that she slept well, but once in her Snoo, the soothing features helped her connect sleep cycles more seamlessly for those longer stretches. Ultimately, my parenting stance is do what works for you and change your strategy when it stops working. For us, the Snoo worked, and when it stopped working, we sold it to the next family (who were in desperate need of a change themselves!)”
Flat head? Need to wean off Snoo?
There were two common concerns I came across with Snoo. The first was the fear of getting your baby hooked on the gentle rocking throughout the night—the argument being that your baby would have difficulty transitioning to sleeping without any rocking. The second was the possibility of flat head syndrome. Since the baby is strapped tightly into the bassinet with restricted mobility, many worry that this can lead to flattening on a soft baby skull.
I found Happiest Baby’s FAQ to be informative on both of these concerns. Snoo developed a weaning feature to help babies prepare to transition to a crib. The research explains that babies are developmentally ready to give up rocking by five or six months of age. But there are also features within Snoo to help with this transition.
Happiest Baby also details how common flat head is (one in four babies who sleep on their back develop it) and how it is due to babies now sleeping on their backs—ever since the 90’s, when the AAP recommended all babies shift from sleeping on their tummy to sleeping on their back. The FAQ offers tips on how to reduce the risk of flat head, including switching up baby’s positioning so they aren’t regularly lying on the same spot on their head, and offering babies more tummy time to strengthen their neck muscles.
How to decide if Snoo is right for you?
I appreciate that the brand is exploring ways to make a costly item accessible to more people and the fact that Snoo is not point blank $1,700—a price that is extremely steep, and an amount I would never spend on a bassinet. Happiest Baby offers a rental program for $159 per month. They also rolled out a refurbished Snoo program, where you can purchase a secondhand Snoo for a discounted rate (there are some companies that even subsidize the rental costs of Snoo for employees.)
