IS THE SNOO WORTH IT?

I got so many questions about The Snoo when I mentioned I was putting it in storage, and I realized I was way overdue for a true review! Let’s dive in.

I purchased The Happiest Baby Snoo after hearing so many of my friends rave about it. I knew I wanted baby to be bedside and easy to reach during the early months, so I figured I would give The Snoo a go. For research and all that jazz.

I was able to snag it for 30% off during one of the very few sales they run throughout the year, which still left if being a very hefty price tag. Outside of our stroller, it was by far the most expensive bit of baby gear we purchased, and I often get asked if “it was worth it.”

Before I can answer that, let’s walk through what I loved and didn’t love about The Snoo.

What is The Snoo?

The Snoo is a “smart sleeper bedside bassinet” that uses automatic rocking motions and white noise to passively soothe your baby. It has a super chic design, which I can’t lie, definitely adds to its appeal.

It has plenty of claims, like adding an hour or two of sleep for newborns, mimics the womb, and is a “natural sleep trainer.” It also prevents rolling, keeping baby on their back, which is the best for safe sleeping! It has four different levels of soothing and allows you to control the level from your phone or a button on the side of the bassinet.

From what Happiest Baby claims, your baby should be able to sleep comfortably in the bassinet through about six months.

My personal experience

From day one, we put baby in The Snoo. It was so nice to have him right by our bed, and I loved that the siding of the bassinet is made from mesh, which lends itself to being super breathable. I have really struggled with postpartum anxiety, and this was a huge selling point for me.

We didn’t start using the movement until baby was about two weeks old, and even then, we kept the “motion limiter” option on. The rocking motion is FAST. It felt quite aggressive and a little scary to see our tiny baby rocking back and forth quite quickly, and we never ended up taking the motion limiter off, even after five months.

I absolutely loved the sleep sacks that go with The Snoo. They clip into the sides of the bassinet to keep baby flat on their back, and The Snoo won’t turn on unless the sleep sack is clipped in. Very safe in that regard!

The sounds the bassinet make are really nice, and they increase in volume as the soothing level increases. This was one of my biggest pet peeves about the bassinet. You can’t increase the volume of the white noise without increasing the rocking motion. For something so high tech and expensive, I feel like you should be able to increase each soothing option individually, especially when you have motion limiting on.

It felt like a bit of a waste to keep the motion limiter on. We aren’t people who really let our baby cry anyway, so… If he wasn’t soothed back to sleep by the first level increase, we were taking him out to soothe ourselves. Generally, I think a cry means baby needs something, and it is my job to respond.

We quickly saw amazing sleep patterns happen with baby. My oldest son was not a great sleeper, but we didn’t have The Snoo… It could have been that by second son was just a good sleeper to begin with, but I think the tight swaddles, calming sounds, and gentle rocking made such a huge difference, especially during the early days.

By four weeks, we were getting five hours blocks at night. By eight weeks, baby was sleeping through the night, or at the very least, eight hours straight. It felt like an absolute miracle! Every single night we had solid sleep felt like money very well spent!

Around the four month mark, a known sleep regression and huge developmental leap, sleep took a turn for the worse with use. Our baby was getting big, starting to want to roll over, and sleep quickly took a nose dive, despite The Snoo. So many people dread the transition our of the bassinet, but our sleep went south before we even started the process.

We kept at it for a few weeks, but eventually decided if we were already getting horrible sleep, we might as well bite the bullet and transition now.

Is The Snoo worth the money?

This is SO dependent on many factors, but I will tell you, I am so very glad we had it! Especially during those early weeks when any thing that makes sleep better feels sacred. I realize now that I definitely didn’t use it to its full potential, just based on what kind of parent I am.

Firstly, you should know you can rent a Snoo! I have a few friends who went this route, and it is a great option if you are on a budget. Especially if you only end up using it for four months like we did. You pay per month, and can send it back early if your baby happens to hate it.

Is this your first baby or do you plan to have another one? Then I definitely think it could be worth the price tag, as you will get more use out of it.

Can you wait for a sale? Or stalk your local mom groups on Facebook? If you are close to the finish line of your pregnancy, you might not be able to wait for a decrease in price, but if you think you may want one, keep your eye out!

The Snoo has a great resale value, and almost always goes for at least 50% of the purchase price on my local mom group. This made it a lot easier to justify the money for me. We would use it for a baby or two, and then sell it to recoup some of the funds!

At the end of the day, it is definitely a luxury baby item that no one NEEDS. Your baby is an individual, and what works for one, might not work for you! But I am so glad I bought one, and don’t regret a single penny.

Hopefully this review is helpful! Let me know if you have any questions!