It is 1 in the morning and Maya is having troubles with falling back asleep. She has already been fed, her diaper has been changed, she has been hugged. In similar situation with Rose we used the Polish Whisbear which hums white noise to soothe the baby. This time round we can reach for another sleep, or even life, saver – snoo. What is it?
Snoo is the latest American awesome gadget for newborns and sleep deprived parents. It is a smart crib that rocks and makes comforting noises, automatically adjusting itself when the baby cries. Yes, this smart crib recognizes by itself the sound of a crying baby! There is more. The more the baby cries, the more motion and calming sounds.
When my Mom saw Snoo she was skeptical. We already had a very comfortable co-sleeper, in which Rose quite quickly slept nicely. However, after a few weeks of seeing with her own eyes how it really worked, she changed her opinion.
Maya is very fond of sleeping (as long she has her milk), but for her, Snoo is also very helpful. Snoo will help us to about six months of Maya’s life. Later on, she will just grow up and hopefully she will not need it anymore to sleep peacefully. Maya is napping nicely in a stroller and in Rose’s old co-sleeper, so I hope she is not dependent on sleeping in Snoo. I will reprogram the Snoo to the weaning option when she is bigger- the crib will move less.
Who thought of this genius idea? Nobody else but the American specialist of sleeping and happy children, pediatrician, Dr Karp. Maybe you heard about his swaddle, swing, shush principles to soothe upset and tired babies? They are also the inspiration for Snoo It took 5 years to finish the magic Snoo, but it was worth it!
Snoo not only helps us to survive the first months with a newborn, but it is also very nicely designed. In our small bedroom it fits perfectly. Its Sillicon Valley designer is a friend of the famous Doctor, who also helped to sleep train his four kids.
When Maya is hungry, lonely or something is wrong with her tummy, then of course Snoo will not work. Snoo will turn itself off after three minutes of baby crying sounds, and then you have to get to work. Snoo is helping me around 4-5 times during 24 h. It’s enough to take a moment to relax, play with Rose, or to finish a blog post:)
Do not get me wrong; I love to lie down with Maya. At night she sleeps with me for a few hours, but I believe that small children should learn quickly to sleep alone in bed. Snoo only makes the process easier, within love and reason limits of love. I do not know how it is in Poland, but my daughters’ pediatricians are still asking whether they sleep alone in bed, pointing that sleeping with children in one bed is very dangerous.
Maya is still too small to sleep through the night, even with the help of Snoo, and we only used the highest calming levels a few times. Yet she likes them a lot.
The Luxury of Snoo comes at a price. The cost is over a thousand dollars. Fortunately, we already have friends willing to buy our Snoo. Anyway, with two small children, every 5 free minutes is priceless. Maya already sleeps two times for even up to 3-4 hours at night . Rose at her age wasn’t taking that long stretches of sleep.
Now watch how it’s done: