Whether you’ve had one or five babies it’s always a little nerve racking to bring a baby home from the hospital. After the twins I wasn’t scared to have another newborn but there were definitely some intimidating parts that I either a) forgot about or b) didn’t know how to handle with a singleton. One of those was bringing a baby home…right away.
Our first experience with our preemies Slater and Zoe was definitely not easier (by any means), but the twins did stay 3 weeks in the NICU in the hospital which was the hardest experience I have ever gone through but it did teach me a lot. All challenges aside, I learned to focus on the positive which was gaining a ton of knowledge around feedings, sleep and all the things babies do and need in their first few moments of life. So like I mentioned in Leo’s birth story, when the doctor said you’re ready to be discharged on only day 4 of his life, I was truly in awe. What? How? What are we supposed to do? Haha. I knew what to do but my husband, Hunter and I just felt like it couldn’t be real to bring a baby home so quickly, with us, same time, and all the good things.
That first night was great. No we didn’t sleep, but waking up to my little baby was the best thing. And for the next night. And the next. Especially because with twin toddlers running around during the day, I truly cherished my time alone with Leo in the middle of the night. By day 10 the novelty hadn’t worn off, but the lack of sleep was starting to creep up on me! Thank goodness for our SNOO. Which I honestly, can say is such a treat. Before I go on, I will disclaim that yes this is a partnership, but in my agreement with SNOO I stated I would only share an authentic genuine opinion (as I always do). So this is one hundred percent what you guys are getting here.
My favorite thing about the SNOO is that it tracks Leo’s sleep. The SNOO swaddle suspends into the bassinet, so the moment he’s in there it knows and can sense his patterns from there on out. There’s a SNOO app I have on my phone that correlates to our particular bassinet so each night/morning I can look at it and see how he did. In the middle of the night I’m too tired to look at the app and if I do, I forget what I saw lol, but in the morning my favorite thing to do is to check! Of course it’s not all perfect but it’s good to know when he slept longer and what I may have done differently prior to bedtime that night. Since having the twins, who are two very different babies, with different sleeping habits, eating behaviors, and personalities in general, I’ve become fascinated with baby/child sleep and patterns and how certain kids behaviors are effected. I even took a course and got certified in baby/toddler sleep a few months ago because I was so intrigued by the differences in children (and techniques that work with each, which I can touch more on another time)! That said, I love to look at each night’s result and think about how much he ate at his last feeding and throughout the day etc. as well as how long is daytime naps were. Its all a domino effect (well, mostly, because also sometimes babies are just babies!) and that’s why I love to see the result with the SNOO’s help. As we are starting to teach him to stretch his middle of the night sleep and feeds, the SNOO is also great for its soothing feature. At the beginning it was so easy to want to bounce out of bed and feed him at his first early morning cry, so I could just get back to sleep asap, but I know not all his cries are out of hunger. Some of his noises are not even cries, and at those moments I can turn up the soothing notch from my phone, without getting out of bed, to help soothe him back to sleep (although many times SNOO has already sensed his fussing and turned up this feature on its own). This has helped me so many times stretch his feedings out. And saved me all that energy of getting out of bed (especially when I was still in pain from my c section and every twist, turn, and core movement just hurt).
Another one of my favorite things about SNOO is that it is SIMPLE to use. I feel like there’s a lot of brands out there who market themselves that way but in the end you need “this adapter”, “this plug”, “this add on piece,” and so many more this and that’s. No, the SNOO is totally basic. Even Hunter, who isn’t critical but also doesn’t go out of his way to compliment every product, is a huge fan, and said “I love how easy this thing and all its parts are.” We got the Leg Lifters that raise the back legs up a notch to help babies with reflux avoid spitting up. I asked Hunter to put them on thinking they would need a full on manual but nope, the lifters were on in 5 seconds. And working. The SNOO’s swaddle is also really easy to use with its double zipper feature (one zipper up top to tighten/adjust the swaddle, one at the bottom to make diaper changing easy without unswaddling if you don’t want to). The SNOO comes with 3 different size swaddles to grow with your baby and the fabric of the swaddle and the sheets are a super comfy organic cotton (that also come in several fun patterns). Leo is only 13 weeks old so we have a lot more exploring to do with the SNOO as he gets older, but I’m excited to use all the settings that come with each age. Which is another neat function of the SNOO. That it grows and adjusts as your baby does:)
I think I answered most of your questions you sent me over instagram awhile back, but here are a few other common ones I got:
I’ve heard the product is so good, it’s hard to transition out of, is that true?
-Not that I know if. I too have heard the product is so good it could be hard to transition out of, but mamas who have used the bassinet prior to me said the weaning feature made it pretty seamless. Personally, I think everything is tricky to transition out of with babies. Whether it’s a product or going from two to one nap, you know? So my mentality is expect any change with a baby to be difficult, and if it’s super challenging, always remember to be consistent! And take lots of deep breaths :)
Is it too late to start at one month old?
-I’d say no. I’ve actually heard the SNOO only gets better with age, up to 6months, so I think it’s still worth giving it a shot!
Babies around 1-2 months old may go through an adjustment period (around 5-7 days) while they get used to their SNOO since they have spent some time in a different sleep environment. Past about 3 months old, little ones have spent enough time in other sleeping methods that they typically have become accustomed to a different sleep environment, and may have a harder time getting used to SNOO. Anyone who has a SNOO can also call their customer team and receive a sleep consultation to help overcome any challenges with adjustment into SNOO! I’ve personally spoken to them, and they’re great!
Is it worth the investment?
-yes! especially if you are going to have another child, or you can go in on one with a friend who may have a baby prior to or after you and share it. You can also rent one here!
Do you have to buy all the stuff on top of the bassinet?
-no, the SNOO comes with all the goodies! The bed, power adapter, 3 SNOO sleep sack/swaddles in different sizes, mattress and a fitted sheet!
Also, a lot of you asked questions about babies in the SNOO older than 3 months which at this point, I can’t answer from my personal experience (so sorry) but I will be able to once Leo gets a bit older! You can visit SNOO’s site here for more information in the meantime.
Thank you for following along on our adventure with SNOO and we will keep you posted on the next few months!
