Beloved by some, hated by others, and misunderstood by many. With a price tag of $1685 and toting FDA accolades, it’s no wonder the SNOO by Happiest Baby is a hot conversation topic. If you don’t feel like reading our the details, my short answer on the SNOO is: if you can afford it, absolutely get it!
In the first and second trimesters, our SNOO discussions went back and forth from, “That’s a disgusting amount of money to spend,” to “If it saves us just one hour of sleep per night, that is 30 extra hours per month… how much is your sleep worth when you’re sleep deprived?”
After much deliberation, we settled on a pre-loved SNOO for $956. In comparison to the brand new sticker price, we felt like this was a great deal but before it arrived, we found one cheaper on Facebook Marketplace. I called Happiest Baby to see if I could cancel our order and the customer service was amazing and they agreed. I’ve heard that their customer service is always above and beyond too — a friend of mine had a premie last fall and Happiest Baby rush delivered their SNOO at no charge to be there as soon as they got home from the hospital.
A few hours after canceling our online order, we snagged the gently used SNOO a few miles north of where we live.
The previous owners were absolutely amazing. They had kept the original box and included SNOO Leg Lifters, several specialty-sized sheets, and SNOO sleep sacks in every size. The physical setup was a breeze and only included a few clicks! Downloading the app and connecting to WIFI took a few more minutes and we were completely setup in 10 minutes.
Fast-forward another two months when we actually brought our little one home. I ended up delivering by c-section thanks to my son’s stubborn breech nature and so without the ability to easily get up out of bed, I knew the SNOO wasn’t going to work for us immediately. We nestled a Moses Basket between the two of us in our bed and I had to wake my husband up to lift our 7 lb. bundle for each feeding and again to put him back down.
After the initial ~10 days of c-section recovery, we were ready to get him out of our bed and try the SNOO. We made a terrible rookie mistake and attempted to try the SNOO for the first time when our son was tired and fussy. We turned on the SNOO, put him in his sleep sack, and laid him down. Almost immediately, the SNOO got to work shaking our little guy. Gentle at first and then an alarming amount.
Along with oscillating, the SNOO also makes various white noises that are supposed to mimic the sounds of the womb. Within minutes, our son went from fussy to bright red and screaming. We thought, “is this thing going to give our baby shaken baby syndrome?!” We quickly unstrapped his sleep sack and proclaimed that the SNOO was a total waste of money.
We didn’t try again for a few weeks. I thought we should give it at least one more go before trying to resell it. This time, we made sure our Son was drowsy but in a good mood. Success! The SNOO seemed to magically put our son back to sleep when he would startle or fuss but if cried for more than 1-2 minutes, I knew he actually needed something.
We’re 3.5 months in now and I’m dreading the day our little man outgrows the SNOO. Most nights, he sleeps 12 hours without waking. I’ve switched his daytime naps to his crib and I plan on switching the SNOO settings soon so there is only motion if he needs to be soothed (instead of a baseline soothing motion all the time).
At least once a week, my husband or I will randomly exclaim how much we love the SNOO. Even our friends without kids know how much we love this high tech bassinet.
Of course, all babies are not the same. The SNOO isn’t going to work for everyone and the price tag is extremely high. My theory is that Happiest Baby won’t drop their price because there is potential for insurance companies to pay for it in the future since it boasts FDA approval as a sleep aid. If you’re on the fence, I recommend looking into Happiest Baby’s pre-loved or rental option (or try your hand on Facebook Marketplace). The silver lining of the price tag is that the SNOO holds its value extremely well. If you purchase it for ~$1,000, you can likely resell it for around $700.
So at the end of the day, even if we didn’t get a stellar pre-owned deal, I 100% think the SNOO is worth it. Every penny.
