Updated on August 18, 2019

What is SNOO? It's a robotic bassinet that helps both parents and babies get more sleep. It is useful not just at home, but potentially the travel industry. Hotels could potentially offer them to guests helping both parents as well as the neighbors get some sleep. Unfortunately, too many hotels have paper thin walls which between rooms which means a crying baby in a neighboring room is almost the same as having the crying baby right next to you. HappiestBaby is currently offering their lowest price on the Snoo I have seen: $450 off!

Update: The Summer Sale promo code gets you 35% off.

Buying a Used Snoo?

Many options exist to buy a new or lightly used Snoo on eBay for $900 or less (new) or a used one for $500-$700.

The Deal – Holiday Sale

• Link: Now $35% Off until 7/21/19! + 30 day trial + free shipping (regular price is $1,295)
• Rent a Snoo – you can keep it only for as long as you need it.

Review

We are both suckers for modern everything and me for technology. Last year, we decided to go to the NYC baby shows. These shows aren't very interesting for me as a guy, but it became more interesting when we saw Snoo at the show and met the creator, Dr Harvey Karp. Shortly afterwards, we really wanted one and talked more with Dr Karp's wife and daughter. We really enjoyed talking with them and learning about the product. They offered us a deal and we ordered one on the spot.

Pre-Order & Delivery

The company offers a 30 day trial…but if your kid hasn't arrived yet, the return policy may be much shorter or run out completely. They offered us to choose the delivery date and we pre ordered it to arrive 30 days before the real due date of our first born. We did this so it could be setup and ready for the big day. However, Snoo came in early. Much too early. I was concerned if the start up company would still accept a return and warranty policy if I won’t be using the bassinet for another 2-3 months. I emailed my concerns and got reassuring prompt response. So the next 2 months Snoo was sitting packed in the box waiting for the debut of my kiddo.

Using Snoo

Fast forward a few months after that when we were using Snoo on a daily basis. We started using Snoo from Day 1 after bringing baby home from the hospital.

How does it work?

• If the Snoo detects baby crying, it starts gently rocking and playing white noise to soothe and comfort. Louder crying results in faster rocking and louder noise. Don't worry, the speed can be limited (see below). The Snoo recognizes if the rocking and noise isn't helping, stops, and alerts you.
• You can control the Snoo from the app, increase/decrease speed as well as see if baby is crying or calm.

Image Source: HappiestBaby

Sleep and more sleep zzzzz

• It spoiled us from day one. At times baby got 6+ hours of uninterrupted Snoo sleep, which means we ALSO got that much sleep. At the same time, while everyone was sleeping, he was growing like a weed.
• Did I mention us new parents got at times 6 hours of sleep??? That’s important to repeat since the minute we transfer to the crib one of us (the nursing one) had to wake up every 2 (two) hours for months… sometimes still does.

Look and feel

• The Snoo has a beautiful sleek and modern design. It was such a nice piece of furniture to look at. The design was created by Yves Behar, a well known industrial designer.

Customer Service

• Service is really important for a product like this. I was a bit reluctant to have a newborn with all this tech around him – it rocks baby side to side, plays sound, has wifi and is controlled by an app. I emailed their customer service with lots of questions and got very detailed (technical) answers.
• Additionally I had a few Snoo snafus. Every time they responded quickly and tried to resolve the matter. There was a problem with the setup and connecting to the app. One thing I was concerned about is the top speed setting of the rocking might get too strong (in my professional opinion of raising zero babies). They helped us adjust the app to make sure there was a speed limit enabled.

Swaddle Sack

• The concept of swaddling seemed strange at first. While it generally worked well, I contacted support regarding the Snoo straight jacket (ahem I mean their swaddle sack). We didn't like the design of the zipper garage that, if fully closed, was rubbing against baby's chin and we thought is bothering our precious munchkin. We had to either not zip up all the way or fold the fabric so the zipper isn't rubbing, which seemed like a design flaw.
• They sent a new design for us to try which was a little better but similar. I think this is one area that they can improve. By the look of the pics on their website, they have already corrected this. See the pic below, wouldn't it be annoying if that flap kept hitting your face/chin?
• The cotton on the swaddle is indeed super soft to touch. We kept some less expensive blankets under in case of an explosive poop emergency. You'll probably want to have a couple extras swaddles so you always have a clean one available.

Software/The App

The main screen we used was the one below. It would just tell you if the baby is calm, crying, and the level of rocking. The app has added features which weren't available when we owned it – these app screen shots are from the company's website. I would have liked to have the sleep log and stats.

Image Source: HappiestBaby

Image Source: HappiestBaby

Outgrowing SNOO

• Snoo can be used up to 6 months, depending on when your baby can sit up. Ours outgrow the Snoo pretty quick and by 4 months he only had a few inches of clearance in the bassinet. He was already pulling himself. We tried a pack and play for a week before the new crib arrived and missed Snoo a lot.

Sleep Safety

• One of the many good features of Snoo is sleep safety. Babies tend to prefer one side over the other so we keep turning his head during naps to prevent flat head. Of course, babies will want to sleep in bed with you but it's not a good idea – baby can fall off the bed or get smothered accidentally.

Raising a baby with an app?

• We got some criticism from friends and family about using an app to raise our child which we laughed off. We didn't have a nanny and were mostly on our own. The result was we both slept more than we were expecting and the baby was happy and healthy. When the crying was loud, we would not even wait for the app to prompt us to respond to it – we were already at the Snoo. A baby's cry is obviously designed to pierce through any sleep no matter how deep. Eyes open…can you change him?

Is Snoo Worth It?

• It's expensive. The holiday sale makes it more palatable but still is expensive. Consider the cost of hiring help and the cost of a startup designing such a product. The value of sleep skyrockets the less you actually get it. Less sleep also = more arguing. So… what is your sanity worth? In the end, our Snoo wasn't so expensive because we sold it on CL and were able to recoup most of our cost. The answer is: DEFINITELY WORTH IT!

Snoo for Colic

• The buyer of our Snoo was very excited as his kid had colic and was looking for some relief/help. The very next day he texted us saying it was his first night since the baby arrived that his family got some sleep (baby included).

Cheaper Alternatives to Snoo?

• I'm researching cheaper alternatives to Snoo. Do you have any suggestions or products you liked?

Customer Support

• It's easy to contact support for your Snoo. The Happiest Baby customer support number is 855-424-6323. I was pleasantly surprised that they were very responsive the few times that I had to reach out.

Is Snoo Right For Me?

• If you're still not sure after reading the above, feel free to ask questions in the comments. I'll try to help based on my experience.

Conclusion

We would recommend Snoo, especially to new parents. In fact, we will likely buy another one should the need arise. Oh and if you care, celebs like Kate Hudson, Scarlett Johansson, Mila Kunis, Molly Sims, and Zoe Saldana use Snoo. More importantly, a lot of regular people love and use Snoo. The $400 off promo ends on 12/9/18.