Can you use snoo without sleep sack

Is it really the magical baby product everyone states it to be? In my opinion…it’s pretty great. And THIS my friends, is the newest (and cutest) SNOO graduate from bassinet to crib.

So what is the SNOO exactly?

SNOO is the safest (and smartest) bassinet ever made. It adds 1-2+ hours of sleep per night for babies…and their tired parents! When SNOO detects crying, it automatically responds with increasing sound and motion, often calming fussing in under a minute.

Their one-of-a-kind swaddle secures babies safely on their backs, preventing risky rolling…for all nights and all naps. This was maybe the most important aspect for me as I have repeatedly had anxiety about my babies sleeping safely, which is likely rooted in all the many months we spent in the NICU with both of our boys.

Like all good things though, the use of this bassinet must come to an end at some point. Dr. Karp, the creator of the SNOO and Happiest Baby on the Block recommends discontinuing use of the bassinet at 6 months or when baby can get onto their hands and knees. Dr. Karp says, “Even if your baby’s toes touch the bottom of the bed, it’s still not advised to start weaning until 5-6 months.” If you’re worried about them outgrowing the bassinet before then, remember that it was created to fit babies up to 9 months old in size (90-95% in size).

PREPPING FOR THE TRANSITION OUT OF THE SNOO

Because the bassinet is SO smart, I started to receive notifications to begin using the weaning motion prior to the 5-6 month mark so that when my baby reached that age, we were able to seamlessly transition them into the crib! In the end, we started that weaning option about 3 weeks before 6 months which gave us time and made the transition easier on everyone.

If you’re transitioning from the SNOO to the crib, then I highly recommend doing everything you can to make the crib a familiar space. We initially started spending more and more time in the nursery during awake time first so that it became a safe and comfortable space for her to be.

Next, we moved the bassinet into her nursery (a room that Penny shares with her big sister Nora). It’s recommended to room share for at least 6 months with parents so we waited until that point to do so. At this point I also invested in black out shades to optimize the room for sleeping.

How to wean from the SNOO

• First, we discontinued swaddling and let Penny have her arms free. The SNOO swaddle has snaps at the top of the shoulders, so we were able to easy make this transition.
• The we began using the weaning feature. When this mode is “on” the SNOO won’t provide any motion when the baby cries, but will still maintain its white noise feature.
• After using the weaning feature for a week or so, we began using the SNOO as a normal bassinet (which included no movement or swaddle), but still created a familiar bed for her.
• Our next step was actually moving into the crib! Originally I thought that we would start the night in the crib and move into the bassinet when she woke up for the first time with the ultimate goal being that we’d spend more and more time each night in the crib and less time in the SNOO, but surprisingly it wasn’t necessary! She transitioned beautifully.

On the Swaddle

The one thing I recommend doing to maintain some familiarity is to invest in the Sleepea 5 second swaddle. It’s nearly the exact same swaddle that is used in the bassinet, just without the side clips. We’re still putting her in the Sleepea for all of her naps and for bedtime and it’s one of the first steps that signals that it’s time to sleep.

We also made sure we were set up and ready to go with a good quality sound machine (this one is our favorite) so that we could also mimic that element of the SNOO in her nursery.

Ultimately our transition was nearly seamless. For the first night she continued to get up once a night for a “snack” between her 6th – 7th month but now she’s sleeping all the way until 5:30.

In summary, the SNOO was such a fantastic fit for our family. Not only did it ease my concerns when it came to safe sleep, but it also resulted in the whole family getting more sleep. I can’t recommend it enough for a family that values those same things.

*The team at Happiest Baby was kind enough to send us the SNOO in exchange for sharing our honest experience with the product. All opinions are my own.

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