I Tried the SNOO Smart Bassinet with My Newborn—Here's My Honest Review (and a Pediatric Sleep Consultant's Thoughts)

• Value: 16/20
• Functionality: 19/20
• Ease of Use: 19/20
• Aesthetic: 20/20
• Soothing Capabilities: 20/20

Total: 94/100

When I was newly pregnant, I was already eyeing up the Happiest Baby SNOO Smart Sleeper bassinet ($1,695). The low-profile, minimalist look? Swoon. The fact that it sways your baby while they sleep and soothes them when they cry? Amazing. *And* it was developed by a pediatrician? I mean, say no more—I was sold before I even looked at the hefty price tag. As a first-time mom, I had in my head that I needed to get the top-of-the-line everything for my baby. That meant clothes, toys, diaper bag, nursery glider, and yes, this high-tech bassinet. From what I read and watched on social media, parents said their babies either loved it or hated it, meaning it was a bit of a gamble—a pricey one at that. But I wanted to give it a fair shot, and I'm very glad I did. My newborn happened to love it and we used it every day and night until he was 4 months old.

It's definitely got my stamp of parent approval, and I'll explain why below—but if you're wondering what a baby sleep expert has to say about the swaying it provides, you're in luck. I tapped pediatric sleep consultant Ensley Nesbitt to give us her thoughts on the matter.

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Ensley Nesbitt is a mom of four, certified pediatric sleep consultant and owner of Sleep Baby Consulting and Lizzy Sleep App. She helps parents navigate the trials of infant and toddler sleep, from self-soothing to getting them to take longer naps.

The short answer, according to the brand, is 6 months of age. Happiest Baby does say that if your baby is rolling over multiple times during sleep, it's time to pack away the SNOO. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises parents stop swaddling their babies once they're showing signs of rolling over. These are guidelines that I chose to follow with my son, so I personally stopped using the smart sleeper when he was around 4 months old.

The SNOO is FDA De Novo authorized because of the swaddle design that aims to keep babies asleep on their backs, which reportedly reduces the risk of SIDS and SUID. The swaddle has two straps along the back that lay tightly against the mattress and hook onto the sides, so there is no chance of your baby rolling while zipped into it. In fact, the SNOO will not begin swaying until the swaddle is hooked in place. However, the manufacturer states that "the SNOO has not directly demonstrated a reduction in the incidence of SIDS/SUID."

The overarching benefit of the SNOO bassinet is its ability to give your baby—and, by extension, you—a better night's sleep. If your kiddo responds well to the movement and sound provided by the bassinet, odds are they will stay asleep longer. For my husband and me, this was fortunately the case. When he was 2 months old, I wrote in my baby's newborn journal, "Thank goodness you're such a good night sleeper. You go down at 8 p.m., wake up at 3 a.m. to eat and then wake up for the day at 8 a.m."

My baby did indeed need movement to go down (I blame this on my constant yoga ball bouncing in my third trimester), so the gentle swaying of the machine really kept him comfortable and calm while he slept. Plus, the SNOO's swaddle design was nice and snug, so it was like he was being hugged and rocked.

The safety is another huge factor as to why the SNOO is such a great choice. This bassinet is the only smart bassinet that is FDA De Novo Authorized because of its ability to keep your baby asleep on their back, possibly reducing the risk of SIDS. I had really bad postpartum anxiety, and knowing this product had a science-backed design and FDA authorization really helped. Of course, I also had the Owlet Dream Sock on hand—well, foot—for extra peace of mind.

Honestly, the benefits of the SNOO were like a domino effect (in the best way): The swaying helped my baby sleep longer, the FDA-authorized swaddle design helped ease my anxiety, less anxiety allowed me to sleep more and better. And all of these benefits really are priceless. I didn't try any other bassinets, so I can't speak to how the functionality of the SNOO stands against other standard models. What I can say is that when we were using the smart bassinet, my son's best and longest naps and night sleeps were in the SNOO.

Yes. While the SNOO was great for our baby, it's not one-size-fits-all, so not every baby will like it. And personal preference aside, if you aren't careful as a parent, you can start some poor habits for your baby and yourself because of the bassinet's capabilities. Nesbitt tells me that it's easy for parents to end up relying on the soothing tech of the SNOO too much. "When this happens, the parents do not learn specific soothing strategies that work for their baby," she says.

As previously mentioned, the AAP and many pediatricians recommend losing the swaddle once your baby can roll. Once they roll, they can sleep on their side or bellies because they can use their arms and body muscle to roll back and move around. This is another area where Nesbitt takes issue with the SNOO's standard suggestion that it can be used at up to 6 months of age.

"Although the SNOO keeps the baby safe and flat, it doesn't allow for natural movement that babies use to soothe and get comfortable," she says. Whether those soothing movements be rubbing their eyes, touching their faces or stretching their arms over their heads, using the SNOO after your baby starts rolling can hinder their development of self-soothing methods. "So if you use the SNOO for up to six months, your baby has a big learning curve of how to move freely in a crib, get comfortable and break rocking associations."

The mesh material does stain easily, and if you have a reflux baby like I do, you'll find it isn't the easiest to clean. Especially if it gets down beneath the mattress into the plastic crevices (yuck).

Another thing about the SNOO that wasn't ideal was the movement and increasing volume interfering with my baby monitors. The first monitor alerted me whenever my son was moving around, so as you can imagine, I was notified quite frequently because the bassinet moves (duh). I then swapped to the aforementioned Dream Sock, which alerted me when he was crying. The regular white noise on the SNOO didn't trigger the notification, but when he would cry, and the noise would get louder, I'd have my phone buzzing left and right.

On that note, if you have a smart baby monitor like the Owlet or the Nanit, you likely won't find the sleep insights on the SNOO app very helpful since you can get a deeper look at your baby's sleep patterns from those other products. I ended up only using the app to adjust the speed and sounds of the bassinet, and then with the weaning mode when we were ready to transition to the crib.

Speaking of weaning mode, this was one of my favorite features of the bassinet. Around the time my kiddo was showing signs of readiness for his big boy crib, and was graduating from swaddle to sleep sack, I enabled this option on the SNOO app. Basically, when my son was sleeping and calm, it would stay still, and then resume swaying when he would become fussy to soothe. This allowed him to get used to the lack of movement while he was asleep before we made the big, final switch. We also enlisted a couple of crib naps through the day so he could get used to the new space since it's much larger than a bassinet.

If you're determined to instill your baby with important sleep skills as early as you can, though, Nesbitt recommends opting for the wean mode even sooner than the rolling stage. "I recommend starting with a bedtime routine and using weaning mode starting at 6 to 8 weeks old. Around 8 to 10 weeks, I would start working on independent nighttime sleep," she says.

After we completed the full transfer from bassinet to crib, he continued having long stretches of sleep and few fussy spells. It's almost like the SNOO helped him develop a comfort with sleep to the point where could knock out anywhere—a huge win for us and him, because I know this is not the case for everybody. As colicky as he was during the day, his long stretches of sleep felt like winning the lottery.

Realistically, the cost of the bassinet is quite high considering how long I actually used it (four months). However, my son slept so well in this thing, and it helped make the overall transition from bassinet to crib very smooth, so in my opinion, it's a phenomenal product. I think the bassinet is incredibly functional; every feature has a specific purpose and was thoughtfully designed to be useful, from the soothing mode to the weaning mode to the safety of the swaddle. There's something to be said for baby products that instill you with a feeling of security as a parent, and the SNOO was definitely one of those for me.