@ Snoo - parental judgment, anxiety and privilege

[neverfstop]

I'm glad these weren't around when I had babies...cause I'd have probably bought one. I'm glad to see they are renting them now.  Do you know anybody that has/uses one?


www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/snoo-millennial-parents/2021/07/12/e9fa501a-e02e-11eb-9f54-7eee10b5fcd2_story.html

The Snoo is a $1,500 bassinet — and a touchstone for parental judgment, anxiety and privilege 


She had heard about the Snoo, which uses artificial intelligence and sensors to listen for a baby’s cries and rock them back to sleep, but had written off the device as overhyped. The company behind the Snoo, Happiest Baby, claimed that it could give parents an extra two hours of sleep each night, which sounded like a fantasy to Scalia. And friends who used it evangelized — and bragged — about their sleep-gifted infants.

[pixy0stix]

Remember when people were shamed about using swings to put their babies to sleep? The shaming never changes, it's just whatever people decide is stupid, useless, or harmful.

I'd ask for this thing as my only baby gift if it was an option. It sounds fantastic.

[penguingrrl]

I feel like I’ve heard of it but do t know of anyone who has one. But I also am long out of the infant stage, so I’ve lost touch.

I do think that the claims that baby and therefore parents sleep better and it helping prevent PPD sound legit.

[redheadk]

My child slept so little, to the point of affecting her health not to mention my sanity, thanks to discomfort from GERD that I would have totally bought one of these if I thought it would help her. Screw anyone who judges.

[tiptoetulips]

My first was a crap sleeper. Horrible didn’t sleep through the night until she was 2.
I got a snoo from FB marketplace in the summer of 2020. I got lucky because I purchased when the discount they offered was typically around 40% and they raised the price in late 2020 as welll. I paid 650 for it purchased a few extra sacks and sheets for another 100 and sold it for 750.
I went back to work at 6w PP remotely with baby staying home with me. It paid for itself in the first week of me returning to work. It helped with sleep so so much. I have no regrets. I would highly consider a rental at this point if I had to do it again and didn’t plan on having more kids.

[tacom]

I think the snoo made the difference between me having PPA (undiagnosed) after my first and feeling relatively good after my second.

I would love to see them get FDA approval and insurance coverage to make them more accessible.

[sent]

Yes. My colleagues recommend these to each other all the time. I feel like it's the newest "most expensive baby gear" thing out there so parents can feel like they have the NB stage under control and show off their money at the same time. I'm sure there are babies and parents who truly benefitted from this item, but I've seen some real braggy posts about this thing from new moms and dads.

My first was a terrible sleeper because she was an underweight preemie with reflux who was hungry all the time since she was too weak to breastfeed but I had fallen for the whole "breast is best" nonsense until I found my common sense again at 7 week. The second one only wanted to sleep on my chest like a baby gorilla so I bought a very nice recliner from Raymour & Flanigan for both of us to doze off that I am currently sitting in typing this (he's 3 years old now). He figured out STTN and was off my chest by 3.5 months. I'm better off not having had the temptation of renting/buying it when mine were tiny.

[insominac]

I had one. Purchased it at a discount - I think a Mother’s Day promo - and sold it for decent amount pretty easily. It was okay. I liked the look of it more than anything else. 🤷🏾‍♀️ My daughter didn’t really like being soothed by it when it went up past a certain level so that was a thing. And then I had to pump all the time through the night so I was up anyway. I wouldn’t buy it again if I had another kid.

[wise_rita]

I didn't have one mainly because it was simply not available in the country I lived in. Full disclosure I didn't read the article but must we judge others on every damn thing baby related?!

I know she's cancelled and a horrible person but Taking Cara Babies 100% did the trick for me, from birth.

[Aquatica]

When DD was born, MamaRoo was a thing. Hearing others talk about it and rave that it was the 'best thing ever' made me feel...left out and very poor. Sure, my baby had the basics but it seemed to create a divide within the parenting groups by not having these expensive items and it sucked feeling left out all over again, while trying to find a connect after having a baby and already feeling so 'am I doing this right?'.

[wanderingback]

The rental for $150 a month sounds very reasonable.
People go on vacation and spend hundreds to thousands to improve their "mental health" so I see no reason why someone should be judged for spending some money to possibly help get more sleep and improve mental health.
People use all sorts of baby items to make life easier, most of it isn’t essential and this is no different.

And why am I not surprised that people already figured out how to sell them fraudulently :/

[iheartthe90s]

I’ve heard you can rent them.

I used to fantasize about something like this when my kids were babies (9+ years ago).

The other thing I fantasized about that gas since been turned into reality is the Baby Brezza formula dispenser. Also really expensive but probably worth it for the convenience.

[bears]

We justified so many purchases when my son was young with "even if this just gives us one night of decent sleep, it'll be worth it." $150 for a month would be a complete no-brainer.

[Jalapeñomel]

It’s seems like everyone on my BMB plans on renting one.

[Jalapeñomel]

I did hear that it makes transitioning to the crib harder, but I don’t know that first hand.

[tiki]

We were gifted one when they were new (no renting at that time) and then couldn't even use it for the first 3 months due to reflux. We've loaned it out to 3 different families since then because I think the price tag is ridiculous.

I know the Rock n Play is bad and horrible and unsafe and all, but pre-recall the version with auto-rocking worked much better for us than the Snoo. Now there is nothing comparable in that price bracket to help fussy babies and their parents get some sleep.

ETA: the Snoo we got cost ~$800 new + during a sale. I had no idea they'd gone up to $1500!

[breezy8407]

I'm many years past infant stage and haven't heard of it, but this sounds great. Not sure we would have been able to afford one (or two in my case) at the time. the only thing that gives me pause now in hindsight, is knowing I would have to break them from the habit of sleeping in the snoo. That constant re-training/phasing was exhausting i.e. getting rid of pacifiers, swaddles, etc.

I did everything I could to create sleep patterns. Pacifiers, swaddling, sleep sacks, and the rock and plays, which we now know are dangerous. You don't know what you don't know.

[af1212]

I know nothing about the snoo except that I saw a used one about two weeks ago for sale on my fb buy/sell group for $1300 😭😭😭

[Velar Fricative]

I think this came out right around when my younger kid was a baby (she's 4 now). She was/is my magic unicorn sleeper but I remember thinking how great this could have been for my older kid if it existed, especially if renting was an option then too.

We already make it impossibly hard for parents in this country, believing they should be deprived of sleep and judging them because that's just how it is is still unnecessarily cruel if there are safe options for parents to use. GTFOH with this "cheating" mentality. Did I cheat because I somehow birthed a great sleeper? If so I wish I knew what cheating secrets I had so I could have gone back in time and done it with my first lol.

[Michelle]

I'm a huge fan of the Happiest Baby on the Block - i just gave it to a new mother yesterday. If they have invented a device that helps the sleep problem, I would have gone into major debt to buy it.

I am sure that sleep deprivation had an impact on my post partum depression and therefore risk to my job security (My director approached me because my performance was off, had customer complaints for the first time, etc. I was crying in my office every day and needed help!)

Anyone who judges a parent for investing in their sanity and that of their home is a jerk. Full stop.

[lea]

I would have been all over this with DS1 if I could have. I was desperate for him to sleep. The big thing then was the Rock n Play which was the only place he would sleep for a stretch besides on me. Luckily they didn’t recall/discontinue that until after my last kid was out of the infant stage because I probably would have had a meltdown if I’d had to stop using it with my oldest.

We live in a country that expects new mothers to go back to work within weeks (sometimes days!) of giving birth. If this thing works to help people sleep and feel better so they can function better, I wouldn’t judge for a second.

[noodleoo]

I remember this started being a thing after my first kid. The rental price doesn't seem too bad, but the $1500 price tag is definitely out of reach for most parents to buy. Hopefully Fisher Price will have a knock off soon that costs way less.

My only other contribution was that they used the Snoo on This Is Us as a way to show the difference between the income levels of the adult siblings and I wondered how many people in America would know what it was. I had to explain it to H. I only know about it because of these boards.

[tacom]

I mentioned PPA above and the effect on my mental health, but I’m coming back here to talk about the safety aspect. TW below for mention of unsafe sleep practices.

DS1: never slept. Scariest parenting moment was when I was soothing a screaming colicky baby and sat down on the couch to rest after pacing for hours. The nurse’s line had no advice other than to keep trying soothing techniques. Next thing i knew, I woke up to complete silence in my pitch black living room and he had slid out of my arms onto the couch. I couldn’t see his face at first and I still panic thinking about the moment before I lifted him and he woke. I was so lucky he was fine.

After that I realized my exhaustion was the biggest threat to my son. I kept him in his bassinet as much as I could but we spent many nights in the rock and play (which I knew wasn’t safe for overnight sleep) or bed sharing in an adult bed until he was old enough to sleep train (which I did at exactly 4 mo).

DS2: sleep is a non issue. I’ve never been tempted once to take him out of his snoo (3 months next week). He’s connecting sleep cycles and I wake him now after 8-9 hours to nurse since my boobs need relief. Either transitioning will be a nightmare and I’ll sleep train him then, or he’ll do fine after a little adjustment when the crutch is removed since his brain has already learned to connect those sleep cycles. But either way this kid is infinitely more safe than my first was. It’s just frustrating that only a fraction of new parents can afford this option, especially since the company continues to raise prices (which seems shady).

[pixy0stix]

Jul 14, 2021 7:33:45 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I did hear that it makes transitioning to the crib harder, but I don’t know that first hand.

I think transitioning to a crib is just hard, full stop. Any time you change how the baby sleeps there's going to be disruption.

[Michelle]

Jul 14, 2021 8:28:11 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Jul 14, 2021 7:33:45 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I did hear that it makes transitioning to the crib harder, but I don’t know that first hand.

I think transitioning to a crib is just hard, full stop. Any time you change how the baby sleeps there's going to be disruption.

I chuckle as I say this, but it might also be easier after you have had some sleep thanks to the snoo. Transitioning when you are already completely depleted is pretty dang hard.

[krystee]

I’m just happy I was a parent when rock n plays were still thought to be safe so I could get good sleep at a $35 price tag!

I really wish they’d work on something similar but safer. Those things were a godsend and accessible to parents of almost all income levels. I bought one for every new mom I knew (thank goodness no babies were harmed by my gifts).

[cuadrado]

Our good friends used a Snoo for baby #2 and she said it was life-changing and made the postpartum period so much easier. My sister is pregnant and I’m thinking about getting one for her.

[eddy]

Jul 14, 2021 8:28:11 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Jul 14, 2021 7:33:45 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

I did hear that it makes transitioning to the crib harder, but I don’t know that first hand.

I think transitioning to a crib is just hard, full stop. Any time you change how the baby sleeps there's going to be disruption.

This was always my philosophy. 

We used the RNP, the swing etc. This was before you know all of those things were deemed dangerous.


I would have absolutely gotten the snoo. That would be right up my alley.

[neverfstop]

In some ways, it almost feels like a modern necessity. I get that "waaay back when, the other moms had to suffer non-sleeping babies", but they also weren't typically home alone, with a spouse at work, possibly other children that need caring for, and likely expected to go back to work in a few weeks. Yes, humans evolved so that kids co-slept, we were raised in tribes with lots of helping hands, moms could sneak off for naps all the time and had tons of other communal support for child-rearing and house keeping. Andplusalso, just because something sucked and you suffered, doesn't mean that anybody else should have to go through that (no matter what topic)

I'm a huge believer in the power and importance of sleep- for baby & the rest of the family. There may be some downsides to the Snoo, but I'd put the physical, emotional, psychological, and social welfare of the whole household above those. I'm glad they have rental options & I hope that there is more scientific/medical evidence for these devices so they will be covered by insurance and Medicaid and available to all moms who need them.

[Jalapeñomel]

There is a Graco knock-off for $350ish if people need a cheaper alternative (obviously not the same as the Snoo):

Graco Sense2Snooze Bassinet with Cry Detection Technology | Baby Bassinet Detects and Responds to Baby's Cries to Help Soothe Back to Sleep, Ellison www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y5SLKJL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_XTJE4HD9ECW4QXWQ1QJG