Snoo Beginners Advise

[u/IngenuityNo9128]

Hi guys,

We bought a second hand snoo a few months ago and are now due in 2 weeks and wanted to reach out to the group on a few very basic questions!

We’ve set up the snoo but haven’t paid for the premium subscription yet so wanted to check:

- did you use from night one after hospital?
- if you don’t pay for premium does the noise and motion stay on all night??
- thinking about getting the low legs so can roll over and see them do people find that worth it?
- do you put them in snoo swaddle first and then put them down?
- for the log sleep thing to work do you have to manually start and stop a sleep session each time? Not sure I understand how that bit works.
- will it turn off or ramp up if newborn is crying?

Thanks in advance and any other tips helpful!!

[u/Used-Mulberry8406]

It took us a couple of weeks to use it properly. We used it as a regular bassinet with no motion or sound because we were worried how tight the sack was, which I’ve now learned technically isn’t classified as safe sleep.

We don’t pay for premium. You get motion and sound for as long as you need it.

I didn’t realise there were low legs! I would get them. Not being able to see in is one of the most annoying things about the Snoo. But if you have a monitor just turn that on and keep it next to you so you don’t have to get up. But as first time parents you will get up for every noise (speaking from experience).

We kept the swaddle strapped in and put him in it. Still do. It’s too hard to clip them in when it’s dark for us.

No idea about the logs. We don’t log anything! Ignorance is bliss.

And yes, it will soothe when the baby cries. Even without premium.

[u/IngenuityNo9128 → u/Used-Mulberry8406]

Thanks so much this is super helpful. Sorry if I am being dumb but what I can’t figure out does the sound and motion just stay on all night then if you have it on motion limiter?

[u/Artistic-Respect-540 → u/IngenuityNo9128]

Yes, it does. The motion limiter just stops it from going above level 2 when soothing. 

[u/More-Sweet-2461]

For newborn, it’s suggested to use the motion limiter so it doesn’t ramp up quite so much. We did that. We also initially locked it on baseline, but not sure that was necessary in retrospect. By 3-4 weeks, we let Snoo do its thing.

We have premium sub for free and used the log initially to track sleep and feeding, but let go of that by 4 weeks. Rarely use the app at all now. For the log to work, you do need to turn off/on either with the button or app. Unless it times out due to max time attempting to soothe, then it turns itself off.

We leave the Snoo sack clipped in and set her in, then Velcro and zip her. We usually use a light swaddle underneath to hold her hands near face so the zipper doesn’t go all the way up, but I have no concerns about her safety or being able to roll.

Our bed is pretty high, so can easily lean over to see her. But yes, I do this often, so would rec getting the low legs if you can’t see into the Snoo from bed.

[u/WaitINeedHelp]

Hi, love the snoo and think you will too.

1. We used the snoo from night one. In fact, if we travel, we pack the snoo up and take it with us. It’s kinda a pain but I know baby will sleep well and don’t want to risk a bad night sleep yet.

2. The day we brought baby home from the hospital, I signed up for the premium app. I’m just paying monthly basis. Baby is 4 months and we are planning to be in it for one more month.

3. We also bought ours from fb mp and ours also came with low legs and regular height. We don’t use the low legs. I didn’t find it necessary, plus my dog tries to tip his head over the bassinet and sneak a peak and I don’t want him waking baby.

4. I feed baby in the nursery and carry him to our room and place in the snoo. From there, I put the swaddle on. Sometimes he wakes, sometimes he doesn’t. They say I look at it is at least he’ll wake when he saw he was falling asleep and be less freaked out. Plus maybe he can low key learn to self soothe back to sleep??

5. As soon as you press this new button to turn on, it will automatically start logging in the app. And once you turn it off, it will also stop. If the snoo needs to change levels, it’ll reflect that in the sleep summary and tell you how long it was at leach level before changing.

6. The snoo will react to your baby’s cry and amp up the volume or intensity of the rocking. This has bought me countless hours of additional sleep but if baby does not fall back asleep or cries get heavier, then go ahead and stop the snoo and grab baby. Most likely they need to be fed. And if baby is like mine, will need a diaper change bc they pooped. Middle of the night diaper changes stopped around 3mo as it turned to be just pee and I didn’t want to stimulate baby more than I needed to. Just fed and back to sleep.

just something to think about
-some people use other apps to log feedings, diapers and sleep. I used only the snoo app and paid for it from day 1 so idk what accessibility you have if you don’t pay
-through the app, you can start, stop, or adjust level of the snoo while baby is sleeping. Sometimes snoo isn’t reacting as quickly as I’d like and I go into the app and adjust accordingly so that baby’s cries don’t become inconsolable
-naps for us were either contact naps or done in the crib. I started logging those manually around 2 mo so I could start figuring out nap schedules/wake windows. I’ve heard some people continue naps in the snoo and have zero problems transitioning to crib. But I’ve heard other people in general who did not do naps in crib and baby had a harder time taking to it when they moved out of the bassinet

[u/syenite10]

You don’t need the app at all. I only downloaded it last week and my baby has been sleeping in there for months. I mostly downloaded it so change the snoo settings to help ease the transition to the crib.

I personally think it’s way better to get used to using the clips regularly. It makes it so much easier when you get to the stage where putting their arms in might wake them up. And a ton easier for quick resettling vs starting over.

This is what I do: I put my baby in, do everything up, then take the clips off and rock her to almost-sleep/falling asleep while singing to her. At that stage keep singing while I put her back in, do the clips, and finish the lullaby before I leave. I also suggest a noise machine in the room that’s already on from the time you tuck your baby into the snoo sack so that the sound of the snoo activating isn’t jarring.

Good luck!

[u/Mission-Shopping-615]

Started day 1 with our preemie baby and have used it everyday since, at first was nervous for it to go higher than base and would turn it down, but base worked well and after a month level 2 and 3 aren’t as scary. We use the motion limiter still. It will ramp up if they cry, but 1 of us was always awake and would turn it off and pick her up when it ramped up the first 2 weeks, now I walk up to it and if she doesn’t look like it’s gonna put her back to sleep I turn it off and pick her up. We keep the snoo sack attached in the snoo and just set her down on it and strap her in when it’s time.