Transitioning Out of the SNOO!
This post is for all those “Robo Parents” who used the SNOO, a smart bassinet that helps your infant sleep better and longer during the first 6 months of life. The parents who are lucky enough to afford the $1200 price tag (now also available for rent) swear by the SNOO in large part because of its smart tools which include tracking your baby’s sleep, built in white noise, crying sensor which automatically rocks your baby when they cry and stops rocking when the crying stops.
The SNOO is co-designed by pediatrician, parenting expert, and author Dr Harvey Karp.
The easy part is getting your child accustomed to sleeping in the SNOO. The more challenging part can be weaning them once they have outgrown it which, according to Dr. Karp is usually between 4-6 months.
How do you wean?
See below for Baby Snooze Coach’s step by step guide. As with any transition, stay consistent and be patient. And you have got this!!
Step by Step guide to WEANing your baby FROM THE SNOO
The first step is to discontinue the SNOO swaddling and let your child sleep with their arms free. One suggestion is to start this process at about 4 months with one arm out during nap time then, after a few days, have one arm extend this for all naps and nighttime.
After another week, take both arms out and try putting your baby to sleep in a transitional swaddle like the Zipadee-zip or a Love to Dream (place it underneath the SNOO swaddle). You can also use the SNOO Swaddle Sleepea. Transitional swaddles allow both arms to be out so they can safely roll over.
The next step is putting your child in their crib for naps (in their transitional swaddle) and begin to use the SNOO on the wean mode at night. When using the wean feature, the SNOO will only rock your child when they cry. White noise is played continuously regardless of whether or not your child is crying.
Begin to introduce your child to their new room and crib by spending some intentional play time with a special box of toys and begin using their room for their bedtime routine and diaper changes. Gradually increase the amount of awake time they spend in this room. Prior to the transition you may want to also move the SNOO in their new room if it is not already there.
Make sure the new room environment is conducive to optimal sleep with Blackout Shades (we like EZ Blackout on Amazon) and white noise (we like the Hatch+).
You may experience a few middle-of-the-night wake ups. If this happens, stay consistent and try to wait before you go in your child’s room to give them a chance to settle on their own. Be aware of not introducing any new sleep associations. Chances are that your child will resettle on their own.
Most babies have a few nights of adjustment and then do just fine.
Top of Form
Bottom of Form