SNOO Smart Sleeper Baby Cot review

The SNOO Smart Sleeper baby cotbed is a responsive baby bassinet - a popular favourite of celebrity parents such as Chloe Sevigny, Ashley Graham, Serena Williams, Kate Hudson and Gigi Hadid, to name a few.

It automatically responds to baby's cries to soothe them back off to sleep enabling parents and babies to get, on average, an extra 1-3 hours of sleep a night.

Now that's something we can get on board with!

This combines a gentle rocking bed with soothing white noise and snug, safe swaddling, with 5 levels of specially designed sound and motion that imitate the calming sensations of the womb. You can pick which sounds and movements you want to use for your baby, with customisable settings that you control via an app on your phone.

This clever bed is also offered with a 30 day trial, so that you can make sure it's worth the investment. Scroll down to find out how Features & Reviews Editor Emily Gilbert got on when she tested out the SNOO Smart Sleeper.

Testing the SNOO Smart Sleeper

My first introduction to the SNOO Smart Sleeper was a couple of years ago when I saw an Instagram story from a sleep-deprived new mum enquiring 'If anyone was selling a SNOO.' It transpired that her daughter was simply not sleeping well and she was hoping the SNOO could help after seeing other success stories. While I never found out if she managed to get her hands on one, from then on, I was immediately intrigued by this so-called wonder crib.

So when I became pregnant myself, I jumped at the opportunity to review the SNOO. As a first-time mum, my experience of baby sleep is obviously pretty limited but the promises that the SNOO makes of aiding sleep are very appealing even if as a journalist, I am naturally a little sceptical.

Assembling the SNOO Smart Sleeper

The SNOO came in one big box and was incredibly well-packaged. There was no need to tear open the box (the idea is you keep the packaging), instead you just unlock all four clips by pinching them in and pulling them out, ensuring to leave the tethers attached.

After lifting off the box lid and removing the pulp trays and support tubes, accessory box and SNOO legs, you are left with the cot itself which is handily housed in a dust bag. I found the addition of the dust bag really useful as it meant we could build the SNOO ready for our baby's arrival but keep it nice and clean in the meantime.

From there, it was simply a case of turning over the SNOO and attaching the legs. This consisted of just aligning the coloured arrows on the legs with the corresponding arrow on the bottom of the crib and pushing into the slot to secure it until we heard a click. We then turned the knobs until we felt resistance and repeated on all remaining legs.

After flipping the SNOO back over so it stood on its new legs, we plugged in the power cord and pressed this into the cord holder which we'd attached to the leg closest to our power outlet. And that was it! Just like that, the SNOO was assembled and ready for action.

The SNOO actually comes with instructions for how to fold down the packaging and boxes neatly so you can keep hold of these for when it's time to stop using the crib.

Aesthetics and design

There's no doubt that the Snoo Smart Sleeper is an attractive bedside crib. Both my husband and I marvelled at how nicely it fits in with the decor of our room with its clean and modern design. Putting it together, we could immediately see how high quality all the materials used to make it was.

While it does only come in one colour, I do feel like its stylish design means it would look at home in any bedroom, whatever your colour scheme.

SNOO accessories

Finding out that you don't have everything you need to use the product within the initial cost can be very frustrating for any buyer but thankfully this isn't the problem with the SNOO - which you'd hope for with a product with such a high price point. In your box, you'll find:

• The SNOO Smart Sleeper

• 3 SNOO sacks in small, medium and large

• A SNOO sheet

• Mattress and water-resistant cover

There are a number of other accessories that you may want to buy in addition such as more fitted cot sheets for laundry days or perhaps extra sleep sacks.

SNOO leg options

When considering the SNOO as our bedside crib, one concern I had was how easy it would be to actually see our baby from our bed. With traditional next-to-me cribs, there's usually a drop-down side so you can easily keep an eye on your little one and reach in to pick them up for a nurse or cuddle. Additionally you can usually adjust the height of the crib so that it's at a suitable level with your bed.

While SNOO does not have a drop-down side and nor can the legs it comes with be adjusted, there is the option to buy low legs if the SNOO sits too high for your liking. As you can see from the photos below, the SNOO was quite a bit higher than our bed and would require us to sit up to see inside.

On the contrary, when we installed the low legs (as seen in the photo above), we found this gave us a much better angle to see inside the crib (and therefore to check on our baby in the future). While it isn't exactly much of a hardship to have to sit up to check on your baby, we personally much prefer having the SNOO lower.

You can also buy a pair of two leg lifters for your SNOO which raises the head of the SNOO to a mild incline which is said to help with baby reflux and mild colds.

How to use the SNOO Smart Sleeper

I was relieved to find that actually using the SNOO is very straightforward. After all, what tired parent wants to make their lives even more complicated?

First off, you need to swaddle your baby in the SNOO Sleep Sack. This involves opening it up and laying baby down, making sure their shoulders are 2-3” higher than the neckline of the sack before straightening both arms and pulling across the inner arm bands across their chest. You then secure the leg flap and pull the top of the Sleep Sack over both shoulders before fully zipping up the sack.

Next, it's time for putting baby into the bassinet itself. Ensuring their feet are at the end nearest to the power button, you simply slide the loops on each side of the Sleep Sack onto the safety clips on each side of the crib. These must be used whenever baby is in the SNOO (whether the power is on or not) and are what help to keep baby in place on their back and prevent them from rolling over.

You then locate the power button on the SNOO and press it once. It takes about a minute before the button stops blinking white and you need to press it again, when the button will then turn blue and the SNOO turns on. I found it really reassuring that the SNOO won't turn on if the wing loops are not secured properly.

When it starts, the SNOO begins at the baseline level of motion (a gentle rocking) with accompanying white noise. The idea is that when your baby fusses, SNOO will give them a few seconds to self-soothe but if the crying continues, it rocks slightly faster and increases the volume of the white noise, cycling through four levels of increased sound and motion, aiming to send them back off to sleep. If baby stops crying - great! But if not, after a couple of minutes, the smart sleeper will stop and that's when you know your little one needs a change, feed or good old-fashioned cuddle.

You can manually increase the SNOO's level of sound and motion by pushing in the activity button for a few seconds where it will advance to the next level. This can be continued to reach the fourth and final level.

The SNOO's levels can also be controlled via the smartphone app, whether you want to increase or reduce it.

To turn off the SNOO, just press the activity button once.

SNOO Smart Sleeper FAQs

Is a SNOO really worth it?

The SNOO Smart Sleeper rocks your baby and plays white noise to help them to fall and stay asleep, which recreates the experience of being in the womb. As a result, babies should sleep better and most new parents will agree that makes it worth it. The SNOO also responds to babies and will speed up the motion and increase the sounds if baby is unsettled, which helps them to relax. Being a new parent is hard enough, and even harder when sleep deprived, but the SNOO will help parents and baby sleep better. There is also an app which lets you customise settings and track your baby's sleep. This will help develop sleeping patterns for your baby.

Do babies become dependent on SNOO?

Your baby will enjoy the motion of the SNOO and find it comforting, but they will not get addicted to it. In fact, the SNOO actually has a weaning feature which will help you transition your baby to a cot. It is designed to be used up to six months, so it is there to support you and baby during those early days and you shouldn't worry it will cause any problems beyond that.

Can you use the SNOO without WIFI and does it use a lot of electricity?

Yes, you can use the SNOO when not connected to the WIFI but you will lose some features. If not connected, you will be unable to use the remote function of the SNOO. It is also energy efficient and will not use a lot of electricity even when on all night, or even day! It has the same wattage as a standard lightbulb.

Should you only use SNOO at night?

You can start using the SNOO from the day you bring baby home and you can use it for naps and during the night. The sooner baby goes into the SNOO the quicker they will start to get used to the cues it provides that it is time to go to sleep. Your little one will enjoy the soothing rhythm any time of the day or night, plus it should help them to start to differentiate between day and night and support them in self-settling. Of course, you must always follow safe sleep practices as set out by the NHS and The Lullaby Trust.

Emily Gilbert is the Features & Reviews Editor for Mother&Baby and has written for the website and previously the magazine for six years. Specialising in product reviews, Emily is the first to know about all the exciting new releases in the parenting industry.