Pick your baby up if they are not soothing. Most babies calm as SNOO increases through its levels. Babies who cry for more than 60 seconds are usually hungry or uncomfortable (even if they fed within the hour!) Your SNOO automatically shuts off after a couple of minutes of crying, but most parents pick up and comfort their babies if the fussing continues despite the bed reaching its top level.
Swaddle the arms snugly…down. Some babies seem to hate swaddling…but babies who are wrapped with their arms up tend to startle and awaken more often. If your baby can sneak their arms free, please follow these helpful tips.
Check if your infant is hot, cold or needs attention. When SNOO does not calm your baby within a minute or so, that is a sign your baby needs you! They may be hungry (even if you just did a feeding within the hour), need a clean nappy…or just want to cuddle! You will want to take care of these needs before putting your baby back in SNOO.
Make sure your infant is well fed. A full tummy is key to great sleep! Offer a bit more breast milk or formula. Also, make sure you are alternating breasts every 5-7 minutes when feeding to maximize your baby’s intake. (Some experts recommend keeping a baby on one breast for 20 minutes, but we believe that leaves the other breast full…and does not give a full feeding—even though babies get so tired they fall asleep.)
Lull them to sleep in your arms…until they adjust. Some babies benefit from being placed in SNOO already asleep, after having been swaddled and rocked in your arms (with strong white noise playing). After 2-6 weeks, most babies become ready to be put in SNOO drowsy but awake.
Bump up the motion. For some babies, SNOO’s lowest level, blue, is a bit too slow and boring. These babies do best with more sound + motion. Think of it like driving your car all night on a bumpy road to soothe your baby, but without ever having to leave your cosy bed.
It is easy to up SNOO’s motion with our App. You can choose to change the baseline or lock SNOO on a higher level. The first will still allow the bed to react to crying with more vigorous levels of rhythmic sensation, whereas locking it will keep it on the level you choose…sort of like cruise control in your car.
Make it noisier at bedtime. It may seem counterintuitive, but many babies need a pretty loud sound to relax and fall asleep. (Babies are great at falling asleep at noisy parties!) You can download our Happiest Baby hairdryer sounds (some babies actually do best with an actual hairdryer!). Keep the hairdryer on the cool setting and hold it at least a foot away from your SNOO with the air directed away from the baby.
Try a dummy at sleep time. Many infants soothe by sucking. (If you are nursing, wait a week or two to make sure the breastfeeding is well established before trying a dummy.) If your baby keeps dropping the dummy, try Dr. Karp’s reverse psychology trick to teach them how to keep it in longer.
Happiest Baby does not provide medical advice. Please seek the advice of your
healthcare provider if you have questions regarding a medical issue.
Breastmilk is the best source of nutrition for babies. It is important that, in preparation for and during breastfeeding, mothers eat a healthy, balanced diet. Combined breast- and bottle-feeding in the first weeks of life may reduce the supply of a mother's breastmilk and reversing the decision not to breastfeed is difficult. If you do decide to use infant formula, you should follow instructions carefully.
