Raising twins presents a unique set of challenges and joys — and one of the hardest challenges is sleep. So, finding products that can make tackling the newborn stage easier is a priority. One product that has a lot of buzz is the SNOO Smart Sleeper, a bassinet designed to soothe babies with motion and sound. But, one Snoo bassinet is already expensive as it is, not to mention two. Before making the jump, learn about the pros and cons, and if you do decide to make the purchase, some tips on buying and getting the most out of the Snoo.
More Sleep (for parents and the babies): When you’re taking care of two babies, every extra minute of sleep is precious. The Snoo bassinet is designed to mimic the rocking motions and sounds babies experience in the womb, helping the babies go to sleep and stay asleep. For twin parents, it’s very tough to rock and comfort two babies simultaneously. For the solo parent taking the overnight shift, it can be a gamechanger in buying you an extra 15 to an hour of sleep (per baby!), which may not seem like much, but when you’re sleep deprived you’re desperate for even a few extra minutes.
The Happiest Baby (the makers of the Snoo) have sales multiple times a year (see the latest Happiest Baby promos here). You can buy during a sales period and arrange delivery around your due date. In previous years, they’ve had the following sales (and discounts), but it truly varies each year. Black Friday and Mother’s Day are pretty consistent discount times though.
Happiest Baby does not offer discounts for twin parents. However, another thing that saved us money was keeping an eye on discounts via cashback portals sites such as Rakuten or Mr. Rebates. For example, if you buy through the Mr. Rebates rebate portal right now (as of the day I wrote this blog post) you can get an additional 2% cash back on top of any sales discounts.
If you have a baby registry going, you might want to put the Snoo on your baby registry and make it a group gift. If it doesn’t get purchased, most registries give you a baby registry completion discount code for anywhere from 5%-15% off your registry. For example, Amazon gives Prime Members 15% off for your baby registry completion discount to be used 60 days before your due date for up to 90 days after.
Sometimes Amazon has sales on Snoos (there has previously been 25% off sales) and you can combine them with the 15% registry completion discount, which can mean big savings. If you order from Happiest Baby directly, you can choose to have the Snoos shipped closer to your due date. However, if you order with Amazon it will be shipped out when you order. This is important to keep in mind because the 30 day trial starts when the Snoo is delivered.
You can usually find used Snoos on Facebook Marketplace. A few things to keep in mind when buying a used Snoo from a third party:
There is no twin-specific discount on Snoo Bassinets, but there are 20-40% sales on the bassinet multiple times a year (see above) that make the cost more bearable.
The Happiest Baby often has sales on accessories like sleep sacks or sheets so I rarely paid full price. I remember there was also a sale of X-Mas themed sheets after Christmas, so I snatched those up because who cares what the sheets have on them.
The best thing to do was to sign up for the Happiest Baby newsletter as they would send promo codes and sale announcements from time to time by email. I’d also put all the accessories on my baby registry. If it doesn’t get purchased, most registries give you a baby registry completion discount code for anywhere from 5%-15% off your registry. For example, Amazon gives Prime Members 15% off for your baby registry completion discount to be used 60 days before your due date for up to 90 days after.
Whether to buy or rent a Snoo really depends on how much you want to pay, what condition of Snoo you want, and how much work you want to put in.
Pros of renting a Snoo bassinet for twins:
Pros of buying a Snoo bassinet for twins:
The basic costs of renting a Snoo (as of early Feb, 2024; check the site to be sure! Note that Snoo rentals also charge a $99 deposit that is not included below):
Here's a comparison below of the costs of a Snoo (renting vs. buying) with and without a discount and the anticipated costs with or without reselling the Snoo. It calculates it on a per Snoo basis, because who knows, maybe after twins you'll decide to have one more.
Some caveats: the prices on here are based on what's publicly available in the contiguous US as of early Feb 2024. You should always double check the current prices on the site as Snoo prices have changed quite a bit over the years. It also assumes that you’ll snag at least a 30% discount if you've read this guide and planned ahead!
Want to calculate based on your local sales tax and your discount? Access the Google Sheets Snoo Rent vs Buy calculation template here.
Some tricks that worked well for my twins when using the Snoo:
I would recommend getting at least 3 sets of sheets per baby — one on the mattress, one in the dresser, and inevitably one in the wash. Newborns spit up a lot, and you can rotate the mattress so the spit up is at the foot of the bed, but you'll still need to wash it. There's definitely been times when my twins went through 2 sheets in one night.
There are now a ton of third-party sheets that say they are compatible with the Snoo mattress, but I would double check by searching their reviews with "Snoo" that they fit snugly with no loose fabric. Here's an example of a third-party sheet set that says they're compatible, but the reviews say otherwise.
One way we “saved” on mattress covers was to put these BlueSnail waterproof diaper changing pads underneath the sheets so the mattress wouldn’t get soaked thru. They were cheaper than the Happiest Baby mattress covers.
Here's another option for Biloban mattress covers that are compatible with the Snoo but much cheaper.
I would recommend getting at least 2-3 of each size Snoo sleep sacks per baby. Babies will spit up, so it's always good to have a clean one to grab, especially if they're spitting up at night. There were definitely moments in the middle of the night that I was frantically trying to find a clean one or hoping that the dryer would finish up soon.
Don't worry. It’s totally normal. Even if your baby was born with a full head of hair, most babies experience hair thinning or loss within the first few months. This occurs regardless of whether they sleep in a Snoo or a traditional bassinet. The hair loss is from friction during head-turning and head movements against a firm mattress surface. There are third-party stores that sell satin sheets or other sheets to "prevent the bald spot" but it's truly not necessary.
This is all temporary. The hair typically regrows, and the bald spot fades as babies grow and begin to change their sleeping positions, like rolling over and sleeping on their stomachs. My own twins went through this stage, and their bald spots vanished once they started sleeping more on their stomachs. They have super full heads of hair now that require haircuts every month. So, there's no need for concern about your baby's temporary bald spot; it's a normal part of their development regardless of their sleep setup.
There are a few helpful threads on Reddit that go over how to repair Snoos that are out of warranty, but please use at your own risk: