Why This Baby Product Expert Had to Have SNOO for Baby #3

Amanda Shapin Michelson didn’t have to Google “best baby bassinet” or “favorite swaddle” when shopping for baby number three. All Amanda had to do to get the inside scoop on the very best baby products was show up to work. As a senior partnerships manager at Babylist, Amanda is lucky enough to be among the first to know about—and to test out—the latest and greatest baby products available.

“Being at Babylist has served me well!” says Amanda. “Even though I’ve been through pregnancy and babyhood two times before, there are always amazing new products for parents.” But Amanda didn’t really care about scoping out the trendiest baby items this go-round. Instead, she was hyper-focused on finding the bassinet that would offer her baby—and her whole family—the best sleep possible.

“Parenting any number of kids is hard, but thinking about being a present and patient parent to three kids while exhausted with a newborn was stressful to think about,” recalls Amanda. “I was ready to do whatever it took to make sure we could make the sleep situation as good as possible with a new baby on the way.”

Curious what this seasoned mom-to-be with all the baby-gear know-how chose—and why? We were too! Read on to learn all about what this Babylist insider picked for her little one. 

Happiest Baby: Why were you especially worried about sleep with baby number three?Amanda Shapin Michelson: While I’d been somewhat sleep deprived for the last five years, we had recently—finally—gotten into a fairly good groove with my two older kids, Millie, and Ezra, now 4.5 and 3. I was worried that, with a new baby coming, I’d be regressing back to being completely exhausted. Plus, sleeping while the baby sleeps is generally impossible, but even more so when you also have a couple of toddlers!

HB: Why did you pick SNOO to help your little one sleep?ASM: I’ve had many friends recommend SNOO and I’ve read many success stories. Even though my older kids weren’t terrible sleepers, I knew juggling a newborn and two toddlers was going to be a challenge. I was ready to get whatever extra support I could find to help us with sleep, one of the hardest parts of the newborn stage. Plus, I read The Happiest Baby on the Block before having my first baby and followed the 5 S’s with all of my babies. So, I have trusted and found success in the advice given by Dr. Harvey Karp. Knowing he was behind SNOO absolutely impacted my decision to try it out.

HB: Love that! Beyond SNOO being Dr. Karp’s “baby,” what SNOO features spoke to you?ASM: I’ve always been stressed about sleep safety and knowing SNOO is a safe place for Baby really sold me. I am the type of mom who peeks in at my baby sleeping countless times during the night. And while I still did that with SNOO, my anxiety was really relieved knowing she was in a super-safe space. I particularly loved the swaddle and how it connects into the sides of the bassinet making it impossible for your baby to roll over. The other big selling point was SNOO’s continuous rocking. As someone who has spent many hours rocking a baby to sleep, knowing the bassinet would do it for me was a huge selling point.

HB: The big question…how did your baby like SNOO?ASM: I had a momentary freak out because Sloane didn’t seem to take to SNOO the first couple of nights. But I got advice from some mom friends who had used SNOO, read this article, followed the tips, and learned that I simply had to ease her into it. A few nights later, she was so comfy and happy in her SNOO!

HB: Great to hear! Now that Sloane’s 5 months, what’s your SNOO verdictASM: I’m very happy with my SNOO experience! Overall, SNOO exceeded my expectations. My third baby has been our best sleeper yet! And during the newborn stage, I slept better than I had with my past babies. While I’m not as rested as I was before becoming a mom, (will I ever be?) I do feel relatively rested for having three kids under the age of 5.

HB: You posted on Instagram that the Happiest Baby App “might be my top feature.” Can you share what you like about it?ASM: I loved the App and the insights it provided. Every morning I’d wake up in such a fog having no idea what happened the night before. Did she wake up two times? Five times? The App tells you everything and I could easily see the next morning how many times she woke up, how long it took her to fall back asleep, her longest sleep stretches, etc. This was helpful as I could try to analyze what was working (like an earlier bedtime or later bedtime?) and try to identify trends in her sleep.

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HB: Have you transitioned Sloane to the crib yet?ASM: Yes. We just transitioned to her crib. One of my big concerns with using SNOO was that she would have a hard time transitioning, but it actually went very smoothly and was not an issue at all. Now that she’s moved from SNOO to her crib, she’s still sleeping great and honestly so am I!

HB: One final question. In the spirit of your book Pregnancy Hacks, what are some of your best baby hacks?ASM: I have a lot of hacks that helped me during the newborn stage!

• 
  I’m a huge fan of baby wearing. It lets you get things done and move around while soaking in newborn snuggles and coziness. I recommend testing out a few carriers to find what you’re most comfortable in.
  
• When you do need to put your baby down, I recommend setting up baby docking stations all over your house. I have a safe place to put the baby down in basically every room—SNOO, a bouncer, swing, playmat, etc.
  
• When you leave the house, you don’t need a 10-pound diaper bag! I used to bring a massive diaper bag everywhere with me. With this baby I literally shove an extra diaper and spare onesie in my pocket and hope for the best. Just bring the essentials and leave a backup kit with all extras  in your trunk if you run into an issue.
  
• For newborn sleep, my hack is to take the pressure off and take it night by night. Try different things, see what works and what doesn’t—and know that your baby is learning and so are you.
  
• For SNOO users, play around with different settings. Each baby might like something unique to get them to sleep and the standard settings might not be the best fit for your baby.
  
• My other sleep hack is doing a double swaddle in SNOO. This kept my daughter super secure and sleeping even better. We double swaddled all our babies, in fact.
  

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• Why This Baby-Goods Buyer Adores SNOO
  

Disclaimer: The information on our site is NOT medical advice for any specific person or condition. It is only meant as general information. If you have any medical questions and concerns about your child or yourself, please contact your health provider.