SNOO Was the Ultimate HR Perk for This Mom of Three

There were certain new-parent benefits that Kristen Campbell, 31, expected from her workplace, like guaranteed maternity leave and an insurance-covered breast pump. But when she learned that her job offered a rental program where new parents could receive a complimentary SNOO rental for 6 months, she was gob smacked. “I was ecstatic! I think I told anyone and everyone in my life about it,” says Kristen, who’s the manager of social strategy and content for Sonic Drive-In, in Edmond, Oklahoma. In fact, Kristen was doubly ecstatic, as she was expecting twins. “The second I found out about the benefit I emailed human resources to figure out how I could get SNOO,” says Kristen. “It honestly felt like a huge weight off my shoulders, knowing that I’d be getting a quality sleep setup for the twins.”

Kristen did not have SNOO with her first baby, Benson, who’s now 5 years old. What she did have was a cozy little sleeper…that got recalled. “We were dreading finding something new, worried that it wouldn't be as comfortable as the one our oldest used, who was an excellent sleeper. And we were now also worried about safety,” she says. Beyond those concerns, Kristen was also feeling anxious about her own sleep. “I truly believe being sleep deprived drives a lot of the postpartum depression. And with two babies on the way, I was terrified I was going to struggle with PPD,” she says.

Still, Kristen wasn’t quite sure if her family needed SNOO. “I’d seen quite a bit about SNOO on Pinterest and I knew it was a ‘smart’ sleep solution. But we already had so many expenses coming our way with having twins, I wasn’t sure if SNOO was the right choice,” she says. But once Kristen learned about her company’s corporate rental program and heard her colleague, a fellow mom, sing SNOO’s praises (“It’s the best thing for a newborn!”)…the decision was a no-brainer. Kristen went ahead and secured her two SNOOs through work and, because she was told she might need to be induced as early as 32 weeks, Kristen had her SNOOs delivered a month before her due date. “Thankfully I made it all the way to 36 weeks, but I was relieved that the SNOOs were there waiting for the babies,” she says.

With her two SNOOs good to go, Kristen was feeling pretty darn prepared when the twin’s delivery day arrived. “I started my induction process around 7am. At around 11am I got an epidural and by 2pm the nurse came to check my progress. When she helped flip me onto my side to get more comfortable, we heard a big wet gurgling sound from under my blanket and when the nurse peeked, Baby A (Ellison) was looking back at her! Baby B (Greyson) came minutes later!” recalls Kristen. Both boys arrived into this world as healthy as can be at a little over 5 pounds each, complete with full heads of blonde hair.

So, with her smooth-sailing birth behind her, and the twins “sleeping like angels at the hospital,” Kristen was ready for continued ease at home. After all, she’d already done this with her firstborn and “my husband and I worked really hard throughout my pregnancy to read about how to best handle the big change with our oldest,” she says. They were ready…except for one thing.

“When we got home and went to settle the boys into their SNOOs, we realized that we failed to properly educate ourselves on how SNOO worked! We were scrambling to learn as we were preparing to put them to bed,” says Kristen. After a very bumpy first night, Kristen called Happiest Baby customer care in a panic. “I was so worried that all of my sleep fears with twins were coming true!” she says. “But customer care was so calm and helpful. They gave us the ‘okay’ to swaddle them before putting them into the SNOO sack. They also told us about Motion Limiter, so it wouldn’t turn the motion up too high. Those two steps got us much closer to SNOO success.” Kristen ended up calling a few more times and each time, customer care held her hand and helped her through, and, boy, was Kristen grateful.

“Sleep was one of the things I worried about the most while I was pregnant, so to tackle that as early as we did, made me very proud of my husband and myself,” says Kristen. Together with Happiest Baby customer care, the couple adjusted SNOO’s settings to match the behavior of each baby. “They both handled SNOO a bit differently,” says Kristen. “One would doze right back to sleep as SNOO increased sound and motion, while the other much preferred the soft white noise and consistent light movement.” The boys were increasingly getting better and better at long stretches of sleep and by 6 weeks, they were doing a 6-hour stretch. By 8 weeks they did their first 8-hour stretch and by 10 weeks they did a full 10.5 hours. “We were thrilled!” says Kristen. “And, you know, I really doubt we would’ve had this kind of sleep success without SNOO. There were many times the boys were whining, and we just let SNOO lull them back to sleep. It was a game changer that the boys learned such great sleep habits so early on in their lives.”

Even now, with the twins having just celebrated their first birthday, Kristen continues to be over-the-moon about her company’s SNOO rental program. “I still talk about it today!” she says. “I’m even more appreciative of it because we had twins, and everything is more expensive with two. This benefit took a huge financial weight—and sleep-training weight—off us.”

Learn more about corporate SNOO rentals and join companies like Sonic, Hulu, Children’s Hospital in New Orleans, and more that are working hard to support new parents!

For more on SNOO, check out:

• Why Rocking Bassinets Soothe Babies
  
• SNOO vs. Sleep Positioners
  
• SNOO: The Best Bassinet for Baby Sleep
  
• 5 Ways SNOO Supports Maternal Mental Health
  

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.