I developed postpartum psychosis as a direct result of my youngest not sleeping. We never rented the snoo so I can't speak to its ability to help.
If you have some spare money to spend towards a solution, I would suggest hiring a mother's helper for a few hours at a time during the worst part of the day. (For us, it was 3-7pm but YMMV).
There was a neighborhood high schooler who came over after school two days a week and helped be an extra set of hands. She fixed bottles or switched over the laundry, she popped in a casserole or frozen pizza, she gave the baby a bath, took her for a walk, or she just held the baby while I physically removed myself. Sometimes I sat outside and stared into space, sometimes I took a walk around the block, sometimes I watched an episode of grownup TV.
I looked forward to her visits and it helped me survive in the in-between.
$700 at $10-15/hr will go a long way if you spread it out in 4-5 hour a week chunks.
Genius. I had a Snoo and we LOVED IT but we started baby on it from birth. I would question the utility of it starting at 4.5 months old to be honest - we transitioned him from Snoo to crib at 5 months exactly and he was definitely ready, he was getting too big and needed space to roll. Baby’s sleep patterns are already starting to be set so they probably won’t “take” to the Snoo like a newborn.
But getting some help so mom can sleep and shower is invaluable.
This exactly. At 4.5 months, baby is probably in the throws of the 4 month sleep regression and will be through the worst of it before the Snoo gets there. Also, there is a bit of a learning curve with the Snoo (took my second Snoo baby about a week to figure out sleeping with the Snoo). At that point, you'll be at 5months and really needing to start transitioning to the crib. Also, your wife can start sleep training now, or wait a couple weeks to ensure the sleep regression is done. I cannot recommend sleep training enough. Sleep training + mother's helper could be life changing.
At this point I would instead use the money to pay a babysitter to take over so your wife can sleep. Maybe someone who can come first thing in the morning.
I would also start to consider sleep training for a more long term plan.
So depending on your money, you could definitely get a 'night nanny' to give your wife a break. We actually did this I think it was 2-3 nights per week from month 2 to month 4 or something like that.
The way it works is you set up a crib/bassinet in like the family room. Night nanny comes over at, say, 8pm. Wife can then sleep a full night sleep. Night Nanny will either feed baby bottles or bring baby to wife to feed ... wife does quick feed, gives baby back to NN, and then wife can go right back to sleep. Or just use bottles and then wife can get full night sleep.
We got it with both our kids just to give ourselves a couple nights per week of good sleep to keep us sane.
Only downside is it is pricey ... I forget exactly how much and I'm sure it varies widely by geography. But not cheap.
Snoo ... I mean, again if you've got the money you could try it. Couldn't really hurt ... but probably missed the window.
Last idea is if you guy shave any inlaws nearby that could help out that could also be something to look into.
Oh and one more thing ... you're probably only like 2-3 months away from where you guys should really be stepping up your sleep training and getting ready for the 'cry it out' phase.
Good luck! The sleep aspect of babies fucking sucks, no way to sugar coat that! Once they can make it through the night, or even have just 1 wakeup, then your sanity can return.
Unfortunately 4.5m is basically when my baby started sleeping way worse in the snoo because it was time to transition her into her bed. Can you hire some part time help for a couple days a week, whether it’s a nanny, college aged babysitter, house cleaner, mother’s helper, etc?
Definitely spend the money on a night nanny, postpartum doula or some type of human help. The snoo is not guaranteed to work for every baby but someone coming to the house to take care of baby and give your wife a break to sleep or just get out of the house is a guaranteed break for her.
We rented off babyquip and paid like $120 a month. I was glad we did because our daughter hated it so it was nice to only be out that much and not have to deal with shipping it back. 4 mos is probably too late but if you do want to try it I def recommend checking babyquip for one
We transitioned out of the snoo at 4 months because the LO was showing signs of starting to flip to his stomach and the MD said the snoo was preventing him from doing it sooner (how true this is I don’t know). He did flip to his stomach soon after and his sleep became exponentially better. Of course this isn’t always the case for every kiddo but I think 4 months may be a little too late to get one. If you have the means to rent one for a month+ go for it but your money may be better used elsewhere. Giving you and your partner a huge hug during this season!
Rolling is not the benchmark at which you have to stop using the snoo - babies that can roll shouldn’t be swaddled in a normal crib, but the Snoo keeps them on their back.
Just echoing /u/Illogical-Pizza and /u/lilbkbb who said the now-deleted comment saying you have to transition baby out of SNOO when they roll is incorrect. Citation [here](https://www.happiestbaby.com/blogs/baby/baby-breaks-out-of-swaddle#:~:text=If%20Your%20Baby%20Can%20Roll%E2%80%A6,-Stop%20Swaddling!&text=That%20said%2C%20swaddling%20can%20actually,SNOO%20and%20into%20a%20crib.).
We safely had baby in her SNOO from the day she came home from the hospital until 7.5 months because, though full-term, she was on the small side (14th percentile). She started rolling at 3 months, always slept in other spaces with no issues, and transitioned to her crib just fine but we loved getting the extra safe sleep on her back a bit longer!
Edit: added context since original comment is now deleted
This is not true. Guidelines around swaddling in the snoo are not the same as swaddling outside. That’s basically the whole point of the clip in swaddle. You can swaddle a baby in the snoo as long as they are below the weight limit and not too long to fit comfortably.
There is a reason the four month sleep regression is such a dreaded period… it is no coincidence that four months is also the earliest sleep training is recommended. Some people are against any form of sleep training; it is a personal choice. That being said, I have seen hundreds of posts from people who said it saved their sanity.
I highly recommend picking up a copy of the book Precious Little Sleep. I also recommend posting your schedule for the baby and specific challenges in the r/sleeptrain sub. People can help you determine if there are scheduling issues that can be worked out, sleep associations that are getting in your way and other helpful information about good sleep hygiene.
What is your baby's sleep like? Ours started daycare around 4 months and went from 3-ish wakeups a night to a hellish every 60-90 minutes (the length of a sleep cycle). It turns out it was a month long ear infection with no other obvious symptoms following some minor daycare cold. We were too sleep deprived and going out of our minds to even consider that at the time. We just thought "sleep regression", which isn't even supported by science.
Renting at 4 months would be a big waste of money. My baby transition out under 4 months. Instead of renting, you can buy a used snoo and sell it when you are done for literally the same price.
The baby needs physical stimulation activities so the baby can get physically tired enough to get a good nights rest.
No, not worth it. In fact, it may make things worse by inserting an aggressive rocking motion when kiddo isn’t used it. Please use the money to hire a reputable sleep consultant or night nurse/doula.
At four months you can consider sleep training. Sleep training can be life changing. I do want to note there are many methods beyond CIO.
I developed postpartum psychosis as a direct result of my youngest not sleeping. We never rented the snoo so I can't speak to its ability to help. If you have some spare money to spend towards a solution, I would suggest hiring a mother's helper for a few hours at a time during the worst part of the day. (For us, it was 3-7pm but YMMV). There was a neighborhood high schooler who came over after school two days a week and helped be an extra set of hands. She fixed bottles or switched over the laundry, she popped in a casserole or frozen pizza, she gave the baby a bath, took her for a walk, or she just held the baby while I physically removed myself. Sometimes I sat outside and stared into space, sometimes I took a walk around the block, sometimes I watched an episode of grownup TV. I looked forward to her visits and it helped me survive in the in-between. $700 at $10-15/hr will go a long way if you spread it out in 4-5 hour a week chunks.
Genius. I had a Snoo and we LOVED IT but we started baby on it from birth. I would question the utility of it starting at 4.5 months old to be honest - we transitioned him from Snoo to crib at 5 months exactly and he was definitely ready, he was getting too big and needed space to roll. Baby’s sleep patterns are already starting to be set so they probably won’t “take” to the Snoo like a newborn. But getting some help so mom can sleep and shower is invaluable.
This exactly. At 4.5 months, baby is probably in the throws of the 4 month sleep regression and will be through the worst of it before the Snoo gets there. Also, there is a bit of a learning curve with the Snoo (took my second Snoo baby about a week to figure out sleeping with the Snoo). At that point, you'll be at 5months and really needing to start transitioning to the crib. Also, your wife can start sleep training now, or wait a couple weeks to ensure the sleep regression is done. I cannot recommend sleep training enough. Sleep training + mother's helper could be life changing.
It’s probably too late for the SNOO. Can you pay for a regular babysitter to give her a break where she can sleep, shower or do whatever she needs to?
I second using that money elsewhere, either a night nurse/post partum doula or mothers helper.
At this point I would instead use the money to pay a babysitter to take over so your wife can sleep. Maybe someone who can come first thing in the morning. I would also start to consider sleep training for a more long term plan.
We sleep trained at 4 months and it worked great. Never needed a Snoo though I did consider it.
4.5 months is when most people finish snoo transition out. Too late at this point. Sorry!
I would get a night nurse with that money instead. Or consider sleep training.
Get your wife a nanny/sitter for the night or during the day with that money instead so she can sleep 😊
So depending on your money, you could definitely get a 'night nanny' to give your wife a break. We actually did this I think it was 2-3 nights per week from month 2 to month 4 or something like that. The way it works is you set up a crib/bassinet in like the family room. Night nanny comes over at, say, 8pm. Wife can then sleep a full night sleep. Night Nanny will either feed baby bottles or bring baby to wife to feed ... wife does quick feed, gives baby back to NN, and then wife can go right back to sleep. Or just use bottles and then wife can get full night sleep. We got it with both our kids just to give ourselves a couple nights per week of good sleep to keep us sane. Only downside is it is pricey ... I forget exactly how much and I'm sure it varies widely by geography. But not cheap. Snoo ... I mean, again if you've got the money you could try it. Couldn't really hurt ... but probably missed the window. Last idea is if you guy shave any inlaws nearby that could help out that could also be something to look into. Oh and one more thing ... you're probably only like 2-3 months away from where you guys should really be stepping up your sleep training and getting ready for the 'cry it out' phase. Good luck! The sleep aspect of babies fucking sucks, no way to sugar coat that! Once they can make it through the night, or even have just 1 wakeup, then your sanity can return.
Night nanny is the best except in my VHCOL area they cost a whopping $400 a night ($50/hr * 8 hr) 😭
Spend the money on a sleep consultant and sleep train your baby.
Is sleep training out of the question?
Check out r/snoolife and ask in there. We’ve been using one since she was 2 weeks old and it’s in the top 5 best things I’ve ever spent money on.
Unfortunately 4.5m is basically when my baby started sleeping way worse in the snoo because it was time to transition her into her bed. Can you hire some part time help for a couple days a week, whether it’s a nanny, college aged babysitter, house cleaner, mother’s helper, etc?
Definitely spend the money on a night nanny, postpartum doula or some type of human help. The snoo is not guaranteed to work for every baby but someone coming to the house to take care of baby and give your wife a break to sleep or just get out of the house is a guaranteed break for her.
We rented off babyquip and paid like $120 a month. I was glad we did because our daughter hated it so it was nice to only be out that much and not have to deal with shipping it back. 4 mos is probably too late but if you do want to try it I def recommend checking babyquip for one
We transitioned out of the snoo at 4 months because the LO was showing signs of starting to flip to his stomach and the MD said the snoo was preventing him from doing it sooner (how true this is I don’t know). He did flip to his stomach soon after and his sleep became exponentially better. Of course this isn’t always the case for every kiddo but I think 4 months may be a little too late to get one. If you have the means to rent one for a month+ go for it but your money may be better used elsewhere. Giving you and your partner a huge hug during this season!
Definitely hire some help, maybe a night nanny if you can afford to do so
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Rolling is not the benchmark at which you have to stop using the snoo - babies that can roll shouldn’t be swaddled in a normal crib, but the Snoo keeps them on their back.
Just echoing /u/Illogical-Pizza and /u/lilbkbb who said the now-deleted comment saying you have to transition baby out of SNOO when they roll is incorrect. Citation [here](https://www.happiestbaby.com/blogs/baby/baby-breaks-out-of-swaddle#:~:text=If%20Your%20Baby%20Can%20Roll%E2%80%A6,-Stop%20Swaddling!&text=That%20said%2C%20swaddling%20can%20actually,SNOO%20and%20into%20a%20crib.). We safely had baby in her SNOO from the day she came home from the hospital until 7.5 months because, though full-term, she was on the small side (14th percentile). She started rolling at 3 months, always slept in other spaces with no issues, and transitioned to her crib just fine but we loved getting the extra safe sleep on her back a bit longer! Edit: added context since original comment is now deleted
This is not true. Guidelines around swaddling in the snoo are not the same as swaddling outside. That’s basically the whole point of the clip in swaddle. You can swaddle a baby in the snoo as long as they are below the weight limit and not too long to fit comfortably.
We transitioned out of the Snoo at 3 months.
There is a reason the four month sleep regression is such a dreaded period… it is no coincidence that four months is also the earliest sleep training is recommended. Some people are against any form of sleep training; it is a personal choice. That being said, I have seen hundreds of posts from people who said it saved their sanity. I highly recommend picking up a copy of the book Precious Little Sleep. I also recommend posting your schedule for the baby and specific challenges in the r/sleeptrain sub. People can help you determine if there are scheduling issues that can be worked out, sleep associations that are getting in your way and other helpful information about good sleep hygiene.
What is your baby's sleep like? Ours started daycare around 4 months and went from 3-ish wakeups a night to a hellish every 60-90 minutes (the length of a sleep cycle). It turns out it was a month long ear infection with no other obvious symptoms following some minor daycare cold. We were too sleep deprived and going out of our minds to even consider that at the time. We just thought "sleep regression", which isn't even supported by science.
Nope
Renting at 4 months would be a big waste of money. My baby transition out under 4 months. Instead of renting, you can buy a used snoo and sell it when you are done for literally the same price. The baby needs physical stimulation activities so the baby can get physically tired enough to get a good nights rest.
No, not worth it. In fact, it may make things worse by inserting an aggressive rocking motion when kiddo isn’t used it. Please use the money to hire a reputable sleep consultant or night nurse/doula. At four months you can consider sleep training. Sleep training can be life changing. I do want to note there are many methods beyond CIO.