SNOO Has Been a ‘Glorious Tool’ During One Baby’s Surgery Recovery
Gabrielle Merchant had high hopes for SNOO…but, when she purchased it before the birth of her son, she couldn’t have foreseen just how helpful SNOO would become.
“The biggest thing for us was the safety aspect. My wife is a police officer, so unfortunately, we know firsthand what dangerous sleep situations result in,” she says.
Though SNOO’s safety features gave Gabrielle the peace of mind she was looking for, soon another benefit of SNOO revealed itself.
Gabrielle’s son Greyson was born with minor form of a cleft lip, called microform cleft lip, that required surgery to repair when he was a little over 5 months old. During the three-week recovery period, children often have to wear arm braces (aka “no-no’s”) to keep them from touching their mouths to let this delicate lip repair fully heal.
“Often parents complain that after cleft repair, their kids don’t sleep. We’ve heard so many horror stories,” she says. “Instead, since he is able to be swaddled in SNOO, even at 6 months old, and he has no access to his hands and can’t damage his lip incision, he can sleep like he normally does.”
They got a taste of what sleep outside of SNOO might look like when they went without it for the night following Greyson’s surgery.
“He slept horribly,” Gabrielle says. “He really didn’t sleep at all, and I was a disaster because I didn’t sleep at all. We decided we wouldn’t ever go anywhere without SNOO again.”
Fortunately, within two days of surgery, Greyson was back to his normal sleep habits.
“With having to take so many of his normal sleep comforts away, like his pacifier, this consistency means so much,” Gabrielle says. “It’s been a glorious tool for us. Having him in something comfortable and familiar and something that’s safe.”
Gabrielle’s currently preparing to transition Greyson out of SNOO…but she’s not looking forward to trading SNOO for the crib.
“We really have loved it,” she says. “We will be keeping it for a potential future sibling. We have felt safe every night, and that peace of mind is worth every penny. Knowing that he is safe and sound next to me means I can sleep soundly. It’s a true gift. It’s made this early newborn period so much better.”
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