3 Great Smart Bassinets for Every Budget
Every parent shares the same bringing-home-a-newborn-struggle: major sleep deprivation during the fourth trimester (and beyond). Car rides, babywearing, rocking and shushing—most parents will try just about anything to get their baby to sleep (and maybe get a little more shut-eye for themselves). That’s why a smart bassinet may be a lifesaver for your family.
Smart bassinets, like traditional bassinets, are a safe sleep space for your baby, but include parent-inspired tools that can help your baby fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Keep reading to discover everything you need to know about smart bassinets, and learn about our favorite smart bassinet options for every budget.
What Is a Smart Bassinet?
Smart cribs—like traditional cribs and bassinets—are designed to be safe sleep environments for your baby, but with a major upgrade: integrated technology. Smart cribs provide parents valuable insights into their baby’s sleep behaviors and preferences, and have soothing features designed to help your little one fall (and stay) asleep.
Smart bassinet features typically include:
- Sleep tracking: a smart bassinet can monitor your baby’s sleep patterns, including when they fall asleep and when they wake up, and provide daily logs so you’re able to track your baby’s progress.
- Mobile apps: most smart bassinets have available apps for sleep pattern analysis, creating customized settings for your baby, and operating the bassinet remotely.
- Soothing motions: smart bassinets have a variety of soothing motions designed to calm a fussy baby, or to help them fall asleep.
- Calming sounds: smart bassinets offer a range of calming noises or gentle lullabies to help your baby wind down and relax into bedtime.
- Auto-responsiveness: some smart bassinets are able to detect your baby waking and beginning to fuss, and automatically respond with motions and sounds.
Are Smart Bassinets Safe?
Smart bassinets—like any baby product used for a sleep environment—are safe when used properly. That means following the manufacturer’s guidelines and recommendations for use, as well as adhering to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) safe sleep policy.
Smart bassinets can be used from day one with your newborn until your baby becomes more active. Once your baby begins rolling over (usually between 3-5 months, but keep in mind that every baby is different, and some will master this new skill as early as 2 months), it’s time to move your little one to a crib.
Always keep in mind that although a smart bassinet monitors your baby, it’s no substitute for parental supervision. Make sure that you can physically see and hear your baby while they’re sleeping.
Are Smart Bassinets Worth It?
A smart bassinet can definitely offer parents some major sleep-saving conveniences, but whether or not it’s right for you is really a matter of personal preference and family circumstance.
Wondering if a smart bassinet is right for you? If you’re considering purchasing or registering for a smart bassinet, keep these factors in mind:
- Budget. All those bells and whistles that make smart bassinets great—like auto-response soothing and sleep monitoring—don’t come cheap. Smart bassinets tend to be more expensive than traditional bassinets, and some have hefty price tags. Keep in mind that any bassinet has a relatively limited lifespan for usage (usually 3-4 months), so your baby will need to transition to a crib eventually. If you’re minding a baby gear budget, consider whether these features justify the investment.
- Sleep quality. No two babies are the same, but research has consistently demonstrated that using white noise or shushing sounds and rocking or swinging motions helps babies fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Smart bassinets feature motion options and soothing sounds that may improve your baby’s sleep habits, so everyone in the home can score a few more moments of slumber.
- Data and monitoring. A smart bassinet can provide parents with a lot of information (and even sleep analysis!) about their baby. If you’re someone who loves digging into stats and data, a smart bassinet may be just the baby product for you. But if you’re someone who’s easily overwhelmed and stressed out by too much information, a traditional bassinet or crib might be the better choice for your family.
While a smart bassinet isn’t a baby gear necessity, the benefits—like improved sleep and safety features—may make it worth your consideration. On the other hand, if you want a more cost effective solution (or just want to splurge on a stroller!), a traditional bassinet or crib may be the best choice for your family.
The Original Smart Bassinet
Happiest Baby SNOO Smart Sleeper Bassinet
The Albee’s Rundown:
- Auto-responds to crying and fussiness
- “Weaning” mode for easier transition to crib
- Expensive
Designed by pediatrician and newborn sleep guru Dr. Harvey Karp, the Snoo is an FDA-approved smart bassinet that automatically responds to your baby fussing or crying with soothing motions and shushing sounds. The SNOO even calibrates itself to your baby’s level of distress, gradually increasing movement and noise until your baby is calmed before returning to a baseline (you can personalize settings through an app, as well).
The SNOO adds 1-2 hours of uninterrupted sleep per night—music to any sleep deprived parent’s ears—and includes an integrated secure swaddle that prevents your baby from rolling into an unsafe sleep position. When it’s developmentally appropriate to begin transitioning your baby to a crib, use SNOO’s weaning mode to make the move go smoothly: weaning mode continues automatically responding to crying with calming noises, but without motion.
Is It a Match? Some Good-to-Knows
The SNOO is the most expensive bassinet on the market, and like all bassinets, will likely be used for five months or less. (Although if you use the SNOO with your first born and then later with a sibling, it’s basically half off, right?)
Notable Specs
- What’s in the box: SNOO Smart Sleeper, 3 organic SNOO sacks (S/M/L), organic sheet, mattress, and water resistant cover
- Dimensions: 35.75” L x 19” W x 31” H
- Suggested use: birth to 6 months
- 5 sounds and motions
- Unlimited access to sleep consultants
The Smart Bassinet with Unique Motion
The Albee’s Rundown:
- 5 parent-inspired motions
- Adjustable height
- Not auto-responsive
The 4moms MamaRoo Multi-Motion Swing was a game changer and quickly became a must-have for new parents. Unlike other baby swings that were only able to move either front-to-back or right-to-back, the MamaRoo swing added unique parent-inspired motions that are especially soothing for infants. They applied the same genius logic to their MamaRoo smart bassinet.
The MamaRoo has five unique motions to soothe your little one: car ride, kangaroo, tree swing, rock-a-bye, and wave—natural bounce and sway motions designed to move and soothe just like you do. And if one setting isn’t calming your baby, choose another and vary the speed.
You can connect to the MamaRoo via Bluetooth to your phone or tablet and customize your baby’s sleep settings, and its adjustable legs make it a great option for sidecar sleeping next to your bed.
Is It a Match? Some Good-to-Knows
Unlike the SNOO, the MamaRoo smart bassinet isn’t auto-responsive, so if your baby wakes up or begins fussing, you’ll need to turn it back on. It also has an auto-timer that maxes out at four hours—that may be an issue for babies who are easily aroused from sleep, or for slightly older newborns who aren’t waking as frequently to feed. And some Albee parents have noted that the lights on the touch control panel can’t be dimmed and are bright (and near your baby’s face) in a dark room.
Notable Specs
- What’s in the box: 4moms MamaRoo Sleep Bassinet, water resistant mattress and sheet
- Dimensions: 34” L x 24” W x 34.5 – 39” H
- Suggested use: birth to 25 lbs (or until your baby can push up on their hands and knees, whichever comes first)
- 5 motions and speeds
- 4 white noise sounds
The Budget Friendly Smart Bassinet
Graco Sense2Snooze Bassinet with Cry Detection Technology
The Albee’s Rundown:
- Easy on the wallet
- Auto-responds to crying
- Reversible canopy for daytime naps
If you’re interested in a smart bassinet but can’t quite justify the price tag on most options, the Graco Sense2Snooze might be the smart bassinet for you. It’s chock full of high end features—like automatically responding to your baby crying—but at a much more budget friendly price.
The Sense2Snooze has a built-in microphone that detects crying, and automatically responds with front-to-back rocking, gentle sounds, and vibrations with adjustable intensity. Once you’ve figured out which combinations are best at calming your baby, you can save the settings and voila, your baby has a personalized soothing sequence that makes bedtime easier.
A reversible canopy can be adjusted to block light at naptime, the parent controls are dimmable for uninterrupted overnight sleep, and the bassinet is on wheels for easy moving and portability.
Is It a Match? Some Good-to-Knows
Graco doesn’t offer the Sense2Snooze mattress covers as a separate purchase, so if your baby has an overnight leak, they’ll need to sleep somewhere else until the cover can be washed. Some Albee parents have noted that the vibration can make quite a loud noise, and that the auto-response system can’t detect fussing—it won’t kick into gear until your baby is crying.
Notable Specs
- What’s in the box: Graco Sense2Snooze Bassinet, mattress and mattress cover
- Dimensions: 26” W x 19” D x 41” H
- Suggested use: birth to 20 lbs (or until your baby can push up on their hands and knees, whichever comes first)
- 3 motions and 2 speed vibration
- 10 calming sounds and 10 soothing songs
The decision to buy a smart bassinet ultimately depends on your family’s needs, budget, and personal preferences. If monitoring your baby’s sleep (and maybe scoring some extra ZZZs for yourself) are priorities for you, a smart bassinet is likely worth your consideration. But if you’re more interested in a budget friendly sleep solution, a traditional bassinet may suffice.
Finding What’s Right for You
Albee Baby is the oldest family-owned specialty baby shop in the US, and we pride ourselves on providing our customers with the best assortment of baby products anywhere, at fair prices, always. We’re committed to being an inclusive resource for parents, and hope you’re feeling empowered to find the right baby gear for your family. Still have questions? Feel free to contact our baby gear experts at 877.692.5233 or by email at [email protected].