My baby was born prematurely. Is it safe to use SNOO?

Yes, SNOO is safe to use for premature babies. In fact, SNOO is used in hospitals with premature babies, all across the US. One thing to keep in mind, with preemies, is that they rarely need the higher levels of SNOO motion. For that reason, SNOO comes with the Motion Limiter setting automatically turned ON. This setting allows SNOO to quickly respond to fussing using all 5 of its incrementally increasing sounds, but it limits the movement responses to the lowest 3 rocking motions.

With Motion Limiter on, you will notice—when your baby is crying—SNOO sounds will increase to Levels 3 or 4, but the rocking will never increase past Level 2. (Your App screen will stay green indicating the motion is still on Level 2.) 

Many babies never need the faster, jiggly motions to help calm crying…and some babies clearly prefer slow rocking. For that reason, many parents keep the Motion Limiter setting for up to 6 months. 

Regarding preemies, as they approach one month of age (corrected age), they often experience more frequent and intense fussy periods. If your child is having more challenging fussy periods, it could be very helpful to turn off the Motion Limiter to see if the higher levels of motion help soothe the crying.

If your baby is a preemie, we encourage you to set that in their profile.

1. Head to the Profile icon (at the bottom of your screen)
2. Tap on Edit Profile (under your baby’s name)
3. Switch the Preemie toggle ON and select how many weeks they were born before their due date

If you have noted in the profile that your baby is a preemie, a few weeks after your baby reaches their due date, we will send you a reminder that you can choose to turn off Motion Limiter, if you wish to try out higher levels of motion for better baby soothing.

To turn off the Motion Limiter:

1. Head over the Profile icon (at the bottom of your screen)
2. Under your SNOO Settings / Modes category, toggle off Motion Limiter

Parents who notice that their babies calm best with jigglier motion can turn off the Motion Limiter setting at any time.

We always recommend speaking with your child’s healthcare provider if you have any questions.

*Certain features and access are exclusive to the Premium Subscription of the App.