I read loads of Snuzpod reviews whilst pregnant with my third baby.

Bedside cribs were not a really a thing when my first was a newborn, who slept next to me in a moses basket. But two babies later and I knew a bedside crib was something that would really suit our routine with a newborn. So, I contacted Snuzpod to see if they would be interested in working together on a review of the Snuzpod 3 in 1 bedside crib.

From the moment we brought Otto home from the hospital, right up to writing this, our littlest family member has been sleeping in his Snuzpod 3 in 1 bedside crib every day.

Our Snuzpod is one of our most-used baby items this time round for our third baby, so I definitely wanted to write an extensive review of the Snuzpod, including all positives and negatives.

Are Snuzpods worth it? Why choose a Snuzpod?

Having co-slept from the start with my middle child when he was a baby, I knew I wanted to do similar with our third baby and have him as close to me as possible – I am so totally OVER leaving a warm cosy bed to tend to my babies ; )

As previously mentioned, my first baby slept in a moses basket next to me in the bed, before graduating to a cot bed in his own room. Being my first baby, I had far less experience in baby sleep and how much benefit we could all gain from co-sleeping, so I didn’t pursue the bedside crib option, despite the fact that he continued to wake through the night until well into the toddler years.

With my second baby, we side-carred a standard cot with one side removed. We had a different bed back then, and it fit perfectly with the height of the cot mattress, so we essentially created a larger sleeping surface for all of us, and he slept there for the best part of his first two years. This sleep setup was held much more longevity than a moses basket, and meant my baby could sleep right next to me with no barriers.

When it came time to have our third baby, we had upgraded to an (amazing) super king sized bed, and no longer had room to side-car a big cot. Plus, I quite wanted something where I could put the side up quickly and easily if I wanted to – with our side-carred cot, the side had to be permanently removed, and once Rory started rolling, it became a struggle to contain him, particularly an issue in the evenings in between his bedtime and mine. Something between a side-car cot and a moses basket would be the perfect place for our baby to sleep.

So, we started looking at the Snuzpod 3 in 1 bedside crib. Smaller than a cot, but larger than a moses basket, the Snuzpod is a crib with a fabric side that can be zipped up or down, depending on whether you want to use it as a standalone crib or a bedside crib.

How have we been using our Snuzpod?

Every night, baby Otto has slept right next to my side of the bed in his Snuzpod. He is now transitioning to his own room, but with the benefit of a familiar sleep space as he will still be using his Snuzpod in his room for another few months at least, or whenever he learns to sit up from lying down.

Sleepyhead in Snuzpod

For the first few months, we used a Sleepyhead inside our Snuzpod. I think the Sleepyhead really helped Otto to establish ‘good’ sleep habits (a first for my babies!). We have phased out the Sleepyhead in the last month, and he continues to sleep confidently in the Snuzpod without it. I cannot vouch for the safety of using a sleepyhead in a Snuzpod, and I am not up to date with the latest recommendations regarding using a sleepyhead together with a Snuzpod. If you are considering using the two products together, you will need to do your own research.

We have been using our Snuzpod with the mattress from Little Green Sheep. With it’s comfy layers of lambswool, it’s a very luxurious and cosy product that makes me immediately excited at the thought of placing my baby down to sleep in such a lovely space.

A Snuzpod provides a portable sleep space

After two babies, our moses basket had seen better days, and hefty Rory had barely used it before it was outgrown. So, for our third baby, I was looking for something that would last longer whilst still being portable – and that was another big reason for why the Snuzpod appealed to me.

The crib part of the Snuzpod detaches from the stand, so it becomes a portable sleep space for your baby that you can move around the house. This was great for us and in the first few months Otto would sleep in his Snuzpod downstairs in the evenings before moving him up, undisturbed, when we went to bed. He’d also nap in it downstairs during the day, during family dinners, etc. It was basically like a roomier moses basket.

I also loved that the Snuzpod meant a designated sturdy and safe sleeping space for my baby, with protection against his two older brothers and their sometimes rambunctious play.

When the boys met their new baby brother for the first time.

One thing to mention about the portability of the Snuzpod is that it is quite a large item to carry around. It’s not hugely heavy, but it is long and there is no carry handle so it’s not as easily portable as a moses basket. I can move our Snuz easily now, but in the early weeks post-birth I did need to get Sam to do all of the moving, and can imagine the Snuzpod would be perhaps a more difficult bedside crib option if you have had a c-section.

Snuzpod design

One of my favourite things about the Snuzpod is the way it looks. It’s such a simple, modern, clean design. It’s not another garish piece of baby paraphernalia taking up space. With a wide choice of colours, I think a Snuzpod can actually enhance your bedroom or nursery decor. It’s a smart-looking piece of furniture, which I think is important when it’s going to become part of the room for a long period of time.

I can’t not give a mention to the Snuzpod bedding sets. I absolutely love these designs. We have the neutral grey and yellow sheet set and the cloud blanket, but I also love the look of the green and blue Rootin’ Tootin’ design – Who doesn’t love a cactus?

The Snuz bedding is not just limited to Snuzpod owners, they do sizes for cribs, moses baskets / prams, and cotbeds too, and of course the blankets can be used anywhere. I’ve got my eye on the cloud sheets for when Otto moves into his cotbed.

Snuzpod review – Any Snuzpod negatives?

The fabric sides of the cot are hand wash only and a bit longwinded to remove. Something that is easy to bung in the washing machine would have been a bonus, although we haven’t had any leaks or spillages that have infiltrated the fabric yet four months in so our fabric is still looking good as new. I’d be interested to see how it fares being placed in storage and then brought out to use for a second time later down the line, or if you purchase a pre-loved Snuzpod – Would the fabric be in need of a refresh?

We have quite a high bed and the Snuzpod mattress is lower than our mattress by a few inches. This means I don’t feel very confident using it as a bedside crib with the side open, as I know I’d worry too much about my bedding falling down onto him or him smooshing his face too near to the side of our non-breathable mattress. So, the only time we’ve been using our Snuzpod with the side down is with the Sleepyhead acting as a barrier. Now that he has mostly graduated out of the Sleepyhead, the side stays up.

I’m not sure I would class this as a negative though, purely because using the Snuzpod as a co-sleeping crib was not important to us, due to the sort of sleeper Otto turned out to be. He sleeps very long stretches at night and doesn’t need access to my boobs all the time like Rory did. I’m loving having his Snuzpod right next to my side of the bed where I can see him so easily and pick him up very quickly if he needs me, but we are all happier using our Snuzpod as a bedside crib and not a co-sleeping one.

Should I buy a Snuzpod / Are Snuzpods worth the money?

Having had three babies, I know how difficult it can be when you are looking at baby products to know whether an item is worth the money. Do you NEED something, just want something because it looks nice, or do you already have something that fits that bill?

With that in mind for my Snuzpod review, I’ve come up with my top three reasons for why a Snuzpod could be the right option for your baby:

1.  If you want a bedside crib
2. If you want a sleep space that will fit your baby for approximately twice as long as a moses basket
3. If you want a next to me moses basket or crib, but are short on space in your bedroom and can’t fit a standard sized cot where you need it.

If any of those above factors apply to you, it would be seriously worth considering a Snuzpod.

If you are looking to bedshare and extend your sleep space with a bedside cot, I’d say you might be better off side-carring a cot or cotbed, or doing the bunch of mattresses on the floor thing. From my experience, the Snuzpod is more of a bedside crib rather than an extension of your own bed, as I had when Rory was a baby and toddler. If you know you want to bedshare longterm, I would say a Snuzpod is probably not worth the money because you will end up needing to create a bigger next to me crib option once your baby has grown out of their Snuzpod.

Four Months of Dreams

We still had building work going on in the house up until the week before Otto arrived. I didn’t dare risk getting building dust anywhere near our beautiful new sleeping space for our newborn, so our Snuzpod stayed patiently in it’s box whilst I tapped my fingers and resisted ALL THE NESTING URGES.

Then, I was suddenly admitted to hospital and Sam worked furiously to get everything ready for our baby. The one thing I requested he send me whilst I was waiting in the hospital ward was a picture of our Snuzpod once it was all set up. That moment was a big glimmer of excitement amongst what was an emotional and scary time for me.

Seeing our Snuzpod all ready to go was the first time I could properly visualise bringing our baby home to his crib. I focused on that, and by the time it WAS time to come home, I was so thrilled to place him carefully in his Snuzpod and await Arlo and Rory’s arrival home so they could meet their baby brother for the first time.

Our Snuzpod has become so tightly woven into my memory of that first week, it’s hard not to write sentimentally about it.

I’ve been filming little bits here and there ever since that first day. Recently, I put all the footage together and the result is four months of Otto using his Snuzpod and how it fits into our family life.

This video makes me seriously emotional whenever I watch it, as not only does it remind me of those early days and everything I mentioned above, but it shows just how much Baby O has changed and grown in the last four months.

Without a doubt, I’ll be watching this in years to come and crying quietly about how grown my boys are. You can watch my Snuzpod review video below:

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Thanks for reading my Snuzpod review. Our Snuzpod was provided for the purpose of this review. If you are thinking of purchasing a Snuzpod for your baby, Snuz have provided me with a discount code to share with my blog readers: Use code SNUZMESS10 for 10% off when you buy from the Snuz website.