At night, when the crib seems so far away, and your new baby wants to stay close, a bedside bassinet becomes a must—at least it was for my family. I experienced this same reality with each of my five babies and tested dozens of bassinets along the way. More recently, when my fifth baby arrived, I tested src0 of the most popular bassinets on the market, from the most basic options to smart bassinets with artificial intelligence that respond to a baby’s sleep needs at all hours. I selected the Happiest Baby Snoo Smart Sleeper Bassinet as the best bassinet overall, because of its features that help soothe little ones back to sleep with automatic ease. I also loved the Arm’s Reach Mini Ezee 2-in-src Co-Sleeper Bassinet, which extends your bed for easier middle-of-the-night feedings and soothing. Four additional bassinets performed well in testing and are worth parents’ consideration.
After testing top models, the author found the best bassinets to suit all nurseries, budgets and … [+] needs.
Illustration: Forbes Vetted / Photo: Alexandra Frost For Forbes Vetted
Below is a list of all the best bassinets from my recent testing process with my newborn baby. You might also want to see our articles on the best pack and plays and best crib mattresses as you ready the nursery for your new baby.
Best Bassinet Overall: Happiest Baby Snoo Smart Sleeper Bassinet
Best Value Smart Bassinet: 4Moms MamaRoo Sleep Bassinet
Best Bedside Bassinet: Arm’s Reach Mini Ezee 2-In-src Co-Sleeper Bassinet
Best Value Non-Smart Bassinet: Halo BassiNest Soothing Swivel Sleeper 3.0
Best Bassinet For Long-Term Use: Cradlewise All-In-One Smart Crib
Best Portable Bassinet: Chicco LullaGo Anywhere LE Portable Bassinet
Over the years, bassinets have gotten smarter, fancier and generally more helpful to parents, with new features such as soothing options, especially in those first 6 months when the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends room sharing for new babies, not bed sharing. A smaller bassinet is often easier to fit into your room than a full-size crib as well, helping parents to meet the room-sharing recommendation. It can make breastfeeding a bit less laborious to keep newborns close, too. When they cry, fuss, poop and eat at 3 a.m.—and then start over again in a couple of hours—those bassinets that swivel and shush, sway and bounce are an absolute lifeline. After all, at the hospital, a bedside bassinet is always available.
Happiest Baby
Happiest Baby Snoo Smart Sleeper Bassinet
Assembly time: 5 minutes | Size: 35.75 x src9 x 3src inches | Weight: 38 pounds | Portability: Removable legs and travel bag | Soothing options: Four levels of movement and sound, adjustable in the app | Adjustable height: Yes (two additional leg extenders available separately for reflux issues)
Best for:
Babies who wake frequently with non-feeding/changing soothing needs Parents with other kids to attend to Babies who roll over early but still need swaddling to sleep well Skip if:
You have a baby who is already an excellent sleeper You’re on a tighter budget
If we could all afford an overnight nanny, we parents—and moms in particular—would have a much easier postpartum period adjusting to life with a new baby. Instead, we now have the Happiest Baby Snoo Smart Sleeper Bassinet, which I found to be an excellent stand-in for a nanny. It was developed by Harvey Karp, pediatrician and author of The Happiest Baby on the Block, which details his soothing method for newborns. He developed the Snoo based on research that showed babies benefit from horizontal rather than vertical rocking patterns. Parents strap the baby into a sleep sack that’s clipped into both sides of the bassinet, securing them into a safe position on their back, which led to the product recently being granted FDA De Novo authorization when used with the Snoo’s specific swaddle. Basically, if you are worried your baby is going to roll, this product prevents it.
“If cost isn’t important, many parents love the Snoo Smart Sleeper Bassinet with built-in swaddle that senses movement and adds white noise and gentle motion to help soothe your infant,” says Dr. Jenelle Ferry, neonatologist and director of feeding, nutrition and infant development at Pediatrix Medical Group in Tampa, Florida. “If you choose this option, make sure to use the wean function as your infant gets older and can learn to self-soothe/sleep train, so that great sleep can continue once they outgrow the bassinet.”
Many have criticized the Snoo’s steep price, but it is also available to rent for $src59 per month, or to purchase certified pre-owned directly from the brand for less than the full purchase price (it’s currently $src,src95 for pre-owned Snoo). The rental option especially is attractive, as babies typically need the Snoo only for the first 6 months of life—or even less.
The Snoo soothes babies as they start to fuss, lulling them back to sleep if all they needed was a … [+] bit of rocking and white noise, not a change or a feed.
Alexandra Frost For Forbes Vetted
Built-In Soothing That Responds To Your Baby
I started using the Snoo with my brand-new infant, and after a few days of getting used to it, it was obvious she was cozy and content, settling just moments after being swaddled into it. She was gassy and would have woken and needed to be picked up and rocked many more times throughout the night than she did with the motion and sounds soothing her back to sleep.
Here’s how it works: You lay your baby down and turn on the Snoo, and it starts moving side to side, soothing the baby, who is strapped into the brand’s sleep sack. It uses white noise, and the noise increases if the baby gets fussier. In addition, the motion speeds up. You can also set it to not move or make noise unless they are fussing, depending on your preferences. In addition, you can adjust all sound levels to ensure they are safe for your young baby. You can also adjust the sensitivity, so that you are still in charge of how long to leave the baby before the Snoo intervenes, and how quickly it responds to fussing. As your baby calms, the sounds and motion decrease, too. Crisis (and another parent wake-up) avoided.
The Snoo’s height is slightly shorter than some other options, which for a tall parent can make it a bit inconvenient to reach into for your child postpartum. However, the height means it aligns pretty well with most beds, which is great if you want to try to reach into the bassinet to retrieve your baby without getting up. Another potential downside is you have to purchase swaddles specific to the Snoo. Though three lighter-weight Snoo Sleep Sacks come with a purchase, the best swaddle is the super-cozy Snoo Sleep Comforter Sack, which is sold separately.
But Does Your Baby Need It?
If you have the perfect sleeper, you don’t really need a Snoo—unless you are worried about your baby rolling over and getting stuck in that position, or if you have particular concerns over SIDS prevention. “So one thing to consider is waiting to see if your baby needs, or if you need, this level of sleep help before investing in one,” says Emily McMason, a parent coach and sleep consultant at Evolving Parents.
For me and my postpartum mental health, a brilliant and pretty cute robot bassinet soothing my baby through shorter wake-ups that didn’t warrant feeding, changing or rocking meant significantly fewer wake-ups, more rest and a better parent in the daytime. In addition, the corresponding app lets you know as the bassinet moves through increasing levels of sound and motion, attempting to soothe the baby. Eventually it taps out, alerting you: “Snoo has stopped. Baby needs your care.” McMason notes that the soothing features on the bassinet aren’t meant to replace a parent, nor can they.
Read my full, in-depth review of the Snoo for additional details on this bassinet.
Amazon
4Moms MamaRoo Sleep Bassinet
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