When Alexis Castle was pregnant, she never imagined she would have to give birth two weeks early via emergency C-section to then return to a temporary home with her brand new baby…but life had other plans.

While 8.5 months pregnant, a sprinkler pipe burst in the condo she and her husband lived in. The water damage and risk of mold was so severe, they were forced to move out and into a hotel for two months.

Subsequently, Alexis developed a “freak mastitis infection” while she was still pregnant. Just a few short weeks later, she went into labor (two weeks before her due date). After a grueling 25 hours in labor, she ended having an emergency C-section.

It was as if life was throwing every curve ball it could at them.

Their son Tommy thankfully was born healthy and happy, “Recovering from labor, from the C-section, from the mastitis infection, all while handling a newborn and living in a hotel...It was just a tough time for us,” Alexis explained. 

Before she knew her postpartum period would be fraught with so many difficulties, Alexis and her husband had already decided on SNOO. Since Alexis has an autoimmune disease that causes extreme fatigue, the parents-to-be knew it was important to have all the help they could in the sleep department.

Alexis recalls, “We would do anything to make sure we could set up good sleep habits from the outset.”

When they left the hospital and went to their temporary hotel home with their son, Alexis had  SNOO setup next to the hotel bed.

“We used it from day one…the hotel didn’t have a crib or anything like that,” she lamented. “SNOO was the only portable safe sleeping option that we could bring into the hotel with us.”

Between recovering from labor, a C-section and living in a hotel, the new mom remembers that the “baby blues” were prominent for her in those early days…but SNOO helped ease her mind.

“Out of all the things we ended up worrying about in that time, him having a safe place to sleep… the fact that we didn’t have to worry about that was amazing,” she said. 

Today, the family is back in their condo and baby Tommy is successfully napping at daycare while being swaddled in Sleepea!

Alexis shared that “One of the things that I really love about the products that Happiest Baby has is the consistency. With the Sleepea swaddle, he gets the same comfort and feeling that he gets in the SNOO.”

And that comfort is especially important to Alexis as she’s had septic mastitis infections since Tommy’s birth resulting in multiple hospital stays. While Alexis is in the hospital, her husband Sam is home taking care of Tommy by himself…which isn’t easy!

“The SNOO is able to help my husband get some sleep while we face these ongoing complications. It has been invaluable.”

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Disclaimer: The information on our site is NOT medical advice for any specific person or condition. It is only meant as general information. If you have any medical questions and concerns about your child or yourself, please contact your health provider. Breastmilk is the best source of nutrition for babies. It is important that, in preparation for and during breastfeeding, mothers eat a healthy, balanced diet. Combined breast- and bottle-feeding in the first weeks of life may reduce the supply of a mother's breastmilk and reversing the decision not to breastfeed is difficult. If you do decide to use infant formula, you should follow instructions carefully.