When Chicago mum Kristen Hayes was 6 weeks pregnant, she got the surprise of a lifetime. As her doctor pulled up her ultrasound image, Kristen and her husband were greeted with not one, not two, but three little embryos floating on the screen.

She was about to become a triplet mum!

But it wasn’t the shock of three tiny beating hearts that sparked Kristen’s interest in SNOO…it was actually her experience with her first child. Kristen’s oldest son, now 4, struggled to sleep as a baby, snoozing in short stints and primarily sleeping on top of Kristen. 

“We were only getting at most three hours a night until he was over a year old,” Kristen remembers.

Kristen’s entire family knew how challenging sleep had been, so when Kristen’s sister became pregnant, she purchased SNOO with Kristen's sleepless newborn nights in mind.

“My sister is super savvy, but I was a little skeptical at first. Then, when I saw how beautifully SNOO worked for her, there was no question,” Kristen says. “My sister would send pictures of how long her son was sleeping through the night. We could physically see he would sleep eight hours at 8 weeks.”

Between her previous sleepless newborn experience and needing to brace for three times the babies, Kristen decided that SNOO would be worth it.

“The physical toll [being pregnant with triplets] took on me was different than with my first pregnancy. I knew that I was going to need time after they were born to recover,” she says. “Sleep is so vital for the human body. It helps re-nourish the body and calms the brain. We knew once our triplets were born, we would need as much sleep as we could get to function as parents, a couple, and employees.”

Soon, she realised that all the hype she’d heard about SNOO, “weren’t just success stories—it’s real life with SNOO.”

The triplets—identical girls, Lila and Capri, and a boy, Lincoln—made their grand entrance two months early. Lila and Capri were in the NICU for five weeks, while Lincoln had to stay a few weeks longer to work through some lung complications.

Kristen remembers being nervous bringing the triplets home because they’d been under the constant care of nurses and doctors while in the NICU for their first month or two of life. Now it was all on Kristen and her husband to keep their babies safe. Fortunately, SNOO was there to lend a virtual hand.  

“My husband and I talk about how it’s an extra set of hands in two ways. During day when the babies are awake and are kind of fussy, we can put one baby in SNOO, have one baby in our arms, and put one baby in pillow.”

Then, at night, Kristen says SNOO is their “second line of defense.”

“If they would cry, we know SNOO will kick in to soothe them. I would say 95% of the time they would get right back to sleep, she says. “So, we know we don’t have to rush in there and grab them. It’s almost like having a mini helper there.”

However, Kristen wants other parents to know that her babies took a couple of days to adjust to SNOO. “I don’t want parents to think it was magic—it does take getting used to.”

But at this point, three months in, SNOO is very much a part of the whole family’s routine. The babies hit the hay at 8 or 9 p.m., wake to dream-feed around 11 and then sleep all the way until 6 a.m.

“When we put them in SNOO, they fall asleep. It’s definitely a sleep cue for them. They know it’s a safe place. They recognise the SNOO,” she says. 

This has allowed Kristen to get the sleep she needs. In fact, she recently returned to work from maternity leave. Upon her reentry, her co-workers could hardly believe she could be well-rested.

“They’d say ‘you have triplets, you need to go home and sleep!’ Kristen remembers. “I said I am sleeping! I tell them we have the SNOO and it does work. We are getting sleep and functioning.” 

“Honestly SNOO saved my life. I’ve worked so hard to get to where I am. I knew if I wanted to get back to work, I’d need to get good sleep. Even if I were a stay-at-home mum, I would still need good sleep to take care of three babies—or even one baby.”

Though Kristen acknowledges how helpful SNOO has been with triplets, she’s quick to point out that she feels SNOO would have been just as much of a game-changer when she only had one child.

“I wish I did buy SNOO with one child—it’s just as necessary as with three children,” she says. “If you are sleep-deprived you won’t be a normal functioning human. I know because I’ve been there before with my first son.”

View more posts tagged, real stories

Have questions about a Happiest Baby product? Our consultants would be happy to help! Submit your questions here.

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.