Christmas is coming up soon and if Santa were to ask us what we wanted to find in our stockings this year, the Snoo and SnugLit would definitely be on our wish list. Here’s what these new newborn innovations and inventions have to offer:
1. SnugLit
When a newborn has infant jaundice, he undergoes phototherapy to treat the discoloration in his skin caused by abnormal red blood cells. It involves shining a special light all over an infant, who is wearing just a diaper and protective eyewear, and he has to stay alone in a special bassinet to get treatment -- away from mom.
SnugLit, developed by Alexa Jones, is a swaddle blanket that allows babies to receive phototherapy without the isolation. He can be treated right in mom’s arms while being cuddled or breastfed.
“SnugLit provides a unique solution to overcome the limitations of current phototherapy devices,” Jones told Babble. “Infants who are treated using SnugLit can be held and comforted, something not possible with conventional phototherapy.”
Along the inside of the blanket are the same lights that treat jaundice but because it’s a swaddle, it provides 360-degree coverage and is portable -- babies can get treatment even at home. Currently, SnugLit is still under development and is waiting for approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Cross your fingers SnugLit gets approval.ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWWhat other parents are reading
2. Snoo
Here’s how we know the future is finally here: there’s now a self-rocking crib -- it’s called the Snoo from Happiest Baby. And this isn’t mechanical and crude rocking either, this crib knows what rocking motion to use for different situations. It also has built-in speakers that play white noise to help babies sleep, and it keeps infants on their back using a special swaddle, an amazing safety feature.
The Snoo was developed by Harvey Karp, pediatrician and best-selling author of The Happiest Baby on the Block. “This [bed] takes babies’ sleep into the 21st century,” Karp told Wired. Before the baby is placed in the Snoo, he has to be swaddled in Snoo’s “5-second swaddle.” It’s designed to be hip safe, and never unravels. More importantly, it has “wings” at the side that snap on to the inside of the crib to make sure the baby stays on his back while he sleeps, a major part of safe sleep recommendatoins for babies to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
If the baby cries in the night, the crib will be able to detect it with its highly-sensitive microphones. Snoo will then rock to a fast jiggle to soothe the baby then slow down to a swing as the baby falls back to sleep. If you want, it can continue on gently swinging for the rest of the night while the baby sleeps. If the baby doesn’t stop crying for three minutes, however, the crib shuts off so the parent will know the baby needs attending to. Not convinced it works? Here’s a video of the crib in action.
The Snoo also has built-in speakers that play different types of white noise depending on the situation: womb sounds (a sort of “whoosing” noise) for crying and soft rain for sleeping babies. Not to mention, the crib looks gorgeous with its sleek silhouette made from wood and mesh. Unlike Snug Lit, you can buy this already, albeit with a price tag of US$1,160 (P55,700).
[h/t: Popsugar, Babble]CONTINUE READING BELOWwatch now
