You don’t need to pay too much for a modern bassinet. Sure, they’re not cheap. But if you’re desperate to get your baby to develop good sleep habits from an early stage, you can get an affordable bassinet with high-tech features. Not only do these modern items of furniture look fabulous in your home but they also work in magical ways (high-tech ways) to get your baby to settle and sleep. Do you know what that means…you get to sleep too!

This is the most important concern for any new parent – sleep! My oldest child was a terrible sleeper as a baby and it took him years to improve his sleep habits. To find out which bassinet will best suit your family, read on…

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Modern smart bassinets are expensive. Some of them are very expensive. But you don’t need to pay a fortune to get one. These modern bassinet reviews cover a variety of price ranges. I’ve included the most expensive modern bassinet first in my reviews. If the first one is too much for your budget simply take a look at some of the others and see if you like the features they offer.

1.  SNOO Smart Sleeper Modern Bassinet

⇒  For an excellent price on this top-notch bassinet, Click Here.

When you first see the SNOO Smart Sleeper bassinet it’s deceptive. It looks so simple with clean lines and a no-fuss exterior. However, the SNOO Smart Sleeper combines simple modern aesthetics with high-tech features. This modern bassinet will look great in any home. The mesh is strong but thin enough to see your baby through. The legs are well designed, so it won’t accidentally fall over. But the best part about it is the technology built-in.

What are the high-tech features on the SNOO?

Now, this is the interesting part. The SNOO uses both white noise and movement to soothe your baby. You’ll love these features.

You’ll be amazed by the way the SNOO not only offers the rocking and calming noise but it also automatically responds to how much your baby needs. If the baby gets louder the SNOO bassinet automatically increases the amount of white noise to help settle your baby.

The movement of the SNOO is a fully flat swing. This complies with the American Academy of Pediatrics safe sleep guidelines which recommends the baby be placed on their back on a firm sleep surface (to read more, see this link to the AAP).

The purpose of the white noise is to calm fussing. Happiest Baby, Inc., the maker of the SNOO, claims to have chosen the best level of womb-like rhythms in their white noise to calm baby’s fussing and boost your baby’s sleep in the 0 to 6 month age group.

Up to what age can my baby sleep in a SNOO?

This modern bassinet is for use from newborn up to 6 months of age or until your baby pushes up, if that milestone comes first. The maximum weight for the SNOO is 25 lbs.

Additional features on this modern bassinet?

The SNOO offers 5 levels of smooth but increasing jiggly motion and stronger white noise as your baby needs it.

In addition to the motion and soothing noise the SNOO comes with organic cotton sleep sacks. You’ll love the vented swaddles to ensure your baby doesn’t overheat. You can also secure the swaddles to the bassinet so your baby stays sleeping on his or her back as required by the AAP guidelines. The swaddles are a hip-safe design.

If your baby can’t be soothed back to sleep by the SNOO it will send you an alert on your smartphone. This tells you your baby needs your attention. Using the app you can customize the features on this modern bassinet.

How do you wean your child off the SNOO?

If you’re concerned that you child will revert to bad sleeping habits after outgrowing the SNOO, think again! The SNOO includes a weaning feature to help your child get ready for a crib.

The advantage of the SNOO is that it teaches your baby to self-soothe. Once your baby is closer to 6 months of age you use the weaning feature to reduce and cut-out the swinging motion of the bassinet. The white noise feature will still continue but this seems to be clever way of transitioning from modern bassinet to crib without losing the good sleep habits formed.

What does the SNOO Smart Sleeper include?

The SNOO comes with the mattress, sleep sacks/swaddles and a fitted sheet made from organic cotton.

Personally, I like the comment Happiest Baby, Inc. (the maker of SNOO) makes in the product description (I can relate to this comment, having had babies who were bad sleepers). They initially say SNOO is the best investment for your baby. Then they say… “Now, new parents can choose: Either spend $6/day on coffee to try to stay awake or to buy SNOO and get hours more sleep + peace of mind your baby is safe…. Priceless!”

If you look at it that way, ie the cost per day, the SNOO is actually cheaper than the coffee for 6 months! I know, when it comes to parenting, I prefer the extra sleep any day.

Yes, the SNOO modern bassinet is expensive. But if you use it for more than one child the cost balances out. And I would imagine there’d be quite a good resale value on these bassinets.

Until you have your first baby you don’t realize how much you’ve previously taken sleep for granted. If you can get your baby into good sleep habits in the first 6 months and keep these sleep habits as they move into a crib it will make life easier for everyone in the family. If you can cut down on the expense on a few other baby items and put the money into a SNOO Smart Sleeper modern bassinet you’ll be loving the end result.

2.  Halo Bassinest Swivel Sleeper Luxe Plus

⇒   Click Here to see the price on the Halo Luxe Plus.

The Halo Bassinest is another high-tech modern bassinet. It comes with features like vibration to settle your baby. However, it has another main feature that lots of mothers love. The side automatically lowers to let you easily lift your baby out of the bassinet without getting out of bed.

How does the side lower?

The side lowers easily by resting you arms on the padded edge to lift your baby. This lowering side also automatically returns to its original height once you lift your arms off. The side can also be locked into position.

This feature is great for all mothers but especially good for those recovering from a c-section.

For this lowering side wall to be worthwhile, the bassinet also has legs that sit underneath your bed to bring your baby closer. The height of the bassinet is adjustable to fit in with the height of your bed and it swivels 360 degrees.

More than just swiveling it moves as well as swivels. It moves in and out as it swivels so you can position your baby right next to you as you sleep. And yet your baby has his or her very own space in the bassinet separate from your bed. This is a safer way to keep your baby close.

The 4-point base on the Halo Bassinest Swivel Sleeper Luxe Plus is very stable and adjusts in height to fit most beds from 24” to 34” tall. To bring you baby close, the legs of the base easily tuck under your bed and require only 32” clearance from wall, making it ideal for smaller rooms.

Safety standards?

The mattress comes with the Halo Luxe Plus. It’s made of polyurethane and is waterproof and contains no toxic flame retardants. Halo gets the mattresses tested independently to meet or exceed all U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission and Health Canada safety standards for bassinets.

The bassinet is recommended for babies up to 5 months of age. However, the bassinet should stop being used if your child begins pulling up, rolling over, or pushing up to a kneeling position.

The Luxe Plus features a nightlight, 3 soothing sounds, 3 lullabies, nursing timer and vibration, all with 30-minute auto shutoff. This modern bassinet comes with 100% cotton coordinating fitted sheet, mattress pad, 2 storage pockets to keep baby’s essentials close by.

Halo Luxe Plus also comes with a floor light and storage caddy which hangs on the other side of the bassinet away from the side you lower. These two extra features are good to have, but if you don’t need them you can save money and get the Halo Bassinest Premiere at a cheaper price (see details below in this review).

3.  Halo Bassinest Swivel Sleeper Premiere

⇒   To see the current price on the Halo Premiere, Click Here.

The Halo Bassinest Swivel Sleeper Premiere is one of the best selling high-tech modern bassinets. It features the same extras as the Luxe Plus except there’s no floor light or storage caddy included. It still features the night light and the 2 storage pockets for holding baby items conveniently.

If you don’t need the floor light or the extra storage caddy then this modern bassinet is a great choice. You’ll save money by getting the Premiere model but you’ll still get all the great features like 2 levels of vibration, 3 sounds, 3 lullabies with volume control and including 30 minutes shut off. You’ll also get the mom alert as a reminder after feeding.

This modern bassinet is great value. It’s packed with features but it’s still affordable. No, it’s not inexpensive, but you can make it affordable if you budget for it. Be sure to include it on your wish list for your baby shower.

             Halo Bassinest Newborn Insert

If you like a smaller space for your newborn to sleep there’s a newborn insert that can be added to any of the Halo Bassinest range.

⇒   Click Here for a good price on this Halo Newborn Insert.

The newborn insert is not a baby hammock. The flat sleeping surface is safe for your baby. You hook it onto the top of the Halo Bassinest and then it rests on the flat surface.

The sides of the insert are make of breathable mesh. It is suitable for babies up to 15 lbs.

This smaller space is more comforting for a newborn baby learning to sleep on their own in a bassinet.

Other accessories for Halo Bassinests include the cotton fitted sheet (you can never have too many sheets!), a waterproof mattress pad (always wise to have a spare one), the swivel sleeper storage caddy (great for holding an extra diaper, baby bottle or pacifiers), Halo cotton swaddle for newborns (always nice to have extras on hand, add them to your baby shower registry), and a cute sleepy owl baby mobile.  

4.  Halo Bassinest Swivel Sleep Essentia

⇒   Halo Essentia is less expensive than the Premiere or Luxe, see Price Here.

This is a modern bassinet but it’s not high-tech. You’ll still get the advantage of the swivel to be able to keep baby close to your bed. You’ll also get the advantage of the lowering side for ease of lifting your baby. However, there is no vibration, no music, no light or other electronic features. It does come with one storage pocket.

This is still a great bassinet. If you’re recovering from a c-section you’ll be pleased to have the Halo Bassinest Swivel Sleeper Essentia to be able to lift your baby for feeding without getting in and out of bed during the night when you’re trying to recover from surgery.

At the time of writing there was $50 difference between the price of the Essential and the Premiere. If you can stretch your budget (or get family to help with the cost) to be able to buy the Halo Premiere you’ll get the extra benefits of vibration and music. If you get the Essentia instead you’ll still be getting the convenience of features unique to Halo bassinets.

5.  Halo Bassinest Glide Sleeper

⇒   The Halo Glide Sleeper is less than the swivel sleepers, See the Price Here

If money is tight, this is a great option from Halo. The Glide Sleeper does not swivel but you can still get it close to the bed by sliding it across the floor.

Personally, I feel it is better to try and get one of the swivel sleepers from Halo if you can afford it.

This Halo Bassinest Glide Sleeper  will slide across hardwood floors or carpets but that’s assuming the floor area is completely clear.

If you get dirt, grit, or an object gets caught under the gliders it may damage your floor. I would also be concerned about an object under the gliders causing the bassinet to become unstable. If you’re very organized and you don’t have things falling on your floor, this is a great bassinet to use.

Personally, I’m always dropping things and forgetting to pick them up because I’m either holding a child or I’m distracted by a toddler. You’ll need to take this into consideration when you’re buying a modern bassinet.

6.  BabyBjorn Cradle Bassinet

⇒   For an excellent price on this BabyBjorn Cradle, Click Here.

This is a modern bassinet that doesn’t use electronic gadgets. BabyBjorn is know for its simple yet stylish lines. The cradle is no exception. This cradle will look great in any home. And it has advantages for helping your baby sleep. It provides movement to help soothe without using an outlet or batteries.

This modern bassinet lulls your baby to sleep with a gentle rocking movement. You can rock the bassinet yourself but you don’t have to. The bassinet will use your baby’s own movement to help rock him or her back to sleep.

The mesh is strong yet transparent. You can check on your baby by seeing through the mesh. And there is greater air flow around your baby. The mesh can be upzipped and removed for washing. The sleeping surface is flat and safe for baby.

The BabyBjorn Cradle bassinet is suitable for newborns through to about 6 months of age or 17 lbs.

There is also a canopy that can be bought separately for the BabyBjorn Cradle. This canopy goes over the bassinet to help diffuse light for better sleeping conditions.

It also looks cute in your nursery. The canopy is made from a mesh fabric to allow for air circulation.

Some parents even use the canopy to keep mosquitoes off their baby when they take the bassinet onto the veranda. The canopy is easy to attach and remove. If you need to wash the mesh fabric on the bassinet it is very easy to take the canopy off and then unzip the mesh for cleaning. This modern bassinet not only looks good but it’s very practical too.

Overall, this is a well-designed modern bassinet, but without the electronics. It looks modern and its clever movement to soothe baby is worth having. If you don’t want the white noise or music built-in to the bassinet then this one is for you.

The Verdict

If you can afford the SNOO it comes with amazing features. The white noise seems to help babies a lot when they need to be soothed into sleep. The way that the SNOO can automatically adjust to your babies needs is very convenient for any parent. And remember, it can send you an alert if your baby can’t be calmed down. Yes, the SNOO is expensive, but it offers many features you won’t find on other bassinets. If you can justify the price, get it.

If you’re a mother recovering from a c-section you’ll probably benefit most from the Halo Swivel Sleeper range of bassinets (or bassinests as Halo calls them). These specially designed bassinets really do offer a lot of convenience when you’re trying to get your baby out for feeding during the night. The added features like vibration, soothing sounds, lullabies and a night light are also amazing to help your baby settle. Depending on your budget you can get a Halo bassinest with more or fewer features. It’s up to you. And it’s great to have the choice in Halo.

If you’re looking for a modern bassinet that doesn’t rely on an outlet or batteries then you’ll love the BabyBjorn Cradle bassinet. This bassinet is easy to move into different rooms when you want to keep your baby close. It looks good and uses movement to settle your baby. You can see why it is such a popular bassinet.

Click each of the images above for more details.

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