Dreamgenii SnuggleRoo Review
THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER'S OWN.
Reviewed by Helen O
I was really excited when I heard that I had been chosen to review the dreamgenii SnuggleRoo Baby Carrier. Since I had my first child in 2018, I have been a massive fan of baby wearing, particularly in the so-called fourth trimester (newborn to 3 months) and personally find it not only a wonderful bonding experience, but also incredibly practical. The carrier is designed to replicate the movement of the womb, providing a safe and secure feeling for your baby, helping to soothe them.
The baby carrier arrived exactly when I had been told to expect it. It was packaged in an outer cardboard box and arrived in excellent condition. Inside the main box I found a light grey drawstring pouch and inside this was the main part of the carrier. There were also a couple of leaflets, including instructions on how to wear the carrier at different stages of baby’s first year.
The SnuggleRoo can be used from birth to 12 months and can be worn in multi-wearing positions throughout that time: Newborn (birth to 1 month), Nurture (1-6 months), Explore (6-9 months) and Hip Hold (9-12 months). The instruction manual describes how to wear the carrier at each position and this is also supported by a couple of videos for some of the positions at www.dreamgenii.com/snuggleroo-baby-carrier. It was easy to work out how to use the carrier with the info provided.
In addition to the age brackets, I think it would be helpful for the manufacturer to also give some indications of baby weights for these different positions, as not all babies develop and grow at the same pace. The only indication of weight that I could see was the max of 15kg (approx. 33lbs) on the box.
I was lucky enough to borrow my best friend’s 10 week old baby to try the nurture position for size and was impressed with how easy the carrier was to wear. I thought it was a great idea that you turn the storage pouch inside out to make the support band. She seemed lovely and snug in the carrier and even fell asleep. I also tried out the hip hold position with my daughter, who is coming up to 12 months old. She felt very secure and more than happy to just sit there, which was nice!
I had previously only had experience of the wrap-style baby carriers, which can be quite cumbersome and impractical, as they are one very long piece of stretchy material and therefore need a lot of practice and also could get soaking wet if being put on in the pouring rain. The dreamgenii SnuggleRoo is simple, lightweight and extremely simple to use.
Baby carriers are so useful for many reasons – particularly if you have a fussy baby, who doesn’t want to be put down. Just pop baby in the carrier and your hands are free to get on with stuff around the house. Or if you just want to quickly go into a shop, without the faff of getting the buggy out, you can just put the SnuggleRoo on, pop baby in and off you go.
One of the leaflets accompanying the SnuggleRoo shows that not only does the carrier meet European Safety Standards (EN13209-2), the carrier is recommended by the International Hip Dysplasia Institute and has been designed specifically to meet their guidelines, to allow the baby’s hips to fall or move apart on each side, whilst supporting baby’s thighs and leaving their knees bent.
In fact the SnuggleRoo is beneficial for brain development, protecting the C-shaped spine and is also meant to be really good for babies who suffer from reflux and colic, making it a bit of a life-saver in those latter circumstances!
The material that the carrier is made from is incredibly soft, 100% cotton (exclusive of straps) and perfect to use against baby’s skin. It can be machine washed cold, so no special requirements, which is great, particularly when, from experience, babies may vomit over it or if anything like mine, enjoy sucking the material, so it will no doubt be subject to regular washing.
The carrier comes in 3 different colours – black, charcoal or light grey. I reviewed the light grey one, which would colour-match with most of my everyday outfits. I guess that’s why they’ve kept it to more neutral colours, without introducing bright colours of patterned material.
I really like the fact that the literature accompanying the SnuggleRoo includes dad too, as so often products such as these are exclusively marketed as mum. There’s absolutely no reason why dad’s wouldn’t want to use carriers, particularly to bond with their baby.
The dreamgenii SnuggleRoo RRP is £55, however, it is worth looking around for deals, as at the time of my review there were some on offer for a cheaper price. I think the price represents good value for money, particularly given the nature and use of the product. It would make a really lovely gift for parents-to-be or for a new bay. I would definitely recommend this product to anyone expecting a bundle of joy or with a newborn.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £55
For more information or to buy direct from dreamgenii, visit www.dreamgenii.com. Also available to buy from Amazon here.