This $1560 robotic crib will soothe your newborn to sleep for you

When you've slept for a maximum of two hours a night as a new parent, you'll do pretty much anything for some serious shut-eye. But, would you part with $1560 for a robotic crib that soothes your newborn to sleep and keeps them there?

SNOO is the brainchild of American pediatrician and best-selling author on babies and sleep, Harvey Karp. He's spent five years working with Yves Behar's design studio, fuseproject to create a baby bed that uses the latest technology to make that first year much easier for new parents.

So, what do you get for your money? Well, the SNOO is basically a bassinet with a wooden frame that gently rocks your little one off to dreamland. Its sleek design hides motion sensors, microphones and speakers. When baby wakes up in the middle of the night, SNOO instantly calms them using a motorised swing and either a low-pitched white noise to soothe them back to sleep or a higher pitched sound which will comfort a crying infant.

Karp — who wrote the US bestseller, Happiest Baby on the Block — believes that newborns crave a similar stimulating environment as the womb in the first few months because they're used to noise and movement. The crib is based on his much-loved parenting method: the '5 S's' — swaddle, side or stomach position, shush, swing and suck. The design incorporates all five, keeping baby on their back all night and making weaning so much easier.

Photography HH