Safety Is Everything for Couple Whose Firstborn Died in Sleep

When Brittany Herrin was pregnant with her second child, she saw a post about SNOO on the Instagram feed of Erin Napier, the host of HGTV'sHome Town. Immediately, Brittany was drawn in by the cot’s unique safety feature—a swaddle with ‘wings’ that secures to the base of the cot and keeps babies safely on their backs throughout the night.

Brittany told her husband Chris that they had to get a SNOO, and he quickly agreed. The couple had lost their daughter Rose just months before in a sleep-related tragedy.

The Herrins, who live just outside New Orleans, had paid a holiday visit to relatives in Mississippi. On the night before Thanksgiving, Brittany put 4-month-old Rose down to sleep in a pack-n-play and returned to the family gathering, bringing the baby monitor along.

Forty-five minutes later, Brittany went to check on Rose and saw that her baby had rolled over and gotten stuck between the mattress and the side of the pack-n-play. Although Rose was rushed to the hospital, it was too late.

A Baby on the Way

One month after Rose passed away, Brittany and Chris found out they were expecting another baby, which Brittany said was ‘incredibly uplifting but also incredibly terrifying.’

"We had those feelings of absolute elation and then also just overwhelming sense of sorrow and fear—terror would be a better word."

The couple turned to therapy to help them grieve the loss of Rose while preparing for a new life. Brittany and Chris had discussed taking shifts with the new baby—one would sleep while the other watched their daughter sleep to make sure she was okay.

‘We were expecting the worst,’ Brittany explained.

Not too long after, Brittany saw the Instagram post about SNOO.

‘I showed my husband and said, “I want this, we have to have this,” she said. ‘This is what will make me feel more secure…the fact that SNOO keeps her on her back.’

Chris's mother gifted SNOO to the couple, and they started using it the day they brought their new baby girl Anna home from the hospital.

Sleep and Peace of Mind

Anna is five weeks old now and sleeping very well. Brittany wakes to nurse her daughter every 4 hours or so, and SNOO quickly lulls her little girl right back to sleep.

And, Brittany and Chris are relieved to be getting the rest they need.

‘Anna has brought healing to our lives and our hearts,’ Brittany said. ‘Just knowing that she is here, that she is safe, that she sleeps and sleeps so well…I started feeling like me again.’

Little Anna just started smiling at her parents. She is a happy baby who loves to eat and is at the 95th percentile for both height and weight. She loves to cuddle on her dad's chest.

As for Brittany, ‘It is just an amazing feeling that we're gonna watch this little one grow up.’

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.