"I usually don't bother writing reviews, although I heavily rely on ones when I am shopping on Amazon - so figured it is time to "pay back" to other customers, and comment on items that I have purchased (at least some of them :) ) We got myBaby SoundSpa when daughter was 7 months old. We have not done it sooner, because she has a mobile that plays music for 20-30 minutes, and that usually was enough for our baby to fall asleep. But we found ourselves to tip-toe around the house during her naps, and sound proof in our house is not that great, so basically I couldn't do much work around the house while baby was asleep. So that made me look into sound machines. I went through different options and reviews, and couldn't really see anything that would bother me about this item. I have also looked on Youtube (I like to do it for items that I pick, so it gives me an idea about the size, and I can see the item in use). We have had this item for about 4 months now, and it has been a life saver! It creates a perfect background noise (we mostly use either crickets sound or running river), and it is also portable - so we took it to our trip to grandparents, and it instantly set up a familiar environment for the baby, even though it was a different room, different crib, different sheets. As one of the reviews said that walking into the room with this machine running is like turning the lights off for the baby, and baby feels it is a nap/sleep time right away - I totally agree!. We have not tried to run this machine on batteries for long periods of time (maybe couple of nights here and there), so I cannot really comment on a battery life. I do think it somewhat depletes batteries even if you run it on power, because one day our machine started making noises like it was not working properly, but once we changed the batteries it went away and we haven't had that issue ever since. We literally keep our sound machine running 24 x 7 (I was turning it on and off when not in use, but later on just let it run, no harm). Also green light (power) on the machine is indeed bright like others mentioned, but it doesn't bother us or a baby (and I suppose you can put duct tape over it). I am not sure how good this machine will be for a picky person, who wants longer loops in sounds, variety etc - it is pretty basic. But for baby I think it is perfect. It is on my list of items to get for baby showers nowadays :)"
myBaby SoundSpa Portable (Compare Deals from $19.97)
"Ok... I've only had this for a week and a half... But I promise to update this again, once we've had it awhile. I purchased 2 of these for my 2 and 4 year olds. My husband and oldest daughter both get up really early, for work and school, and the little ones were being woken. My 4 year old has always been a terrible sleeper and the youngest has been getting up at like 5:30 when he hears daddy. Not to mention we live on a busy road, so traffic doesn't help either. So I decided we needed white noise to drown out everything else. This does the trick!! So far I am very happy. They are sleak and don't take up much room. Seems well made. Not, drop on the floor, or let the kids play with it, type of quality. It's not meant for that. It's meant to sit on a dresser or shelf. The volume and sound quality is great. It can go really quiet, or really loud. I like that there's a timer, but it doesn't have to be used. I use the timer for naps, but leave it on all night. The sound quality is impressive. The brook sounds just like you are standing next to one. We call the white noise a "waterfall" to the kids. Sounds like rushing water. They also like the heartbeat. For whatever reason it kind of creaps me out...lol...but they sleep well with it. Must be comforting to them. I told them that's what they heard when they were in mommy's belly and they thought that was hysterical.... :) We've stuck to a routine of heartbeat for naptime and white noise at night. I started putting the timer on for naps, because when I didn't- they would sleep past dinnertime...haha. That's how good this works for us..... :) 3 hour naps..... Ha! I am happy to report, they are both sleeping later and not getting up in the middle of the night anymore. Honestly, both kids have been getting up at least once throughout the night, since they were born... which meant mommy and daddy were also getting up... twice. At least. For the last 4 years..... Ugh. I am not the cry it out, type of mom, so I've been exhausted. The change happened the very first night and it's been great. I am finally getting some sleep and they are happier because of it. I am so glad we decided to get this. Tell all your friends with young kids! It definitely helped us. I'm sure it would help everyone sleep better.... I will update later. Hopefully this product lasts me a bit. We really love it!!!"
"love love love love love this thing!! Did I mention I love it?? We have just had baby number 4, others are 8,7 and 4 years so our house is pretty loud and busy, the other day I had a 9 yr old, 2 8yrs, 2 7yrs and a 4yr old running around and this worked to cancel all that noise out for him. Our newborn loves to be held but we are able to put him down in his auto swing but the noise in the house lately has started to wake him up and then he gets in a grump for the rest of the day. His swing plays sounds and one of them was white noise, I noticed when I put the white noise on 80% of the time he would instantly settle and within minutes sometimes seconds fall asleep but his swing only plays for 20 mins then turns off so we looked into a separate device. I found this and it seemed perfect, we don't need the lights as when he goes in his crib we already have a projector mobile. This has worked wonders, I actually prefer the ocean over the white noise and so does he, it is very calming and even mid screaming fit I can turn this on and turn the volume up to get his attention and he suddenly stops and nearly always falls asleep. I like the options for durations or continuous. I have taken it out with me several times and ran it on batteries, in fact we just spent 2 hours shopping with him in his car seat on the cart and this sat under him on the cart seat walking around getting strange looks from people trying to figure where the ocean noise was coming from but he slept almost the entire time without even stirring at any of the noises in the store. I like it so much I have bought the travel version to make it a little easier to take out, this one is a little large with sharpish edges to be sitting in his seat with him. At the moment I move it from our bedroom at night while he sleeps in his swing or basinet to the living room during the day as he sleeps in either the pack and play basinet or swing there. I have run it for I would guess about 8 hours so far on just the batteries and they still seem to be doing fine. I will just say the white noise/ocean seems to work about 80% of the time to get my little one to settle so not 100% but then what is with babies =)"
"I purchased this basically out of desperation for my 6 month old, he hadn't outgrown sleeping like a newborn and being exhausted I was willing to buy just about anything that may help him and I both sleep better. The main selling point to me is that it can be left on continuously. Also important, it can be plugged in or run off batteries so we are not wasting anymore batteries than you already do with an infant in the house but we can still travel with it if need be. It's sleek looking, easy to operate, has great volume range and remembers the sound you had it on last when you turn it on again. The first night we tried out thunderstorm, it is spot on and incredibly relaxing (my personal favorite), my son went from waking up every hour to two hours to waking up once. The second night he got up twice that night so I decided to try ocean waves on the third to see how he did with the other sounds. The ocean waves is also very realistic and relaxing but my son went right back to getting up every hour/two hours. On the forth night of having this I gave white noise a shot and he didn't wake up a single time, not once. We have now been using the white noise for a couple weeks and he no longer wakes up frantic, the few nights he's woken up one time he fusses for a few seconds and soothes himself almost immediately back to sleep. He wakes up seeming so rested and happy and I can relate. I do not have a single complaint when it comes to this product. It was everything I was looking for and far exceeded my expectations. I will agree with some of the other reviews that the heartbeat does not sound natural and is not something I would want to listen too, but the rest of the sounds are excellent and realistic."
"Experienced sound machine consumer. When it comes to sound machines, white noise machines, or noise canceling head phones I consider myself a pro. I have been searching for the perfect sound machine for years. I have gone through multiple different types of sound machines through the years. I have used several noise canceling head phones and both items have never failed to either 1. Do not Have enough volume to block out or even mask outside noise. 2. The varying recorded sounds on them often have an unnatural, almost annoying sound effect that becomes irritating to listen to and if turned up high enough they hurt my ears. 3. Often items the sound effects have noticeable disruptions in the recording which have made it uncomfortable to listen to when you become aware. 4. They are almost always cheaply made, break easily, can cause fires from over use and usually stop working after a year. I have purchased every model that the Marpac sound machine has in it's line. The Marpac sound machines are considered the highest quality make and model available. They can run between $60-$200 depending on what type you are buying. I have had three different models in the past and each ended up with melted plastic from constant use in only a few months time. They also make a vibrating, rattling noise that becomes more obvious over time. Lastly, they are not loud enough. This sound machine is the loudest I have ever had. It also is the sturdiest I have ever had too. I have dropped it onto my hardwood floors several times and it hasn't broken or even cracked. I can keep it in my humid, moist bathroom (which I have for a few months) without it getting ruined. It takes batteries and can be plugged in. This makes it portable and therefore I don't need multiple machines in different rooms. The best thing about it is that it allows me to enjoy my summer with open windows without hearing my neighbors screaming children playing in my driveway all day long. Therefore, I am very happy with this sound machine. It was very affordable and I would recommend it to my friends and family. Especially those with young children that wake up easily from noises."
"plugs in & easily portable - but the best part is we can leave it going all night. This is great since our babies sleep in the same room with us for now and we don't wake up for every little noise they make. All sound options are clear and sound fairly true to life. if i have any complaints, they don't affect the star rating because this is probably the best sound machine on the market. but here they are: -the volume button is the same as the power button and there aren't degrees of volume. So you reset the loudness every time you turn on the machine. It's not a big deal, but sometimes I end up having to get up to turn it down because it ended up seeming louder after I settled down. My fix is drawing a line to match the knob to the device. - the volume/power knob is hard to turn off & requires two hands- not a big deal, it's just more difficult than it should be. - volume could easily be too loud for babies, this is something any parent with common sense could adjust, but it would be nice to know what levels of volume are too much and which are ok, just for peace of mind. And that's all, it's mostly the knob that isn't my favorite."
"We had previously tried the Sleep Sheep, which is utterly adorable....but the timer was my nemesis! I couldn't figure out why my 11-month old daughter was always waking up from her naps after just 45 minutes, until I realized that her white noise timing out was at least one factor. Goodbye, Sleep Sheep...hello myBaby SoundSpa! After reading other reviews, I chose this white noise machine for my daughter based on the following: a) simple design/appearance b) multiple white noise options (we love ocean and babbling brook the best) c) the option to use batteries or plug it in d) the option to set it on a timer or not And I've been so happy with my choice...I have already recommended this white noise machine to several other new parents. It is even loud enough to buffer the sound of my senile old dog barking at nothing every evening without disturbing my daughter's sleep. One small complaint is that it does run through batteries pretty quickly - and as the batteries are dying, the volume just gets quieter and quieter. As another reviewer has suggested, it would be helpful if there were an indicator light when it was time to change the batteries. However, this really isn't that big of a deal for us as we usually just plug it in anyway. I highly recommend this product, especially for the price!"
