A bright shining friend to keep me company at night :-)

Product name: Pabobo Barbapapa Night Light

What is it?A night lamp shaped as a Barbapapa character that illuminates with a pleasant bright light that shines for up to 11 hours after it is removed from the little docking station

Why did it catch my attention?The interior architecht who helps us finding furniture and accessories for our new house mentioned to me that her daughter loves this light and we bought it on her advise

How old was my baby when I bought it?A little bit more than 7 months, but this product is relevant from the moment a baby starts enjoying to look at bright faces and/or when they get a little bit older and start getting afraid of the dark

What value does it add for us?It looks nice and I think it will be an appreciated friend for my son when he gets older if he (as many children) becomes scared of the dark

What does it replace?Other night lights and other nursery decorations

How did my baby respond to it?As with many things he seems to like he wanted to chew it. He is not yet old enough to be scared of the dark so I don’t have evidence to evaluate the comforting effect on him

How much does it cost?£35 on Amazon UK

Can I see any drawbacks?Not for the moment. It is both nice to look at, seems to work well and the docking station is both discrete and practical

The hidden treasure of the Tiny Love baby gym! :-)

Product name: The tummy time cushion from the Tiny Love Gymini Monkey Island baby gym

What is it?This is a bean-shaped cushion intended for tummy time training that has proven to be so useful that I think it deserves its own post here on the blog

Why did it catch my attention?It actually did not – this cushion just happened to be part of the package when I ‘emergency-bought’ a playmat so that my son would have some entertainment while stuck for a week far out in the Scandinavian countryside

How old was my baby when I bought it?He was 4 months, but I can see a number of ways it could have been useful for us from birth

What value does it add for us?This cushion has so far (2 days after we bought it) served as
a) Tummy time support
b) Head cushion in the buggy
c) Support for my son’s lower back during his first attempts to sit up
d) Head support to avoid a flu-ridden little boy with a blocked nose from ‘falling off’ a mattress that was slightly elevated at the head end to help him breath more easily
e) Entertainment - my son loves looking at the colourful garden pattern with two rabbits and a turtle
What does it replace?A number of different cushions that could do the same jobs as mentioned above + baby books for the purpose of entertainment

How did my baby respond to it?Very well, for all different ways it has been used so far

How much does it cost?This item is unfortunately (as far as I know) not sold independently, but has to be bought together with Tiny Love Gymini Monkey Island

Can I see any drawbacks?Using it as a head cushion or head support is only advisable once your baby’s head and neck are strong enough for it not to cause difficulties for them to breathe. The polyester material is flammable and can’t be washed in water

**ADDITIONAL USE DISCOVERED THIS XMAS**

My son has over the last few weeks started to sit up, but he is still too wobbly for most highchairs. This cushion once again proved useful for a different purpose than originally intended when his grandmother piled it up in front of him in the highchair so that he could participate in the cristmas dinner. Thanks again Tiny Love for this clever invention!

The tag is the toy!

Product name: Velour Raggy-Tag Baby Blanket (http://www.raggy-tag.com/)

What is it?A piece of cloth with 24 tags in different colours and materials along the sides made for babies who love sucking tags and labels of clothing and toys

Why did it catch my attention?I found it in a baby store in my neighbourhood here in West London and found the idea so funny that I wanted to support it

How old was my baby when I bought it?A couple of weeks, but this item is suitable from the moment a baby starts to enjoy discovering different textures and putting them in his/her mouth – sometime around 3-4 months of age

What value does it add for us?It is another thing that my son can use to discover and stimulate his senses – and the mother finds the innovation itself entertaining!  

What does it replace?Soothing cloths, sucking the tags with laundry advice on clothes, muslin squares, blankets etc.

How did my baby respond to it?He was too young when I bought it, but when he was around 3 months he started to like exploring the different materials and sucking the tags

How much does it cost?Between £15 and £20 on the Raggy-Tag webstore

Can I see any drawbacks?It is made of a material that does not breathe if a baby puts it over his/her head, so I would be careful not to give it to too young babies

Sleeping bag for babies - for the love of sleep :-)

Product name: Grobag Baby sleeping bags (www.gro.co.uk/Grobag-Baby-Sleep-Bags.html)

*WRITTEN BY GUEST AUTHOR WITH A 6 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER FROM OSLO*

What is it?A sleeping bag for babies. Keeps them from kicking of their bed spread/duvets during the night, getting cold and waking up

Why did it catch my attention?I knew babies didn’t always sleep quiet during the night. A problem is that they kick of their duvet, get cold and wake up. I needed to prevent this and was very interested in things that could help my baby to sleep

How old was my baby when I bought it?1 month old. It is wise to start early to use the bag, so that the child is used to it

What value does it add for us?A) The baby does not get cold, and wakes up unnecessary because of it
B) It is a part of the night routine to put on the bag and it shows the baby difference in day and night sleeping
C) As the baby gets older and more mobile, the bag prevents the child from getting out of bed by themselves
D) There are different “togs”, thicknesses for different seasons, you know the baby is not to hot or cold
E) There are some bags that fit in five-point harness for car seats or buggies.

What does it replace?Other bed spreads and duvets that are easily kicked off

How did my baby respond to it?She loves it!

How much does it cost?It costs £20-30 online. Definitely worth it!

Can I see any drawbacks?If you start using it to late, the baby might not like it

How we play mummy's voice for baby when she is somewhere else

Product name: Philips SBCSC150 Baby Cradle Player (www.p4c.philips.com/files/s/sbcsc150_86/sbcsc150_86_pss_eng.pdf)

What is it?A device that plays a range of soothing sounds (lullabies, heartbeat and running water) and provides the opportunity to record your own sounds to play for the baby, for example his/her mother’s voice, which can be handy when left with a babysitter. It has an adjustable rubber band that gives the flexibility to attach it to for example buggy handles, cots and other furniture

Why did it catch my attention?This was one of the many gadgets I bought during the first few weeks when I desperately looked for something that played sounds that would make my baby sleep without involving too much physical effort from the parents

How old was my baby when I bought it?A few weeks, but this product is suitable from birth

What value does it add for us?There are two features of this device that have proven to be useful for us
a) the running water sound, which has a soothing effect on our son
b) the self-recorded sound, which I have used to record myself singing his favourite lullaby in order to (i) help babysitters settling him and (ii) sometimes make life easier for his tired mother in the middle of the night when he needs some singing to fall back asleep

What does it replace?a) Other gadgets with soothing sounds
b) Phone calls home to help babysitters calm an unsettled baby by hearing his mother’s voice
c) His mother singing for real

How did my baby respond to it?He did not like the heartbeat and the lullabies, responded well to the water sound after a while and seems to be unable to distinguish my recorded voice from the real thing. Unlike other gadgets designed to help babies sleep, this one does not have a design that is especially appealing to babies – he does not find the round, plastic box interesting at all

How much does it cost?£10 on Amazon UK

Can I see any drawbacks?My impression is that this product was developed without any target group consultation, otherwise the following drawbacks would have been addressed in the product design:
a) This item is too big to fit smoothly in a carrycot or a cot and therefore has to be placed outside of where the baby is
b) There is no off-button and the shortest play interval is 2 minutes – which is super-annoying when you happen to start it by accident
c) The design of the start-button makes it extremely easy to start by accident, for example when carrying it in a changing bag or packing it in the luggage for travelling
d) It is not especially intuitive what you need to do to actually record something, and in my experience approximately ¾ of all attempts to record something result in failure (an annoying scratching noise instead of what you wanted)
e) A baby can accidentally strangle him/herself with the rubber band

Ewan the Dreamsheep makes my baby laugh!

Product name: Easidream (http://www.easidream.co.uk/)

What is it?Easidream is a hydraulic-driven, cot-sized board that can move in two directions with two different speeds. Included in the package is Ewan the Dreamsheep, a sheep that plays sleepy sounds and produces an orange light that according to the commercials replicates the light inside the womb

Why did it catch my attention?I needed something that could replicate the movements of a mother cradling her baby to make him fall asleep when lying in the bedside cot and thought this was it when I saw an ad in a magazine called Baby London

How old was my baby when I bought it?1 month, but this product can be used from birth

What value does it add for us?My baby had obviously not read the instruction booklet, because instead of falling asleep he got over-excited and started laughing at Ewan the Dreamsheep. We are using it as an entertainment system rather than a sleeping device – it keeps him happy for a long time!

What does it replace?For us: playmats and other toys meant for making babies laugh. The original purpose: parents or cradle cradling the baby + any of the many products on the market that makes soothing sounds

How did my baby respond to it?He burst out in laughter!!

How much does it cost?£250 from Easidream UK

Can I see any drawbacks?It only fits standard-size cots or moses baskets. If using it as a playmat on the floor as we do, enabling the movements makes it dangerous to the child as soon as he/she can roll over

Flexible bedside cot to make mummy's life easier while nightfeeding

Product name: Babybay Bedside Cot (www.nctshop.co.uk/Babybay-Bedside-Cot/productinfo/4361)

What is it?A cot on wheels, where one of the sides can be removed to allow you to hook the cot on to your own bed. It can also be used as a stand-alone cot

Why did it catch my attention?Before my son’s birth, I was recommended by a friend with 1 year old twins to keep him sleeping close to me for as long as he would wake up during the night to feed

How old was my baby when I bought it?I bought this before he was born and have used it since the first night he lived with us

What value does it add for us?My son sleeps in his own little cot next to me, which makes him feel safe and is very convenient for me when having to feed in the middle of the night. We sometimes add the flexible side and use it as a stand-alone cot in other rooms in our flat

What does it replace?A stand-alone cot, moses basket or baby sleeping in the parents' bed. As the ‘food-machine’ I save time and energy at night since I don’t have to get up and go to a different room to feed him

How did my baby respond to it?It took a few nights before he felt comfortable not sleeping in his mummy’s bed or on one of his parents’ chests, but once he got used to it he sleeps very well in there

How much does it cost?£250 at the NCT webshop

Can I see any drawbacks?I have not yet tried to get him used to sleeping in his own room, which I imagine must be trickier when coming from a bedsite cot than something more standalone. Some fathers will have objections to the baby sleeping in the parents’ room. The mattress size (86x46 cm) is a non-standard one, which makes it tricky to find bed linen and fit items like Easidream (see separate post)

Baby massage - an enjoyable bonding experience for baby and parent

Product name: Baby Massage (www.babymassagewithcaroline.co.uk)

What is it?Baby massage is a set of techniques for bonding with your baby, while helping him/her to relax as well as to stimulate blood circulation and digestion. It is also in some instances used as a way to moderate post-natal depression

Why did it catch my attention?The health visitors in my area sent me an invitation to a short course that they organised and I thought that it sounded like a nice thing to do together with your baby. Because the other mums from my antenatal course also wanted to try we then attended a baby massage course offered by Caroline, who is a qualified baby massage instructor living in our area in West London

How old was my baby when I bought it?He was 2 months when I started, but baby massage is normally recommended from 6-8 weeks, or after the baby has had the first set of immunization (UK rules, conscious the vaccination schemes differ from country to country). For premature babies, baby massage is often done while in hospital in order to stimulate their development and growth

What value does it add for us?We have made some of the relaxing exercises part of the bedtime routine, which has proven to be an efficient way to help my son fall asleep peacefully. With only 2 datapoints it also seems like the anti-congestion exercises are very efficient for my baby! ;-)

What does it replace?It is a complement to other cosy activities that you and your baby can do together and that provide any of the four key benefits of baby massage (a) relaxation (baby and parent), (b) relief (from symptoms like constipation, teething pain and colic), (c) stimulation (of circulation, digestion, muscle development, growth and weight gain) and (d) social interaction

How did my baby respond to it?He seems to enjoy it. I have noticed that most babies in our class often seem to get hungry immediately after the session and then have a good, relaxing sleep afterwards – similar to what tends to happen after a baby swimming session

How much does it cost?Our course instructor offers courses for £55 for five sessions + an extra session for the fathers, or other caregiver who has not had the opportunity to participate during the main course. She does 10% discounts for groups of more than 3 families

Can I see any drawbacks?You need to know your baby well and to be good at reading his/her mood to make sure that the timing of the baby massage session is favorable for him/her, otherwise it can turn out to be a stressful experience for both of you

CCTV for babies

Product name: Luvion Platinum Digital Video Baby Monitor (www.luvion.nl)

What is it?A baby monitor with video that allows the parents or babysitter to follow baby’s activities (colour picture and sound) from a different room. It has automatic night vision (similar functionality as ‘night vision helmets’ used by the military) which allows the parents to have clear visibility of the baby without disturbing him with any light. There is an option that allows the monitor to be connected to a TV screen, but we have not yet tried this out

Why did it catch my attention?Both me and my husband are geeks who use videoconferencing for both business and private purposes – of course our baby has to have a video monitor!

How old was my baby when I bought it?This was the first baby item my husband bought, several months before our son was born…

What value does it add for us?The value of video compared to sound-only baby monitors is that we save several trips into the baby’s bedroom to check whether he is awake or only crying in his sleep. I find the picture quality to be very good and reliable, even in our flat that is full of gadgets transmitting signals at frequencies that could potentially interfere with the video signals. The first time he slept overnight alone with his grandparents my son had double protection with his grandmother sleeping in the same room and granddad monitoring him by video from another bedroom!! ;-)

What does it replace?Sound-only baby monitors or the good old method of taking regular trips to the baby’s room to check that everything is OK

How did my baby respond to it?He is not disturbed by it

How much does it cost?In the UK it trades for around £150-200 depending on store

Can I see any drawbacks?There are two
(a) with a very social baby who easily feels lonely, it would have been great to have a return channel to be able to talk to him from a different room to reassure him that mummy is close. I am being told that Motorola’s video monitor has this functionality
(b) unlike traditional sound-only monitors, the baby-end is dependent on being plugged into an electric socket, which limits the use to places with electricity and makes it impossible to use outdoors – a recent example where a more flexible product would have been great was when we recently went on holiday to Spain and stayed in the sun by the pool while our little one was sleeping in his buggy in the shadow 30 meters away from us – too far to keep an eye on him without having to walk over once in a while. I know that it is unthinkable in many countries, but my Scandinavian friends often let the little ones sleep in their buggy outside on the pavement with the monitor on while having a coffee in a coffee shop too noisy for a baby to sleep

A soft music box made of plush

Product name: Trullala Spieluhr Blume (http://www.trullala.com/)

What is it?A flower-shaped music box made of plush, which plays a famous lullaby when you pull the little ladybird on the top

Why did it catch my attention?After my son once kicked the Fisher Price star so hard in his sleep that it fell down on him, I started looking for something that would play soothing sounds but that would be soft enough not to hurt him if it accidentally fell over him. In a very small store far out in the countryside in Sweden, I found this toy from a German producer owned by Egmont, which seems to have theater and masquerade accessories as their main line of business

How old was my baby when I bought it?2,5 months, but this product is suitable from birth

What value does it add for us? It is a toy that plays nice, soothing music for my son without risking that he will hurt himself with it. He loves staring at the clear colours of the flower itself, so it also fills the function of a cot or buggy mobile. It’s size and shape makes it easy to bring along in a purse or a changing bag

What does it replace?Harder music boxes and any toys with bright colours and clear contrasts that are designed for hanging above the baby’s head to look at in a cot or a buggy

How did my baby respond to it?My son seems to find the sound soothing, although it does not make him fall asleep instantly like Babies Go ABBA and the green sound of the Fisher Price star. He loves staring at the clear colours and has this week started to learn how to start the music by pulling the ladybird on the top of the flower

How much does it cost?We paid a, probably overpriced, SEK 300 (~£25) in the small, cute store in Sweden

Can I see any drawbacks?None that I can think of

Lovely ABBA lullabies for babies

Product name: Babies Go ABBA (www.babiesgo.com/)

What is it?A CD with famous ABBA songs remade into instrumental lullabies for children

Why did it catch my attention?I love ABBA and needed some lullabies other than his mother’s singing that could get my baby to sleep, to get the mother some relief during the first few intense weeks

How old was my baby when I bought it?3 weeks, but I wish I would have had it earlier

What value does it add for us?My baby falls asleep within seconds when listening to these lullabies and I find them relaxing as well. As a big ABBA fan I have a subtle way of encouraging my son to be interested in music I like ;-)

What does it replace?Mummy’s singing and the green sound on the Fisher Price star

How did my baby respond to it?Fell asleep within seconds

How much does it cost?$17 on the Babies Go website, also available on Amazon and in many baby stores

Can I see any drawbacks?Some ABBA lovers might feel that making their music into lullabies is to destroy the real thing…

Soother and entertainment system in one!

Product name: Miracles and Miletones Select-a-Show Soother  (www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000EUMONM/ref=oss_product)

What is it?A star-shaped music box that plays either lullabies or nature sounds, while projecting a lightshow on the ceiling or a wall (the angle can be adjusted by tilting the star). You can choose to play sound only, sound + lightshow or only lightshow

Why did it catch my attention?We had previously tried 3 different gadgets designed for making babies sleep, but they either stressed him or made him laugh. The only thing that had some of the desired outcome was a devise that played sounds of flowing water (Philips Sweet Dreams Baby Cradle Player) – but that devise was not especially pretty for the baby to look at. I thought the combination of nature sounds and a bright-coloured figure would be great – bingo!

How old was my baby when I bought it?1,5 months

What value does it add for us?He falls asleep in a few seconds, even when we are on holiday or staying over at friends (since it is a familiar item that seems to make him feel safe) – and when awake he finds the bright-coloured star with the smiling face provides entertainment. It has a robust plastic handle on the top that makes it easy to hang, for example on the buggy

What does it replace?Anything designed for making a baby fall asleep

How did my baby respond to it?The ‘green’ nature sound makes him fall asleep within seconds. We have been less fortunate with the ‘pink’ and the ‘blue’ sound. The lightshow seemed to leave him indifferent, but his mother find it nice to look at. He finds the star with the smiling face very entertaining when awake – has a similar effect as black & white shapes

How much does it cost?£25 on Amazon

Can I see any drawbacks?Looking at the Fisher-Price website it seems like this soother is no longer part of their product range (but it is still in stock in several webstores + eBay). When we used it in our friend's house he spent some time looking around to check what windows/doors they had left open as he thought the sound came from the garden! ;-)