Made our transition a lot smoother!

Our daughter is internationally adopted and her first few nights at home were challenging to say the least. Between 15 hours jet lag and having her world completely changed, we were worried that our 9-month-old daughter would not be able to relax enough to get the rest she needed.

The gentle bubbling along with soothing lights and music attracted our daughter's attention almost immediately -- she relaxed and went to sleep within a few minutes. And when she wakes during the night, we use the remote to illuminate the crib and comfort her.

The aquarium has been a huge help in establishing sleeping times and I would strongly recommend it to any parent.

[Sunday, November 30, 2008]

It does the trick!

After transitioning my daughter from the bassinet to the crib at 10 weeks old, I needed something to sooth her. She loved her mobile that came with her bed set, but it was wind up and only played for 3 minutes. My aunt use to have one of these aquariums for my cousins 12 years ago and was delighted to find out they still made them (even though they are a little different today). She is mesmerized by it. It plays for 18 minutes and sometimes I have to hit it 2 or 3 times before she falls asleep. I don;t use the remote. I think they should get rid of the remote and make the product a little less expensive. The batteries do run out fairly quick, like every 3-4 weeks using it multiple times a day, but it is still worth the cost of replacing the batteries often. I definitely recommend this for babies who need a soother for bedtime.

[Tuesday, November 25, 2008]

Better than the Rainforest Soother!

I could not decide between the Ocean Wonders soother and the Rainforest Peekaboo Soother, so I got both in order to see which was best.

They are priced comparably, although it seems that Amazon just raised the price on the Ocean Wonders one, for some reason. It is still available at other places like Target for about the same price as the Rainforest Soother.

The Ocean Wonders Aquarium soother is what I'm sticking with, and here's why:

1. My 5 month old likes it better! The Rainforest Peekaboo soother has lights and motion, but it's not as dramatic as the bubbles that you get in the Aquarium soother. My 5 month old got tired of the Rainforest soother after a few minutes, while the Ocean Wonders soother holds her riveted. (I think it's the bubbles!)

That was, of course, the deciding factor. Other considerations that pushed me over the edge were:

2. Ocean Wonders has longer music and motion cycle than the Rainforest soother. The Ocean Wonders soother goes for 18 minutes. You can optionally turn off the motion or lights or music. Conversely, the Rainforest soother only has an 18 minute cycle if you choose "music only." It has a 12 minute cycle if you choose "music and lights" (no motion). But if you want all 3 -- music, lights, motion -- you only can get that for 6 minutes. Not sure what the folks at Fisher Price were thinking there (perhaps battery life?), but no thank you!

3. Ocean Wonders comes with a remote. So, if that 18 minute cycle is longer than you would like, just shut it off from the doorway of your infant's room.

4. Ocean Wonders has more music to choose from. There is a toggle button that allows you to choose 5 different music tracks (classical, nursery rhyme, etc) and just plan sound effects (bubbles, waves). The Rainforest soother, from what I can see, only has one choice, although it plays about 3 different tunes.

5. Ocean Wonders has a bigger start button, which makes it easier for your infant to activate on their own. My daughter has turned the aquarium on all by herself just by stretching and kicking her feet. Which is fine by me! The Rainforest button is smaller and not as prominently located on the unit.

In short, they are both fine soothers, but I think the Ocean Wonders Aquarium soother has more going for it. And my daughter thinks so too!

[Monday, November 17, 2008]

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