Skip Hop Moonlight & Melodies Soother Review (Why I Finally Bought a Sound Machine!)

My Review of the Skip Hop Moonlight Melodies Soother, a cute sound machine with lots of helpful features, including continuous play!

UPDATE: As of 9/30/17, Skip Hop has recalled this product. Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled nightlight soothers and contact Skip Hop for instructions on returning the USB wall power adapter with a prepaid shipping label and receive a free repair kit which includes a free USB wall adapter. You can contact Skip Hop at [email protected]

In the meantime, I recommend this Marpac Dohm sound machine as a safe alternative.

This post contains affiliate links.

We’ve talked before about healthy sleep habits and my approach to bedtime routines. I’ve heard that many people rely on sleep machines to help their babies and young children sleep, but I’ve always been a skeptic. Since my child slept well without a noise machine I never thought I had a good reason to purchase one. But this summer I realized we would be spending a significant chunk of time away from home, in accommodations that might be VERY noisy (as in, twenty people staying together in one house)! I did not want to spend my time away from home as the volume police. It occurred to me that a noise machine might be a practical solution that would allow my child to sleep well even in a circumstance that would be less than ideal. I bought the Skip Hop Moonlight & Melodies Nightlight Soother because it fit my criteria, which I’ll describe below.

Continuous Sound Option

I knew I wanted a sound machine that offered a continuous sound setting. I did not want to go back and forth from the room where my child was sleeping to reset the white noise every ten to twenty minutes. The Skip Hop Moonlight & Melodies Nightlight Soother has as continuous play setting. You can also choose auto-timer options for 15, 30, or 60 minutes. During our vacation, I ran the sound machine through the entire night. It helped my child sleep through Fourth of July fireworks, a loud television, lots of doors opening and shutting, and other noises that would usually disturb a sleeping baby.

 

Attractive Design

I try to find quality products with attractive design whenever possible. Yes, I even tried to find a cute sound machine! My Skip Hop Moonlight & Melodies Nightlight Soother is shaped like an adorable white and gray owl, with a light-up belly and fabric speakers that are cleverly shaped like wings. It makes an adorable addition to my modern nursery. There is another version of this product that is shaped like an elephant. Both options are very cute.

Plug In

I didn’t want a sound machine that runs on batteries. The Skip Hop Moonlight & Melodies Nightlight Soother plugs into any standard outlet. Though this limits the sound machine’s portability to some degree, I still found it ideal for our travel situation.

Easy Operation

The buttons on the back control panel are very easy to operate. It is easy to select any combination of lights and sounds that best suits your child. This cute owl plays four separate melodies and four nature sounds. My favorite setting for nighttime is star projection + waves + continuous play. From the back control panel you can also easily control the volume.

While continuous sound, attractive design, no batteries, and easy operation were my criteria, this product offers additional features as well, which I’ll describe in detail below.

Songs and Sound Settings

As I mentioned, you have several sound options to choose from. This soother plays four melodies: Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Brahms’ Lullaby, and Rock-a-bye Baby. It also plays four nature sounds: Rainforest, Jungle crickets, Waves, and White noise with a heartbeat.

Nightlight

This particular sound machine also doubles as a nightlight. My child is not afraid of the dark at this point, but I think this feature adds to the product’s longevity. The nightlight on this cute sound machine glows from the owl’s patterned belly and can be dimmed or brightened on the back control panel.

Moon & Stars Projection

A really fun additional component is the moon and stars projection on an adjustable pivot lens, which allows you to project a starry night onto any surface. My daughter likes pointing to the stars and the crescent moon. I prefer this to some of the other star projection products I’ve encountered.

This cute sound machine is definitely a multi-use product with lots of features! I do have ideas for a couple of additional features that I would love for Skip Hop to incorporate in future versions of this product in the future. Wouldn’t it be amazing if this product had a voice activation feature? Some sound machines will activate when a baby cries. This product doesn’t go quite that far. Another special feature I’d love is a temperature gauge. I can sometimes obsess about the temperature of my child’s room, and it would be great if the owl could give me a quick reading or even display the time and temp as part of the star projection feature. These are just my ideas for making a useful and effective product even more useful!

Cost

This cute sound machine retails for $40. From my research, that’s a price that’s in the middle of the range.

The Cutest Sound Machine for Babies

I never thought I’d need a noise machine, but I’m so glad I finally bought one! I recommend the Skip Hop Moonlight & Melodies Soother because it’s a sound machine that’s packed with features and it looks adorable on a shelf in any stylish nursery.

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