https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 02 Jun 2026 03:10:38 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2550407 Tue, 17 May 2016 11:56:26 +0000 Mama Bird 2550407@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lamariniere: yeah, that's tough! But I'm not losing hope yet :happy: </p> <p>@gingerbebe: @hellobeeboston: my son has a similar lovey! It's a fuzzy little pillow and I gave it to him to sleep on, and then he got attached to it and it helps him wind down. But I got DD a pillow shaped plush toy, and she mostly ignores it...</p> <p>But, I gave her this light up crab rattle yesterday night, and she actually played with it for a while. She didn't fall asleep, but it seemed to distract her from being mad about going in the crib. I hope I'm on the right track! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2550044 Tue, 17 May 2016 05:34:18 +0000 hellobeeboston 2550044@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My 7 month old is loving his A&amp;A lovey blankie thing. It's a small square of muslin with a satin edge, when he wakes up in his crib he will fuss till he finds it then falls back asleep! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2550040 Tue, 17 May 2016 05:10:11 +0000 gingerbebe 2550040@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My son has always been easily overstimulated so we treat his room like a decompression chamber. Pitch dark, white noise machine and humidifier, and nothing that lights up or whatever. So basically none of the soothing toys or mobiles. He learned to self soothe with a lovey that he ignored until he started teething, at which point he started gnawing on a corner. He eventually got into a habit of chewing on a corner of lovey before falling asleep. Then as he got older (around a year) we added a stuffed animal-like pillow and matching blanket plus a stuffed animal in each corner of the crib, mostly to provide some extra warmth and padding because he was going through a head banging for fun phase in the fall, but also because he could babble at them or throw them around for a few minutes if he woke up early. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2550027 Tue, 17 May 2016 02:20:44 +0000 lamariniere 2550027@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No toys ever worked for us for self-soothing, not even lovies. Some kids just don't like them. :bummed: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2549983 Mon, 16 May 2016 20:40:39 +0000 Mama Bird 2549983@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@macintosh: wow, he did well! A lot of kids sleep so bad away from home! Hmm, I do wonder if DD would sleep better if she was in a different room, but she has a lot going on so that move will have to wait :bummed: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2549976 Mon, 16 May 2016 20:26:33 +0000 Mama Bird 2549976@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@travellingbee: oh, that's an interesting idea too! Thanks! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2549955 Mon, 16 May 2016 19:44:58 +0000 macintosh 2549955@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mama Bird: I just saw that you said the crib is next to your bed. Honestly at 9 months my DS was too distracted to sleep in the same room as me. That's the age he started putting himself to sleep and STTN in his own room. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2549953 Mon, 16 May 2016 19:42:29 +0000 macintosh 2549953@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mama Bird: My LO uses white noise, his elephant wubbanub, and a fuzzy crocheted blanket. He will rub the wubbanub and/or blanket on his face. In fact, we just went out of town and I forgot the PNP sheet. I tucked a fleece blanket around the PNP mattress and he slept like a log, on his belly with his face against the blanket.</p> <p>@wrkbrk: I may get one of those! I don't use it that often, but the projector on my homedics soother seems to be dying. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2549861 Mon, 16 May 2016 15:40:03 +0000 travellingbee 2549861@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ours became very attached to the aquarium you that attaches to the crib. He could sit up and hit the button to turn it on. It plays music and lights up and looks like a fish tank. He watched it like a tv. He still has it on his bed at 3. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2549814 Mon, 16 May 2016 14:48:21 +0000 Mama Bird 2549814@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LBee: hahaha a part of home decor? That sounds hilarious! Kids choose such inappropriate toys sometimes.</p> <p>@pwnstar: I don't use white noise, but get crib is next to my bed and my shushing didn't calm her at all.</p> <p>@LBee: @pwnstar: @GoGoSnoGirl: @avivoca: @twodoghouse: @wrkbrk: @winniebee: @snowjewelz: @erinbaderin: @KT326: Thanks everyone! I love your suggestions, especially the seahorse. I think I saw one at a store months ago, but couldn't remember what it was. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2549780 Mon, 16 May 2016 14:08:04 +0000 KT326 2549780@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@wrkbrk: We have an older version of this turtle and my DS loves it! </p> <p>We got it as a gift when he turned one, and he still uses it every night at 4 years old! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2549716 Mon, 16 May 2016 12:45:38 +0000 erinbaderin 2549716@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have the seahorse and my son doesn't care about it at all, so it's not 100% magic. He's more of a fidgeter, though - his lovely is my ring finger with my wedding ring. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2549712 Mon, 16 May 2016 12:36:54 +0000 snowjewelz 2549712@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Anything with lights/noise was too much for DD but she really took to her lovey. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2549695 Mon, 16 May 2016 12:10:14 +0000 winniebee 2549695@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Not exactly a toy, but both of my boys love angel dear blankets (the ones with the animal head). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2549689 Mon, 16 May 2016 12:02:38 +0000 wrkbrk 2549689@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes. Either that or we got lucky and I *think* it's because of the toy. We have the twilight turtle and I recommend it to every new parent and often buy it for a shower gift bc DS loves it so much. They make tons of different cute animals that do the same thing!</p> <p><a href="http://cloudb.com/US/sight/twilight-turtle-classic-mocha" rel="nofollow">http://cloudb.com/US/sight/twilight-turtle-classic-mocha</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2549688 Mon, 16 May 2016 11:59:53 +0000 twodoghouse 2549688@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@pwnstar: @LBee: That seahorse contains some sort of witchcraft, I swear. My kids were really bad sleepers until the last couple months, and that seahorse is the only way DS goes to sleep on his own. We even used them in the car recently when we wanted them to nap (and they haven't taken reliable car naps in a long time) - worked like magic! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2549683 Mon, 16 May 2016 11:56:27 +0000 avivoca 2549683@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>H still loves her Wubbanub at 2.5. I took the paci off (will make it easier to break that habit I hope), but Owl Wo is her buddy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2549677 Mon, 16 May 2016 11:51:00 +0000 GoGoSnoGirl 2549677@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have a soother bear with a light up tummy. DD likes it ok, but hasn't taken to it as a sleep cue, unfortunately. However, I haven't been really consistent with trying any one soother &amp; instead we usually pace her room for a few minutes with me rocking her, &amp; lullabies playing, for nap time &amp; DH sings to her bouncing on an exercise ball at night. I think it would be worth trying one--seems like your LO might really like this kind of soother. Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2549671 Mon, 16 May 2016 11:46:03 +0000 pwnstar 2549671@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LBee: We have a seahorse (FP Ocean Wonders Soothe and Glow Seahorse) for LO, and even now at 3.5, she absolutely loves it (we take it with us on every single trip). I can hear her stir some nights, and she will turn on her "sea pony" and put herself back to sleep. </p> <p>@Mama Bird: Do you use white noise? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2549668 Mon, 16 May 2016 11:41:47 +0000 LBee 2549668@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think it's the same basic concept, so I don't see why it wouldn't work. </p> <p>My son did a similar thing. He fell in love with a part of our home decor and decided to make it his lovey. We would have just let him run with it, but it had tons of choking hazards. We ordered something similar (but for children) and replaced it. He hasn't skipped a beat and he uses it for soothing. </p> <p>I know a lot of people swear by those singing seahorses. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-soothing-toys-work#post-2549586 Mon, 16 May 2016 10:22:24 +0000 Mama Bird 2549586@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm still trying to teach DD to fall asleep in her crib. She's nine months and she is really good at falling asleep with the right cues, but I'm failing miserably to control what those cues are. I accidentally taught her to fall asleep in minutes if she's in a stroller dressed to go out, and sometimes she'll nap very well in her car seat, but everything I've tried with the crib has been a fail. Mobiles don't work, soft toys don't work, blankies don't work. The most progress I've made is that she doesn't freak out when put in the crib awake - she just plays around for a few minutes, then gets mad and starts yelling until I get her out and nurse her. This is turning into an out of control thing that I can't take much longer.</p> <p>I'm really hoping to create a new habit for her that doesn't involve all that comfort sucking. A couple of nights ago I gave her a light up toy in desperation, and she cried a little, then hugged it and went to sleep, and woke up in her own bed for the first time in months. It was heavenly... but when I tried the same thing the next two nights, she just yelled at the toy, threw it across the crib, and carried on as usual.</p> <p>Now that toy is kind of loud and not meant for soothing... I only grabbed it because it lights up. I'm wondering whether to get a proper light up soothing toy, but I'd hate to do that if it doesn't help, because we're already drowning in toys. </p> <p>If you've tried those, do they really help your baby calm down and go to sleep? </p>