Babymoov Dreamy Projection Nightlight and Sleep Trainer

The Babymoov Dreamy Projection Nightlight and Sleep Trainer doubles as both a toddler nightlight and sleep aid. It teaches children when they are supposed to be asleep, which is indicated by a blue light, and when it is time to get up, indicated by a yellow light. Times can be programmed by parents and there is a lock function to prevent your little one from altering it. This is definitely very helpful if you are considering sleep training and it will help toddlers understand when they are supposed to be in bed. It might prevent those middle of the night wake up calls asking, "is it morning yet?" and help encourage your toddler to sleep in their own bed.

Obviously if your little one wakes up during the night it will be dark, and for a lot of children that can be frightening. The Babymoov Dreamy Projection Nightlight and Sleep Trainer also acts a nightlight so your little one will not wake up afraid and there is a continuous mode to ensure the nightlight doesn't turn off. If your child only needs the light on while going to sleep and not throughout the night, there is a timer setting and the nightlight will turn off after thirty minutes, hopefully just long enough for your little one to settle down to sleep.

There are lots of sleep aids and nightlights on the market and this comes in at the top end of the price range along with products such as Ewan The Dream Sheep, while Tommee Tippee's Ollie the Owl comes in slightly cheaper. Other products such as Tommee Tippee's Groclock, is a bit less, and also offers sleep training and a night light, but not the lullaby and projector functions.

The Babymoov Dreamy Projection Nightlight and Sleep Trainer does offer a full package of features with not only the sleep training and nightlight functions, but also calming star projections and six lullabies, plus white noise, to help baby drift off to sleep.

Who tested the Babymoov Dreamy Projection Nightlight and Sleep Trainer ?

We took many customer reviews into consideration when giving an overview of the Babymoov Dreamy Baby Sleep Trainer and Nightlight. Each reviewer featured is a verified customer and has tried out this product for themselves.

Who is the Babymoov Dreamy Projection Nightlight and Sleep Trainer for?

The product works well for both babies and toddlers. For babies, it provides a calming environment with gentle music and either a starry projection or steady light. It does have a white noisefunction which is often more popular with babies, than lullabies, but once babies are familiar with the lullabies and associate them with sleep, they should help to signal it is bedtime as well and start to develop a sleep routine.

For toddlers, not only does it help to guide them into a bedtime routine but it should give them independence too. They will be able to tell by looking at the product if it is time to get up if there is a yellow light, or whether they should stay in bed when the light is blue. They can also choose to listen to lullabies, which could be helpful as they transition to falling asleep on their own. Plus, the addition of a nightlight, which can be set on a timer for thirty minutes, or set to continuous, provides a nervous toddler with some reassurance in the dark.

Of course parents benefit from this product too. Parents can set the times for the sleep routine indicator lights which means (hopefully!) you might get a lie in if your little one adheres to staying in bed when the light is blue. There is also a smart lock function which means once you have set the time, your toddler can't change it.

The Babymoov Dreamy Projection Nightlight and Sleep Trainer design

It is simple in comparison to some of the baby sleep toys which are soft and snuggly as well as being functional. However, its simplicity is quite attractive and it would look lovely in many different styles of nursery, from brightly coloured rainbow themed nurseries, to something more minimalist. With a plain white case and a scattering of space-themed shapes it is suitable for both boys and girls, as well as babies and older toddlers. In addition it features a textile handle which can be folded up and makes it more portable, which is great if you are staying at a friend or family member's house overnight and your little one can't sleep without it.

One reviewer said: "A really nice design with a little carry handle for hanging or transport. I like it and think it's super cute."

Another reviewer agreed: "This is a sweet little unit that will go nicely in our baby room and suit our space/starry decor perfectly."

Reviewer, Elle, added: "Appearance wise it looks great and it's smart for any baby room or to blend in the adult room if co-sleeping.."

Another user said: "It is a great size, and it can also be easily moved around because of this. It also has a handle on top which is good, but it would be completely fine without since it doesn't really do anything."

How well does the Babymoov Dreamy Projection Nightlight and Sleep Trainer work?

All parents know that sleep is not easy with little ones. Whether they are newborn, older babies or toddlers, there will always be something which prevents, disrupts or challenges sleep and it helps when we understand how babies sleepand lower our expectations of what constitutes a full night's sleep. There is never going to be complete fix, babies are just little after all and they need constant comfort and reassurance, but sleep aids can help to provide some assistance. The Babymoov Dreamy Projection Nightlight and Sleep Trainer is definitely a great product for setting a calming, sleep-inducing atmosphere and it is especially good for older babies and toddlers who are a ready for more routine.

One reviewer, Ben, had mixed thoughts and said: "The product worked great the first two weeks and my daughter loves it. However, the night light does not last all night or on the preset for 12 hours although we charge it all day long. My daughter will wake up screaming that her light and sound went off resulting in not a great nights sleep for either of us!"

Laura also agreed it had pros and cons: "This is a great idea, but doesn't work as well as expected. I like that it charges via USB, this makes things easy. I like the different settings and that you can lock it so the kid doesn't change them. The bad things though - the projection isn't all that. When it's not totally dark its quite fuzzy and faint. Won't be much good in the summer time! For now though, it's plenty dark enough. You need to position it well to get the best out of it. The baby seems to enjoy it."

Another reviewer added: "Love the lights and noises this makes, and so did my niece when she stayed with us. Also love that this is rechargeable, however we found the charge doesn't last that long and on longer winter nights that could be a problem, especially as it can't be used when plugged in to charge. We also found the buttons fiddly to use, even with my small fingers, so it made choosing options and making changes difficult. Maybe overcomplicated for what it is and does."

How easy is the Babymoov Dreamy Projection Nightlight and Sleep Trainer to use?

There is nothing worse than complicated baby products with lots of instructions when you are already sleep deprived or constantly rocking a grouchy baby. Things are not always simpler with an impatient toddler who wants everything set up immediately and you are left struggling to cope with their disappointment when they have to wait for you to read the instructions. The Babymoov Dreamy Projection Nightlight and Sleep Trainer should be simple to use, with just four buttons and a touch screen. It does have lots of functions including two timers and a sleep routine setting so it might take a bit of practice to use it.

Adewale, a reviewer, said: "It has different buttons for each functionality.  One of the buttons right beside the lamp is used for starting different colours of the light, it has a button that is referred to as lullabies button which is used to select the  sound modes of your choice. Another button is the volume button that is used to adjust the volume of the sounds.  The other button is the educational button which is helpful to train when to sleep and wake up. This helps as the children learn the difference between day and night."

Another reviewer spotted difficulties: "I found it a bit confusing working out how to get it out the packaging. Instructions weren’t helpful on this and mentioned it included batteries that couldn’t be replaced. After a few minutes trying to turn it on I figured it didn’t work, only to then spot in the instructions it said a usb cable is included in the box! I then managed to find it hidden in the base part of the packaging. I plugged it in to then spot at the bottom of the instructions it said it needed charging for 4 hours - not a good start! Once I had it fully charged I tried it out. The plastic on the back is shaped into indented “buttons”, they don’t push in and out and were a bit temperamental/ frustrating. After trying it out the main positive for me on this is the music, it includes a few lullabies and also some white noise effects which is ideal for newborns and young children. It has randomly started playing a few times when I’ve not been holding it though, I’m not sure if this is a cry sensor that turns on automatically or not, I’m still working it out."

One parent, Adam, said: "Ironically it is child safe so children can't interfere with the settings which is great but it's also adult proof. The buttons themselves are very hit and miss, they work sometimes and sometimes you have to persevere. Other than the temperamental buttons I can't fault it, really does do what it says, encourages children to fall asleep in their beds by themselves . It is light weight so can easily be moved around and packed up if going away over night."

Another user, Mike, added: "The overall construction quality is good, to activate or deactivate the starry sky, the upper part of the object must be rotated, which physically closes the two plastic shells, limiting the light output. On the lower part, on the other hand, the light is scattered in a ring thanks to the use of a satin plastic that allows light to pass through without bother. On the back, on the other hand, we find the four keys that activate the operating modes. It can be hung thanks to the cord found on the top of the Dreamy."

Reviewer, Elaine, said: "The buttons on this nightlight are very awkward to press. It’s also difficult to set it to the setting that you want as you have to cycle through other sounds/light colours to get to what you want.
Sometimes the light seems to get stuck on for hours- not sure if that’s my mistake or a glitch in the light.
The sounds-specially the rain is nice, and the light projection is ok- could be clearer.
We’ve still used this light quite a lot despite it being awkward."

Our Final verdict

This product is at the upper end of the scale when it comes to price and so, understandably, reviewers had high expectations. It is does have a lot of functions and the concept of both a sleep trainer and a nightlight, that is suitable for both babies and toddlers, is a great one.

Reviewers liked the music and light function, although a couple said the lights were slightly blurry and the music was a bit tinny. However, the majority said their children really enjoyed both these functions and overall they were pleased with how they worked. Most popular was the sleep training function which lets toddlers start to understand when it is day and night and encourages them to sleep in their own bed at night, when the sleep trainer shows a blue light. While this was easy to set up, there were some problems with the buttons not being very easy to press and a little awkward.

The nightlight function was a popular reason for purchasing this product, however, while it states it will stay on for twelve hours in continuous mode that does not always seem to be the case. One reviewer said this caused problems with her daughter getting upset when she woke up and her light was not on. The problem seems to stem from the lack of battery power. The Babymoov Dreamy Projection Nightlight and Sleep Trainer is rechargeable using a USB, however, it doesn't hold power for a long time and unfortunately it can't be plugged in while in use.

Ultimately, this is a convenient, portable sleep aid, which also has a stylish unisex design with many great functions. Parents were pleased with many aspects of the product but there were also a few niggles which means we will give three and a half stars overall.

How does the Babymoov Dreamy Projection Nightlight and Sleep Trainer compare to rival products?

Compared to similar priced products there seems to be more frustration with some of the functions of the Babymoov Dreamy Projection Nightlight and Sleep Trainer, than with other products. That said, it is popular because of its sleek, minimalist design, whereas many of its rivals are designed as soft toys or animals.

However, products that also offer sleep training and are made of harder materials rather than being baby sleep toys, do not include the lullabies and white noise function because they are aimed at older children. The Babymoov Dreamy Projection Nightlight and Sleep Trainer offers both the appeal of noise and music for babies combined with the sleep training function for toddlers, but with a simpler design and at a similar price.

Frequently asked Questions:

• Does a nightlight help sleep training?

While nightlights are not necessary for your baby or toddler to sleep, they can act as a reassurance if they find the dark frightening. With a timer function, nightlights can be used to ease your little one into sleep and then they can turn off after a certain time period. It is probably better for babies to sleep in the dark because it promotes melatonin production in their bodies but we also know they are just little and a comforting nightlight won't do them any harm.

• What is the best sound to put babies to sleep?

White noise is usually the most popular choice for helping babies to fall asleep. It can block out other noises and it normally calms them, as well as imitating the sound of being in the womb. For older babies there is no distraction from words or melodies so they won't start singing along, or dancing, when they are supposed to be settling to sleep.

• Can you play lullabies all night?

Lullabies are a great way to lull your little one to sleep. With their relaxing melodies, they do help rock a baby (and sometimes adults!) into dreamland. However, once baby is asleep it is probably best to turn them off, or set them on a timer. The words and melodies can be distracting after a while. Besides, if baby wakes up unsettled you can always pop the lullabies on again and soothe them back to sleep.

Laura Healy is a Commercial Content Writer for Mother&Baby. She is a mum-of-two girls and loves writing about all things parenting. She has a PhD in Creative Writing and enjoys reading and attending literary festivals, as well as writing fiction.