Mamma Lullaby Night Light by Chicco

Why have a variety of toys attached to your baby's crib or cot when you can have one that pretty much does all you would need? That was my thinking when I purchased the Mumma Lullaby Night Light. I saw it described on one website as a feature packed cot panel and that seems a pretty apt description because this product delivers a lot in one unit.

It would be hard to pinpoint what the main element of the unit is, such is the variety of features packed into it, but I guess at its heart is its ability to project a multi-coloured light show, the central dome moving through a spectrum of soothing colours, to the gentle sounds of either classical or new age melodies or sounds of nature (birds twittering, for example).

This coloured lightshow can also be triggered by baby playing with the two activities built into the unit. A green lever when pulled down makes a yellow wheel spin and this in turn makes a 'boing' noise which triggers the dome to light up .Each time the lever goes down a different colour is activated so baby's attention doesn't dwindle. At this stage Lily isn't able to move this lever herself so mummy or daddy do it for her. Give her a while though and I'm sure she'll have fun with this element. Then there's the smiley face part of the toy which spins round and rattles and again triggers the unit to light up. Like the green lever, spinning this activates a fun sound. Lily certainly knows how this feature works and even when the sound is turned off will occupy herself by spinning the wheel round. There is also a little mirror for Lily to admire herself in!!

For me, one of the best features of the unit is its ability to allow Mum or Dad to record their own voice (singing a lullaby, saying comforting words etc) which can be played to comfort baby when it is crying or equally help baby drop off to sleep. The great thing is that this (as well as the built in tunes) can be manually operated or sound activated thanks to a built in sensor. When it picks up sound, namely baby stirring, the unit is activated. While Lily sleeps in with us we are naturally not using the sensor activated function – it would turn itself on whenever we made a noise too (and that's no good when you have a hubbie who snores!!)

Mamma Lullaby can also be used as a simple nightlight. You can choose between one constant colour or let the unit change through soft multi-coloured lights.

The great thing about this product is that I can see Lily getting use out of it now and in the future, unlike some of her toys which she will inevitably outgrow. All in all, a fab little product.