We got this for our kid when he was about two or three months old and have used it fairly steadily since (he's just over seven months now). In general terms, it does a pretty good job of soothing him and, after countless kicks of varying magnitude, it seems to be holding up well. It's hardly a perfect product, however, and some things would likely have me reconsidering whether I'd buy it again.
Good stuff:
* Music is tolerable, though quickly redundant (it didn't take my wife or me long to be able to hum along with the playlist of classical snippets).
* The 'underwater' lighting effect is pretty cool.
* Wind-down of light and sounds is gentle and well done.
* Star button is easy for baby to smack to turn on the fun.
* Crib light function is helpful.
OK stuff:
* The remote has its own agenda and doesn't always work. When it does, it's a good thing to have. When it doesn't, it's frustrating. Partly due to what seems to be a sort of 'standby' mode (more on that below).
* Volume difference between the high and low settings on music seems more pronounced than on ocean noise.
* Speaking of which, music on loud can be pretty loud. Good if you're trying to get a screaming baby's attention, but not so great for other applications.
* The sea creatures' movements are really limited, like watching a few seconds' footage of lumbering animals on an endless loop. I find it boring, but I've had nearly forty years worth of life experience to compare it to, so maybe I'm a harsher critic than my often-engrossed kid is. Once he's seen "The Wire" and "Arrested Development," I'm sure this will hold less interest for him.
Weird stuff:
* If you're in either of the lights, action & sound modes, hitting the star gets things going. If you're in either of the sound-only modes and it's been a while since the thing was on, there seems to be some kind of standby mode & hitting the star does nothing. If you're just trying to give your baby some soothing sounds, you have to flip back to a light and action mode to jump start the unit, then quickly flip back to just noise. Apart from the possible burst of light you didn't need, the clicking sounds may prove disturbing to some babies.
* Remote has similar issues: If the aquarium wasn't recently on, the remote isn't going to start it back up, meaning you have to go hit the star on the unit. So much for being covert. It really only makes the remote useful for extended, repeated plays.
Bad and annoying stuff:
* As many others have mentioned, battery life kind of sucks. Buy your Cs in bulk and know where to dispose of them properly. Better yet, get at least eight rechargeables and always have a set ready, because...
* The 'low battery' light is a joke. It's a 'no battery' light. Imagine your car's 'fuel warning' light only coming on after you've used up every ounce of gas in your tank. That's this thing. No warning, just an instantly dead machine and a handy red light reminding you it's dead. Rest assured, cruel laws of thermodynamics beyond human comprehension will ensure that this only happens at 4 a.m., when your child is most agitated and only a Baby Einstein Sea Dreams Soother will calm them.
* Oh, did I mention changing the batteries means pulling it off the crib, taking off the mount, then using a screwdriver to undo the back? Keep a Phillips head and spare batteries nearby. By the second or third month of having this, you should be able to attack this thing like a NASCAR pit crew to get it back up and running in under two minutes. Still, your newly-acquired skills will not excuse a zero-warning shutdown in the middle of the night.
* Lastly, depending on the height of the mattress in your crib or the angle of the mount, it's entirely possible to have pretty bright LEDs beaming right into the kid's eyes as you're trying to get them to sleep. I'm no baby scientist, but that seems counterproductive, unless the idea is to make them squint into submission. Whatever the case, it seems like a 1/1000th of cent plastic flange could've solved that.
I guess the fact I wrote so much about this says either that I do like it or that I want to like it more than I do (or that I need to better address my self-editing). The stuff it does well pleases me greatly, whereas the complaints aren't quite enough to make me send the thing to an early retirement.
Overall assessment then seems to be: It's better than decent, but know what you're getting into.
I've heard great things about this aquarium and I'm excited to give it a try. My biggest complaint so far is that it doesn't fit onto the railing of our crib. Our crib is a pretty standard size (made by Pali) so I'm very frustrated and disappointed to see that it doesn't fit. We still want to give it a try as our baby really seems to like it so we're going to find a way to make it work. My sisterand brother-in-law had the same problem with it and their crib. Another few inches of strap and this would fit perfectly. It's a HUGE oversight on the part of Baby Einstein!
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I ordered this about a month ago when my son was 7 months. So far we use it most nights & he hast gotten tired of it yet. He enjoys turning it on & off himself by pushing the star . My only issues with the soother are that 1) it's kind of loud for a soother, even on the lowest setting, 2) it does run those batteries down pretty quickly, and 3) the price, it seems a little bit expensive to me. Still, a nice product that engages, settles & pleases my little guy, so 4 stars!
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We love this aquarium. It is super cute and plays really good classical music or ocean sounds. My daughter can't see the aquarium yet (she is only one month old) but she listens to the music. It is very soothing. The ocean scene with bubbles looks like real water and all the animals move back and forth. Great product and definitely worth the money, especially compared to the other soothers on the market!
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My grandson was not napping well until we put this on his crib. I use only the ocean sound and turn on a fan in the hallway for more "white" noise--and, it works. As a side note, he has one at home and will turn it on and off himself.
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Quality is better than I anticipated, but have had only for 1 month and haven't put it through the wash yet. The fabric is substantial and soft. It's been added to our dress-up bin and my daughter (and her friends) have enjoyed dramatic play with it. The fit is decent, we bought the small for my fairly averaged sized 4 1/2-year-old. Overall pretty happy with the purchase.
