THE HATCH BABY REST - my honest review as a sleep consultant
***this is not a sponsored post***
I’ve heard about the Hatch Baby Rest from many parents while working as a sleep consultant, but I never really needed anything like that for my own son…until he started waking early (5:30-6am) once we transitioned him to a big bed.
I was dreading the day that we’d have to switch him out of the crib. It felt so easy. He was contained, content, and I didn’t worry. That was until he started scaling the crib WITH his sleep sack on and managing to get himself out at any given opportunity. After 2 weeks of climbing, my husband and I made the mutual decision to transition him out of the crib into a bigger bed! He was 2 years and 11 months old. I highly recommend waiting to do this transition until your baby is as close to 3 as possible.
I knew I needed a toddler clock to help signal that morning was here, instead of just allowing my son to wake whenever he felt like it. I researched a few different clocks (Gro-Clock, LittleHippo Mella, & the Hatch), but finally settled on the Hatch Baby Rest.
I didn’t like that the Gro-Clock glowed blue all night long. Blue isn’t a colour that helps that production of melatonin. In fact, it can actually inhibit the production of melatonin. So that was a hard no for me.
The LittleHippo Mella seemed like a great option, but lots of the reviews I had read said that the noise portion of the sound machine/toddler light combo was terrible. Hard to listen to and very annoying.
The Hatch Baby Rest hardly had any complaints, so I went with that one to try it out! Although it was the most expensive toddler clock out of the 3, ringing in at $99 on Amazon.
BUT after having used it for 2 weeks straight, I wanted to give you my open and honest opinion about the Hatch Baby Rest and whether or not I would recommend it to my family, friends, and clients. I care about you guys, I really do.
Pros:
There are 11 different sound options. My top 3 favourites being the Ocean, the Birds, and the Rain. I also love that there is an option for no noise - so beneficial for quiet time or if you use a different noise machine at night time.
There are 10 programmed colours that can show on the Toddler clock, BUT there is also a “custom” button where you can drag your finger around and choose any colour!
The App is VERY user friendly. There are tabs to make schedules, choose favourites, timers, and just to turn on your Hatch immediately. I love being able to control it from my phone. That feels SO handy to me. My husband can even download the app and connect to our son’s Hatch so we both have access.
I love the ‘programs’ section. This allows you to set schedules for your child that you won’t even have to think about again. The 2 current programs we use are the nightly one from 7pm-7am. I have it set for “ocean waves” and no light. The second program I use is one to signify morning time. It runs for 5 minutes starting at 7:00am. It changes the noise from waves to birds and a blue light comes on. My son LOVES hearing the ‘birds’ and he knows that when he hears the birds, he is allowed to come into our room and come get us for the morning.
The toddler lock! Once you set a program, there is an option to set a ‘toddler lock’ which prevents their little fingers from turning the noise machine off if they happen to touch it when getting out of bed. This is really helpful for us since we have a curious little boy who loves to touch everything.
You can really get years out of this sound machine. Lots of older children show signs of fearing the dark, so you have the option to keep the nightlight on all night long which can be so helpful. You also have a dimmer on the app so that the light isn’t quite so bright.
Cons:
The biggest Con in my opinion is the inability to change the “scheduled program” once the current program is on…for example: If you have a schedule that starts at 6:55pm and it finishes at 6:55am, and instead of going off that early, you want to change it to 7:15am, the Hatch won’t respond to the new changes until the old cycle is through. It makes it really irritating for last minute changes to any schedule.
PRICE - it is expensive. Well, babies are expensive. If you’re purchasing it right from their website, it doesn’t seem so pricy, but it is an American company. By the time you convert it to Canadian Dollars, it costs a mint. I paid $99 for mine on Amazon. I know you can sometimes get them for $75 on Amazon, but I couldn’t wait for a sale, I needed it stat. The Hatch Baby Rest+ is over $170 CAD. Although it is handy to have the extra added features, I wasn’t ready to drop $170 on something that I haven’t tried yet.
If you have a very curious toddler, they can easily unplug it from the wall which will then turn the machine off. It would be best if the plug was hidden behind a secured shelf of some sort.
While this is a fancy night light/noise machine, there is still some teaching involved. Especially if you are getting it for your toddler and not your baby. Consistency will be your friend when implementing the Hatch Baby Rest.
All in all, I would HIGHLY recommend this toddler clock to anyone looking for a nightlight/sound machine combo. In fact, I will be getting one for my newborn next month. Waking and sleeping on a schedule is so important to develop consistent patterns, and starting from a young age is so ideal. The nice thing is that you don’t have to incorporate the lights for a long time if you don’t want to - but having the noise machine option is great - especially since this gadget will be useful for years to come.
So whether your baby is 3 months or your child is 4 years old, I recommend using the Hatch Baby Rest. The pros far outweigh the cons and this product will be a life-changer for some!!
While the Hatch Company does not give discount codes, they have given me an affiliate link to share with my followers. By purchasing through this link, there are no extra fees for you.
Do you have a Hatch Baby Rest? If so, let me know what you think about it!
Bailey
