Starry Night (A Review of the ANSMANN Starlight Turtle)

A few weeks ago, I posted this image as my Silent Sunday photograph…

… and was inundated with "where did you get that from?" questions.

The answer is that I was very kindly sent it to review by Hello Baby in order to help with The Boy's sleep-training. As well as a variety of night lights, Hello Baby also sell a variety of other baby toys, travel and safety products.

As I'm not one for controlled crying, or indeed any form of crying at bedtime, I was eager to try something that would help keep The Boy happy to be in his cot, while relaxing him enough to drift off. I've been following a programme given to me by Pampers involving sitting on a chair and moving further away from the cot every few nights, and I also needed something to distract him from the fact that whoever is putting him to sleep is not sat next to him anymore.

'Tommy Tortoise' (or the ANSMANN Starlight Turtle to give him his proper name) is perfect for this. The green shell has star shaped perforations all over it with a small crescent moon in the centre next to the touch-sensitive on-off button. When the central 'button' is touched, the light shines blue, touch it again and it turns green, again and orange. With the final touch it cycles slowly through the three colours.

Most evenings, bedtime is supervised by Mr. TheBoyandMe as this is his time with our son during the day. Therefore I hand over to him to explain how we use 'Tommy Tortoise' with The Boy:

Until recently, the bedtime routine was strained by The Boy constantly trying to talk, sing, fidget, play with his pillow and all the other prevarications he could muster.

We recently added a new element in; Tommy Tortoise. The Boy goes into his cot, with the mobile playing 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star', and Tommy is switched on and positioned to ensure that the moon is projected onto the part of the ceiling which is above the foot of his bed. A few requests to change between the three available colours later, he ends up happy with green and settles down to sleep significantly sooner than before Tommy's arrival.

The Starlight Turtle is powered by three AA batteries so doesn't need a nearby power socket, and in the month that we've been using it, we haven't changed the batteries once. That's pretty good going I think. It also makes it very easy to use when travelling or staying with family and friends, that extra piece of security for your little ones when they are settling down in a strange bed.

I'd thoroughly recommend this nightime light, and at £17.99 I think it's very good value for money.

I was sent this product for the purpose of this review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.