The Best Baby Sound Machines Provide Sleep Support Wherever You Go

Winner of this year’s What to Expect Sleep Awards, the Yogasleep Hushh is loved by parents for being an impressively useful little device that you can take with you just about anywhere. With three sound variations, including bright white noise, deep white noise and gentle surf, and volume control, there is an option for every type of setting. Parents also love how easy it is to use the Hushh with simple buttons on the side. The standout feature of the Hushh, however, is the included clip that allows you to attach it to your stroller on walks or your diaper bag. Its compact size means you can take it with you to travel or just around the house while holding baby. Even though it has less fancy customization options, parents find that the Yogasleep Hushh is a reliable and effective white noise machine for babies. 

Just remember: Never attach this device (or any other) to your baby’s crib. Not only would that make the sound levels unsafe, but attaching anything to a crib is a hazard, per the AAP. 

The Dohm is described as a staple in many parents’ homes for several reasons. Instead of digitally recreating sound, it actually has a fan built in inside to produce white noise that many parents say sounds natural and unobtrusive. Plus, it can impressively drown out almost all outside noises — whether it’s coming from the street or other areas of your home — which may be one of the reasons many parents love it in their own rooms, too. 

“The fact that it uses a fan and not a low-quality recording played through a low-quality speaker makes a difference I think,” says Jamison Hermann, Senior Video Producer, who has two in his home.

Its straightforward design allows you to adjust the tone and volume by twisting the top and sides. Each opens or closes vents so you can modify the level depending on what helps baby sleep. Many parents in the What to Expect community say it has even lasted them for several years. One thing to note, however, is that it doesn’t have a timer, so you’ll have to manually turn it off if you don’t want it to play all night. It also doesn’t have a light. 

The Hatch Rest is a recurring favorite among parents, as it’s a high-tech device known for being incredibly customizable to best suit you and your baby. There are tons of options for classic white noise, sounds like heartbeat, or even songs and lullabies. You can then combine your favorite sound with a specific light setting and save baby’s favorites for later. 

“The ability to save sounds can be helpful for parents who want to create a different environment for night sleep versus napping,” says Leah Rocketto, Associate Commerce Director at What to Expect, who finds the feature to be easy and intuitive to use. Leah also loves the easy-to-use app: “It’s especially helpful if my mom or someone else is with the baby and struggling to turn it on. I can just do it from my phone, and all is well.”

Sarah Darby, What to Expect's Senior SEO Strategist, also found creating custom combinations to be super useful, especially because it’s easy to accidentally cycle through all of the sounds when turning the machine on and off.

As baby gets older, you can also use the Hatch as an alarm clock and program specific colors to signal to your toddler that it’s time for bed, time to wake up or time for a nap.

This compact device can help drown out background noise wherever you are — and the best part is, you can usually get it for less than $15. There’s a convenient clip so you can easily attach it to your stroller or diaper bag, and it runs on three AAA batteries, so you don’t have to worry about keeping it charged (and parents say it has a surprisingly long battery life, although you’ll want to keep extras in your bag just in case). One reviewer says they used it 24/7 for over a week for a new puppy and it still had plenty of power left. Even though it’s a small machine, it has a decent range of options, including four different sounds like heartbeat and lullaby, and it has three different auto-timer settings.

Frida Baby is a brand that What to Expect parents turn to for genius baby products that make life with a newborn a little bit easier. This two-in-one sound machine is just that, as it’s a super lightweight and compact device that you can take with you anywhere to help baby fall asleep. The strap wraps around the machine when not in use, and then can be detached to hook onto your stroller, diaper bag, or just about anywhere else. It’s also small but mighty, as it comes with five sound options, plus an adjustable light so it can double as a nightlight when you’re traveling.