Gro Hush Baby Calmer Review [Ad]

I’ll be honest. I’m not a lover of fads. I’m a traditional girl and tend to use things and techniques that worked for my mum many moons ago. Sure, there are items nowadays that probably would have been useful back in my mum’s day, as well as items that have been developed to make things easier, but the majority of the time I still prefer the simple things.

So when I first saw the Gro Hush, and found out what it was, I was dubious but also curious. How could something so simple calm a screaming baby? It just played a stand alone sound? With this, it probably would have sat in the same place where nappies that have a cut out hole for the cord do, where wipe warmers do, and where baby food makers do. The shelf in the shop.

So when I was given a Gro Hush to review by the lovely people at The Gro Company I really didn’t know where to begin. I couldn’t believe that holding something against a baby’s ear would calm them, let alone put them to sleep – that’s my job. On top of this, the item looked bulky for something that was meant to be used on a baby, a newborn baby at that.

So there we were last night. At 3:00am, T had been changed, fed, and put in his Moses basket. He was fast asleep. 4:00am rocked round and T all of a sudden started crying – he’d sprung a leak out of his nappy and was upset. Fair enough. So I changed him and checked whether he wanted a top up feed (he didn’t). He didn’t need a thing but wouldn’t stop crying. Certain positions/motions soon calmed him down but nothing to put him back to sleep. He was yawning but was clearly fighting the ‘Z’s. There was humming, singing, and shushing that got him to close his eyes but he would suddenly fight it and start grumbling.

After an hour, S then grabbed the Gro Hush and placed it against his ear (the other one was against my chest). After a few seconds of resistance, his eyes suddenly closed. We waited. After a few more seconds, he was asleep. I was shocked. It actually worked.

At first I was annoyed that it had worked (yes, I am crazy), but I wanted one of us to be the one to calm him, not a gadget. I know there will be nights when it probably won’t work but for now, it did. It really did. I’ve since found that S has used it a few other times and it’s had the same effect.

So here’s a bit more about the Gro Hush… it’s a small, portable, handheld device probably the size of half a mango and comes in a smart plastic case. On the main body is an elastic sleeve to place your hand under so you don’t have to physically grip the device yourself. On one side is a very soft, cotton, cushioned pad that you place on your baby’s ear. The other side, where your hand is, are three buttons where you choose what white noise to play; one button to represent the ocean, one for rain, and one for a heart beat. The setting we used was the heartbeat (I needed a wee at the time so the ocean and rain weren’t the best settings to use) as it’s meant to simulate what they would have heard inside the belly, which I thought was sweet. What I like about each sound is that they’re so different in pitch and speed, meaning it can cater for any meltdown.

The device is incredibly light and the sound is very very clear but not at all loud that you would worry about placing it against their ear. It also has a light blue backlight behind the buttons, which gently lights up the area – useful if you’re using it in the dark.

The device runs on three AAA batteries and lasts for about 10 minutes before it turns itself off, which is a useful power saving tool if you wanted to place the device near them (not on them) in their cot or pram, but also wanted to forget about it. Upon looking at the device it makes sense for it to be the size it is; it’s meant to cover the baby’s ear, an ear that’s likely to be moving, so you almost want to engulf the ear so that it distracts them – and that it does.

What I like most about the Gro Hush is that it doesn’t have to take anything away from the parent. To use the Gro Hush, you can still hold your baby and comfort them meaning they’re still connected to you.

I personally don’t want to become reliant on using this as a method to calm T, but it’s certainly nice having it as a backup when all else fails (maybe ask me this question in a week’s time). I do like the fact that it’s portable so could be placed in a pram or used on the go.

I’m not going to guarantee that this will work for all babies, but I’m still pretty impressed that it worked, being such a simple device, and so therefore I would recommend giving it a go – even if you’re able to just borrow one at first.

K

Disclosure: We were given a Gro Hush for the purpose of a review, however all opinions are our own.