Rather than playing artificial white noise, the Prince Lionheart Slumber Bear plays real sounds recorded from a mother’s womb shortly before giving birth. In theory, it’s the exact sound your newborn baby will be used to hearing, and therefore the sound that should help to soothe them most effectively. After researching dozens of different machines to compile this list of the 10 best white noise machines for babies, our conclusion is that the Dreamegg D11 is the best white noise machine there is.

Our favourite features? One of the best selling points of the Dreamegg white noise machine is the level of control you have over its features. There are 11 different sound options to choose from (including white noise, nature sounds, and lullabies), 32 different volume levels, and an adjustable night light. READ NEXT: The best baby toys to buy What other considerations are there when choosing a white noise machine? Lectrofan is one of the better ones, can turn it very loud, 10 different white, pink, brown noise and 10 fan noises.” (Tried and tested by Mumsnetter CyberPixie) Our verdict There are nine colours of noise available on Headspace and I’m still not sure which of them is best for me. My tired brain can’t fathom the maundering explanations, with red described as being ‘rich, like a good meal’ and blue being ‘refreshing, like a glass of sparkling water’.Much more than just a cute toy, Ollie the Owl offers a range of features, including soft lighting. He can be attached to your baby’s cot with a handy velcro strap and can emit sounds including a heartbeat, rainfall, white noise and Brahms’ Lullaby, all with adjustable volume levels. The Grohush white noise machine can be used at home or on the go and boasts the unique feature of emitting sounds that only the baby can hear, making it ideal not only for travel but for use in shared rooms without risk of disturbing other family members. Noisy Velcro needs to be undone to change settings (however the on / off button is easily accessible)

Yogasleep's Dohm (originally called the Sleep-Mate) was invented in 1962, and it's still one of the most reliable sound machines you can buy. At 4 inches tall and 5.5 inches wide, it's a little larger than the LectroFan, but it's much simpler. A rotating fan is set within the Dohm's acoustic housing, and it has just two settings (the lower one is under 55 decibels). If you've ever been to a therapist's office, you may have noticed these outside the doors. They conceal the conversation inside without being obtrusive.It’s not the cheapest white noise machine on this list, and the sounds and lights only play for 20-minute cycles, but it is one of the most stylish. It easily attaches to a crib, cot, pram or car seat with a Velcro strap and is suitable from birth. It’s not just babies that struggle to drift off at night; many toddlers need a little help from time to time too. Designed by Dr Harvey Karp, the SNOObear is a teddy and white noise machine rolled into one. It provides either 30 or 60 minutes of shushing (which you stop and start by squeezing the teddy’s tummy), three volume levels, and six soothing and shushing sounds including a rumbly train, soft shush and loud shush.

Pink noise is white noise with the higher frequency sounds turned down. It’s thought to be less harsh, more natural: similar to steady rain or wind rustling through trees. Sounds that otherwise keep you awake, like neighbours talking, car doors slamming or partners snoring, may sound softer and less disturbing through pink noise. What is brown noise?Our favourite features? With no less than 10 different fan sounds, including industrial, vent, box and oscillating, the LectroFan also produces 10 non-repeating white, pink and brown noises and blends. The volume can be turned up quite loud, capable of drawing out traffic and heavy-footed upstairs neighbours. There are eight themes—body scan, breathing, movement, visualizations, cardiac coherence, napping, relaxing music, and nature sounds—each theme has eight sessions all available in either eight or 20-minute lengths. The visualizations theme has different stories for the male and female voices. My only quibble is that I wish you could let the sleep sounds play continuously. The Dreamegg is a wireless white noise machine, so there are no hazardous cables to worry about. It’s not mains powered, but don’t worry – you won’t need to add batteries to your weekly shopping list as you can simply plug the machine in via a USB cable to recharge it during the day. You can set the timer to play for 30, 60 or 90 minutes, or just leave it to play continuously. Whatever your baby needs, the Dreamegg can manage it. Some white noise machines for babies, particularly those that are designed to be cuddled in the cot, stop the noise after a designated amount of time (anything from five minutes up to an hour or two). While this can work well to soothe some babies to sleep, others may wake up when the noise is turned off. Therefore, a white noise machine that can play continuously through the night may be more effective for some babies.