Consumer Opinions - Does a White Noise Machine Work Well - what kind?

Hi,
Just wondered if people would weigh in to say if they found that a white noise machine was helpful in a baby's room (especially with older siblings around).  And, if so, what types were the best?
I have heard good things about the Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium hanger for cribs.  Does this work?  What other ones are good out there?
Thanks for the input,
Alison

We have the rain forest one....Aethyn likes the music and we use the lights and movement when he goes down for a nap.  I think the music does help him drift off to sleep.  He is still in our bedroom ****il next week! ) We Always have white noise....we use the sound machine clock thing(Wal-mart has just the noise without the clock part for like 19.99  In our wal-mart they are by the candles)...we always have the rain going!  We cannot sleep without it!  That really does help with noise...we have 2 dogs also and they like to shake their ears (Very Annoying) and it helps to block them out.  It has several different sounds...like thunder, the ocean, heartbeat (We used that when we first brought him home along with the rain-I think he really liked that) rain forest noise and the rain.  It does take a little getting used to it, but now we cannot sleep without it.  I have also heard that fans work good too although I have never tried it. 
Hope that helps a little! 

Our whole family uses them!  It really helped the older one sleep through the night crying....
-Donna

We ALL use them here - we even sleep with one in between us in bed so I don't ever hear my hubby snoring... but I still hear the monitor on my side of the bed. We got the expensive one from Sharper Image with 25 sounds or something crazy, and the cheaper ones from http://www.sleepwellbaby.com, the 980... the less expensive one is much better and more durable - we take one when we travel too.
I'll be getting another for the one on the way! :)
~Kim

My mother-in-law sent us a projector mobile that does the heartbeat, rain, ocean, lullabies, etc.  And WE'VE been using the rain setting since we got it, to help block the noise of my brothers late night banging in and out of the house to our computer room (both of them live with us).  It really does help tone done the little things, and the nice thing about our one for the baby is it has a timer setting of 15-60 minutes, that can be used too.

My hubby has tremendous tinnitus, especially in quiet quiet areas.  So, we always have something on in the bedroom.  Normally just a fan does the trick.

We've used the rainstorm thing on our radio before, too and that was ok.  I personally didn't like th rainforest type sounds....but that's just my opinion.

I have trouble sleeping without something now that I"m used to it.

Pam

I used a machine w/ a night light that attached to the crib with my first son, back in 1997.  It worked pretty good. 

Sydnee is our newest addition, although, she isn't an infant anymore.  She is 16 months now.  Up until the last few weeks, we've never had a problem with her going to sleep for us.  I think now that she is getting older, she thinks she is missing out on things when we put her to bed.  She cries for a few seconds/minutes when we first put her down for any sleep session.  I just went to Target the other day (just for random shopping, I like their red ticket items) and I happened across a Homedics, SoundSpa Lullaby w/ picture projection in the clearance area.  Normally $30.49 and I got it for $7.62.  I figured at that reasonable price, it was worth a try.  I haven't put it in her room yet because I was at work when she was put to bed.  I will put it in her room tomorrow night and see how it does.

It has 3 songs, and 3 sounds,

Twinkle Twinkle
Rock-a-bye baby
Cradle song
Rain
Ocean (sounds like the white noise)
Heartbeat (this might be comforting, too)

It also has 3 different projection disks to choose from

Cows, Moons, and stars
Rainforest birds
Under the sea creatures

I don't know if all Targets will have this item on clearance, but you might check it out and see if they are clearanced other places.  Can't beat it for that cheap. Oh and it also has a timer for up to 60 mins in 15 min increments.

HTH
B

We use just a plain old box fan for us and Reagan.  He's had the noise in our room as a new born and in his own room since he was 5 months.  He doesn't sleep well at the sitter so I had to bring one over there.  He is so used to it that when I go in and turn it off, he wakes up.  I keep it pointed away from him so the air doesn't blow on him.

 

We use the Homedics sound machine from Walmart ($20).  We use the Waterfall setting, but it also has Heartbeat, Crickets on a summer night, Ocean waves, and something else... We love it now and could not live without it.  Helps baby too.  :)

Thank you for all of the advice.  I think we will try one.  I probably won't go with the fan because of the A/C in our house but some of the cheaper ideas seem worth a try.  The F-P one I talked about can be as expensive as $100 and that seems like a lot!
Thanks again!