With my first son, I used a wind-up music box as part of his bedtime routine. I would set it off after the bath, books and a breastfeed as a signal to him that it really was bedtime now. He loved it. The only problem I had with it was that it would only play the lullaby for a minute or two and I'd have to wind it up a few times before he was settled enough for me to leave the room.

With my second son I wanted to find a music box 1) that I didn't have to wind up as it was such a jarring sound and 2) that played for longer than a minute or two. I was lucky enough to find one that plays snippets of classical music repeated a few times over 15 minutes. It is part of our bedtime routine and seems to work as a clear signal to my 10 month old that it's bedtime.

I recently got the Sound Asleep CD devised by sleep consultant Dr Elizabeth Scott as an alternative to the music box. To be honest, I was getting a bit tired of listening to the same music over and over and wanted a change!

Apparently, Dr Scott having noticed that playing classical music for her grandson helped him drift off to sleep, researched the relationship between the tempi of classical music and the brain wave rates of babies approaching sleep. She then designed her own cassette and CD which went on to become a best-seller. The difference between my music box and the CD is that the CD seems to actively guide my son to a sleepy state by the kind of music on it, whereas the music box just simply plays music. My music box immediately starts with quiet soothing music which, unless he is very tired when I start the music box, doesn't seem to settle him very well. The CD, however, starts with much more up tempo music which matches his awake state and eases into quieter more relaxing music as it plays.

I've only had it for a short while, but my son does seem to be responding to it fairly well. At the best of times, he's not the best sleeper, so it would be a total miracle if the CD completely changed him overnight, but he does seem to enjoy it.

According to the blurb I've got "The music chosen for the CD mimics the brain wave rate of infants when falling asleep. The first part catches the baby's attention before slower movements are introduced which encourage the baby to drift off into restorative sleep. Used as part of a regular nightly routine, the CD is very effective in helping to convert howling babies to calm, sleepy infants."

If you find getting your little one to sleep a difficult chore at the end of the day, perhaps the Sound Asleep CD will help as part of a regular bedtime routine.

I also must admit, I play the CD during the day when we are not sleeping, too. It's so wonderfully relaxing!

You can get the Sound Asleep CD as well as an MP3 at the Kids' Music Shop which sells a variety of music for babies and young children.