Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls, and friends beyond the binary...it's time for another bad mom product review.
This time you get two for one because I rarely use one of these without the other. The first is a C Crane Pillow Speaker, this little gadget is meant to be set on the pillow, but I prefer to have mine tucked under and have no problems at all hearing the sound clearly. I sometimes need sound to help me fall asleep, but my husband needs quiet. I used to watch TV when he was out of town, but that doesn't happen with great regularity so this has been a great solution for the both of us. He can't hear what I'm listening to, but I get the distraction I need to help me doze off. I ordered mine on Amazon, but I know they carry them in a number of stores.
The second thing I want to review is what I use the pillow speaker with, my favorite podcast. Sleep With Me podcast is something I stumbled across when I couldn't sleep one night. Scooter has an oddly droning, creaky, but soothing voice and he tells a story with so many tangents that it dulls me comfortably to sleep. There are three parts to the show; the welcome, which always starts with the line I began this post with and moves on to the sponsor and list of people who help with the show and its social media. Next is an introduction where he explains the show and the tangents and wanderings begin. Third is a long and drawn out story, I don't know much about these, because I almost always fall asleep in the intro. The podcast definitely isn't for everyone, my husband hates the sound of Scooter's voice. The host even admits that it may take a few tries before the show feels like a good fit. You can stream the podcast on most streaming platforms, or you can catch it on its website.
I don't always have a hard time falling asleep, but more often than not, my mind doesn't want to get quiet when I'm ready to snooze. Sometimes I'm thinking about tomorrow or the week ahead and all I have to do, other times I'm dwelling on a particular problem. When I'm listening to Scooter, my mind can't hold track of any of the usual stressors, and the lack of focus lets sleep come over me. The pillow speaker means I can indulge without bothering anyone else, even if they are sharing a bed with me. On a recent road trip I had to share a bed with the kiddo and the stress of that (we have never been bed sharing parents) made it hard for me to relax. Scooter and the pillow speaker saved my nights! I was able to listen to his stories and my son never knew.
If you have trouble sleeping due to mind racing, I would highly recommend giving Scooter and Sleep With Me a try. If you share a bed or room with someone who needs quiet, the pillow speaker may be a good solution.