Lamaze Squeeze Beats First Drum Set and Soothing Heart Panda Review

Whether babies need to be soothed or grooved, there’s a Lamaze toy for that.

The Soothing Heart Panda is a calming little friend for little ones ages 9 months and up. The soft panda provides visual and auditory stimulation through calming music and heartbeat sounds. The music and the vibration of the “heartbeat” combine with the red heart light to help soothe and calm babies. Simply turn it on and press its tummy to cycle through four bedtime melodies and a heartbeat sound. Each song lasts about one minute and 30 seconds, while the heartbeat sound lasts one minute and 15 seconds. Even when the music is off, babies can still explore the panda’s different textures for tactile play. The toy includes three AAA batteries, which power the in-store try-me features, so you might want to replace them before you play for best results.

Slightly older babies, ages 12 months and up, can rock out with the Squeeze Beats First Drum Set. Turn on the drumset and press down on the fabric drums or hit the fabric cymbal tops to activate sounds and music. There are two buttons on the front of the drum set. If you press the note icon, you’ll cycle through three modes of play: Silly Sounds, Percussion, and Farm Sounds. Basically, each mode makes different sounds when the drums and cymbals are pressed. Silly Sounds is the default mode when the toy is turned on, and in percussion, the toy will make traditional drum and cymbal sounds while music plays in the background. Farm Sounds plays animal sounds. The other button is volume control, and there are three levels of volume. The toy goes into standby mode after 30 seconds of inactivity. The toy includes three AAA batteries, which power the in-store try-me features, so you might want to replace them before you play for best results.