white noise, anyone?

[love2mother]

thinking of introducing some type of white noise in the room while DD sleeps. wondering what the pros/cons have been for others who have done this. The obvious "con" to me seems like if baby gets used to a certain noise, she will develop a dependence on it. . ..making it difficult to sleep without it. Thoughts?

[Bokonon]

We have a white noise machine in each bedroom. We live on a pretty busy road and it helps to drown out the street noise. The kids are both used to it but also have no problem sleeping without it. We stayed in a hotel for 2 nights a couple of months ago and they slept fine without the white noise.

*I* don't like sleeping without it because I am a very light sleeper and sudden noises can jar me awake (like DH's snoring!) but I can fall asleep without it just fine.

[MommaLura]

ds and I both would never be able to sleep without our white noise. We put him to sleep without it on most nights, and then turn it on, but its so helpful. I didn't learn about it till I lived with my cousin who loved late nights with her friends. It's so amazing! Otherwise we wake up to a car driving by, a dog barking...you get the picture. We have one that travels with us too. I don't believe there is a dependence, but it sure equals longer sleep

[mkksmom]

I use a fan. I figure it's portable.

[Katie T]

We use a fan as well. It is portable and I love the air movement in the summer and if it is too cold in the winter we just turn it away from the bed. Plus they are really cheap!

[Beauchamp]

We use a CD called "Distant Thunderstorm" that I got from Amazon. It's not bad, although the rain sound is white noise rain, not true rain. The thunder is nice. I have it on CD as well as loaded on my iPhone, so it can plug into hotel clock radios, rental cars, etc, if I don't have the CD. Oh, it's also on my laptop, which we have used in a pinch.

We also use a few really mellow songs for the falling asleep/rocking/dancing/nursing music. Then we usually switch to the rain/thunder CD so we don't listen to "Waiting in Vain" (Bob Marley) all night.

I think it's good to switch things up now and then so the baby doesn't expect one specific type of background sound. (We also have used Rockabye Baby CDs, plus a generic baby lullaby CD someone gave me that is actually quite good.)

Sorry...I guess I am getting off on a tangent of falling asleep music vs. white noise. FWIW, we were given a sleep sheep, and while we used it for the first few months, I don't love it, because it only stays on up to 45 mins.

[Shanny2032]

LOVE LOVE LOVE white noise and as a Nanny who has helped many parents of newborns I strongly encourage it as the womb basically sounds like white noise so you are recreating that environment!

[Rippette]

We have a white noise in DS room (3). It's just a small one I got at Walmart, but we set it on Waterfall (but it has rainforrest, womb etc to choose from). I have an air purifier in our room, a loud one I like the others, cannot sleep without noise. I am such a light sleeper now with my son being born.

I do sometimes wonder if the noise could hurt their ears. Anyone know anything about that? Its across the room, so not right next to his head.

Good luck!

[RubThyNeighbor]

We use the white noise app on my iphone. Works great for me

[LCBMAX]

We've been using it for our son for 2 years now, and it's made a big difference, both for sleep quality and for blocking out the sound of last night's thunderstorm. My husband created a white noise track that sounds more like ocean waves and includes heartbeat sounds - this avoids the possible concern with continuous undifferentiated white noise (which might, in mice, contribute to auditory processing delays.)

We've travelled a lot, even internationally, and we take it with us on an mp3 player and portable speakers that can run on batteries.

AND - you can have the files FOR FREE! My husband shares them online here.

I myself have so much trouble just waking up if I don't turn it off - it really feels like it holds me in a deeper sleep pattern. I'm not concerned about weaning from it later - so easy just to turn down the volume a little every night - I can't imagine it'll be a problem. I'm a lot more obsessed with good sleep now. Sweet dreams!

[momto4plus4]

We have loud air purifiers in each bedroom. 2 of my kids wouldn't sleep without it, ds2 included-they wake to every sound. I love it now too. I actually loaned an extra one we had to a friend whose 2 & 5 year olds were horribly struggling with sleep; she said it made an enormous impact and they are falling asleep great now and not waking at the first noise anymore, even when she gets up to get ready for work!

[baglady]

Originally Posted by momto4plus4

We have loud air purifiers in each bedroom. 2 of my kids wouldn't sleep without it, ds2 included-they wake to every sound. I love it now too. I actually loaned an extra one we had to a friend whose 2 & 5 year olds were horribly struggling with sleep; she said it made an enormous impact and they are falling asleep great now and not waking at the first noise anymore, even when she gets up to get ready for work!

This is what we use. We love them. I personally can't stand that white noise sound. It's like nails on a chalkboard to me. I love the air purifier. It blocks out barking dogs, cars, etc. My DS seems to sleep more deeply since we started using one.

[Beauchamp]

Originally Posted by momto4plus4

We have loud air purifiers in each bedroom. 2 of my kids wouldn't sleep without it, ds2 included-they wake to every sound. I love it now too. I actually loaned an extra one we had to a friend whose 2 & 5 year olds were horribly struggling with sleep; she said it made an enormous impact and they are falling asleep great now and not waking at the first noise anymore, even when she gets up to get ready for work!

What kind/brand of air purifier do you have? I am willing to try almost anything

[Peony]

We have used white noise for years, honestly it is the only way my younger children sleep with other kids running around making noise. We use fans in the bedrooms, when we travel we have two machines that play nature sounds and we use the waterfall setting.

[Banana731]

We love white noise for the kids. I am a big fan. My machine is tiny and can use batteries and electricity, so we bring it on trips. It's just a nature sounds machine (we use the waterfall sound) from sharper image or some such place. I have had to replace it once in the six years I have been using it for. So I guess that means I got about three years out of the first (which to be fair came from an outlet store.) I my sound machine. It's the only thing that will drown out the kids in my neighborhood!

[TerraNoelle]

We are fan users here too. I've used one since I was about 23 years old [when I rented a room in 'boarding house']. I'm 39 now. All of us sleep so much better with one

[canadianhippie]

I think it helps babies still sleep while there is noise around. I use the sleep sheep, bob marley, classical, jazz, celtic music, global rhythm cd's, a fan, humidifer, keep the window open that creates bird chirps, traffic, trees blowing, whatever the situation or mood involves, Ill use some kind of noise.

[Laneybug]

We use a white noise machine that runs continuously through the night after getting frustrated with the sleep sheep, which would stay on for a max of 45 minutes. During naps especially it seemed that DD would wake up as soon as the 45 minutes were up. Now, it's not like she'll sleep FOREVER, but sleep is less interrupted for all of us now.

I am also a little concerned that she will need white noise forever, but for now it works. The only thing that's kind of weird is when you're playing nature sounds with the windows shut and the a/c on and the REAL nature sounds are right outside the window (just not loud enough!!). My mom and I brought DD to the beach yesterday for the first time and she had a meltdown after about half an hour (she's 10 weeks, gets easily overstimulated, and it was super windy). On the way home, however, we played "ocean" sounds, and my mom (who thinks it's ridiculous that we use white noise in the first place) joked that when DD gets older, she's going to be at the beach and say that the sound of the waves sounds just like her white noise machine. Yikes!!!!

[LCBMAX]

Originally Posted by Laneybug

my mom (who thinks it's ridiculous that we use white noise in the first place) joked that when DD gets older, she's going to be at the beach and say that the sound of the waves sounds just like her white noise machine. Yikes!!!!

And if she does, that'll just mean her mama gave her a great, natural sounding sleep aid.

Congratulations on your new babe!

[Sarah W]

We bought a white noise machine for DD, but never really used it. A few months ago I moved it into our room. I love it! I got it from BRU or Target. It can do single sounds (rain/ocean/etc) or you can couple it with a second sound (seagull, buoy, thunder). I use it every night. I think I get to sleep a lot faster now.

I have it on a timer and it goes off after 45 minutes, but you can set it to stay on permanently.