How sensitive are babies to sound? and rant « Back to Group Discussions

[casmer]

I ask this, because once again, my neighbor's dog woke me up at 6:30 this morning.  It is not uncommon for the dog to bark for 30 minutes - 1 hour at a time.  She has two dogs a chow-chow and a great pyrenees-anatoli mix (sp?), basically a 150# dog that deserves to be on a farm not in a tiny back yard.  She's aware that the dog-barking is an issue (I'm not the only complainer), but she has left it up to "us" to let her know when the dog is being too noisy.  She doesn't hear it because she "takes her hearing aid out".  The neighbors on the other-side of her won't complain because they want to be nice...also they aren't home all day like I am.  Anytime, I have complained to her, e-mail or otherwise, she doesn't take it well.  It doesn't matter how nicely I put it, she gets offended...now if my husband says something he's "being a good neighbor".  UGH.  The stress is killing me and quite frankly making me anxious.  We do have code enforcement, but 1) they only do something if the dog barks when they are there 2) they aren't very effective 3) We are out of code because we don't keep our extra vehicle in the garage. 

Anyway all of that to ask, how sensitive to barking dogs are babies?  Should I be worried about having a screaming baby because of her stupid dog? I'm getting really anxious about this.

For what it's worth, we have a dog and he gets to bark a couple of times before he has to come inside.  It's not the fact that the dog barks (it's what they do)...it's the duration of the barking.   Sorry for the whining...I'm tired and cranky and....well, pregnant :)

[BubbleMa]

Sorry to hear that. :(  I don't really have any advice for you though.  Just sympathy.

[MeredithA]

Aw I'm sorry your neighbors dogs are stressing you out and waking you up! We have 2 dogs (we are hoping to give one to a friend before the baby arrives though -- they are big and a lot to handle!) Anyway when DS2 was a baby, the dogs did wake him sometimes, but for the most part, he was able to sleep through occasional barks. I hope your neighbor gets her pups to be quieter (or at least brings them in!!) when your baby comes!

[Astraia]

We have two neighbours with yapping dogs who are out for HOURS at a time, their backyards join ours (fenced, but I "touch" yards in some way with 5 neighbours. Very confusing city planning). I've had babies down for naps in the summer with the windows open and the dogs barking in the back yard, and it's never been enough to wake them- even my super sensitive, very light sleeping daughter slept through it (but doesn't sleep through the sound of the stairs squeaking on my way up?!?) If I'm worried about it, I put a CD on with some soothing music in the room with them. Never been an issue.

If anything, I'd say it's better for babies to get used to napping with some sound going on. Nothing like tiptoeing around your house in case you wake up the baby! I was reading recently about sleeping and how cultural sleep habits are. There are entire cultures that sleep in the middle of the day with all kinds of crazy noise going on, windows wide open, all jammed into the same bed - I could NEVER do it, but it's what they're used to!

[forestmushroom]

It really depends on the baby... some babies are super sensitive and will wake at every little sound... but really if it is a sound that is constantly there... like since day one, baby will likely get used to it. 

I think it would be nice to maybe send the neighbor an email letting her know when you are expecting the baby, and maybe if she can pay a little more attention to the dogs then (like not freaking taking the hear aid out so she can actually hear them!?!) ... and then let her know if the dogs are disturbing your little one....

[polishprinsezz]

my neighbor's yard butts up to mine and i get the joy of hearing her rooster at 4 am. i cant have my bedroom window open as it is really loud. there are no laws about keeping chickens on your property. it really sucks.

[casmer]

Thanks ladies for commiserating with me.  I still don't understand why she keeps both of the dogs if they bother her enough to remove her hearing-aid.  She's just started dating a guy, so I'm hoping they'll get serious and she'll either move or get rid of a dog :)  I did e-mail her and she apologized and this morning was better  He barked a little around 8, but she must have put him up because it didn't go on and on like it usually does.  I really needed to sleep in this morning so I'm glad I could at least fall back to sleep. 

Hopefully baby will get used to the noise.  I like the idea of NOT have to tip-toe around while she's asleep.  I have some friends who weren't so lucky.   Their little girl was incredibly sensitive to sound and they had a heck of a time getting her to nap. I've heard that's rare though, so here's to hoping!
 

Originally Posted by polishprinsezz 

my neighbor's yard butts up to mine and i get the joy of hearing her rooster at 4 am. i cant have my bedroom window open as it is really loud. there are no laws about keeping chickens on your property. it really sucks.

Oh I am SO sorry!  That's no fun.  I have four hens, but they stay in their coop until the afternoon.  I was so afraid we'd get stuck with a rooster, but we got lucky.  My mom got stuck with a rooster and for some reason is keeping it.  She said it woke her up around 3AM the other morning.  Luckily they don't have close neighbors.  Still not sure why they would keep him though...haha.

[Kamiro]

You keep a rooster so you can have baby chickens. Just in case any one is unclear on why a person would have a rooster.

*yuk yuk*

Ok smart alecness aside...I am currently sitting here listening to our neighbors dog bark..and bark...and bark.

We live on a hill where sound really echoes.

I feel you, but don't know what to tell you. Sounds like she is inconsiderate. Don't they make a collar that shocks a dog for excessive barking?
 

[casmer]

I hope baby chicks are what she's after...haha.  When we first got our hens, our neighbors kept asking about us having a rooster.  They were convinced that you needed a rooster for the hens to make eggs!  I finally told one of them...well my body makes eggs whether or not DH is around...no more questions after that!

[BubbleMa]

One good thing about living in an apartment is that no one has a yard to put their barking dogs in!  We can sometimes hear the upstairs neighbor's yappy little dog barking, but it's not loud.  Our dog's bark is VERY loud though.  She only barks if the blinds are open and she sees someone walk past (we're on the ground floor but not facing the parking lot, luckily!).  She's very protective of us and our home, so she runs from room to room following them, barking until they're gone.  Anyway, it's really loud and will definitely wake the baby.  We'll just have to make sure the blinds are closed when the baby is sleeping.

[forestmushroom]

haha, when we had baby chicks, one of the hens did grow to be a rooster.  He was cool to hang out with, but he was so LOUD ALL DAY LONG.  It was COCK_A DOODLEDO!  all the day... We gave him to a breeder in the country.... I wouldn't want to drive my neighbors crazy like that!

[mlovesj]

To chime in....I think most babies will wake to unfamiliar sounds in their environment, but if the sound is one that they're accustomed to, they *generally* will sleep through it.  I completely agree with Astraria - getting your baby used to sleeping in a totally quiet environment will seriously come back to bite you :)  They'll get used to silence and wake at the slightest sound.  Much better to have your baby sleep around normal conversation, background sounds, quiet music, the sound of a tv or radio in the next room, etc. so that they'll be tolerant of sound in their sleeping environment when you have to have naps at family members' homes, on the go, around other peoples' children, etc.

[casmer]

Originally Posted by mlovesj 

To chime in....I think most babies will wake to unfamiliar sounds in their environment, but if the sound is one that they're accustomed to, they *generally* will sleep through it.  I completely agree with Astraria - getting your baby used to sleeping in a totally quiet environment will seriously come back to bite you :)  They'll get used to silence and wake at the slightest sound.  Much better to have your baby sleep around normal conversation, background sounds, quiet music, the sound of a tv or radio in the next room, etc. so that they'll be tolerant of sound in their sleeping environment when you have to have naps at family members' homes, on the go, around other peoples' children, etc.

I think you're totally right!  My husband grew up in the world's loudest house and I swear he could sleep through a bombing!  If it's not the attic fan (no central a/c), it's the freakin' loud phone, or his mom's TV (while she sleeps!)...or the coyotes, etc, etc.  I don't get much rest when we visit there!

[rozziemama]

Just thinking about this sound issue... Unfortunately in my experience, while DS (and other babies I know) seem to sleep pretty deeply (depending on the stage of sleep they are in, etc) - its the Mommies who can't sleep through things like dogs barking...

I grew up all my life in New York City on a very loud street - and was always a deep, sound sleeper... It's GONE since having a baby. I wake up at every little noise now