Does anyone have an opinion regarding white noise machines and babies sleeping well? It's a debate I have. Many peeps swear by them. CB usually sleeps for about 8-9 hours and then wakes for a snack and then sleeps for 3 or 4 more. Not bad. No complaints. But sometimes he doesn't. Usually his naps are 1.5-2.5 hours, but sometimes they're only 30 minutes and he's sad and is a tired dogg. So I wonder if these white noise machines are all they're cracked up to be. Also, I have a big problem with all the energy they would use/waste. I mean, it would a machine turned on for about 15 or so hours a day. It seems like a waste. And it seems like a contradiction since we keep our air conditioning at around 75, compost our waste, recycle like mad, and buy local produce. Thoughts?
P.S. Try to be the first to name the movie the title of this blog comes from and you'll win a prize in the mail from me. :)
7 comments:
Oh, the noise, noise, noise, noise!
Yeah, that's from How the Grinch Stole Christmas, right?
Unfortunately, for obvious reasons I have no opinion about white noise machines and babies sleeping well. :) I'd say just vacuum the house while he's sleeping and see if that works. ;)
PS, have you seen "the business of being born"?
yay! congrats jody. email me your address for a surprisse. :) i haven't seen that movie. is it a goodie? we'll have to add it to our netflix queue.
Don't do it.
As a white noise addict (not imposed at an early age by a parent, but an acquired affliction that was self-imposed), the last thing your kid needs later in life is a requirement to have a white noise machine with him.
The reason "ssshhhh" works to quiet a child is because it sounds a good bit like the white noise they hear in the womb. Big difference is that in the womb that noise is REALLY loud. But so is every noise the mother makes from talking to chewing to passing gas to stomach settling, etc. And the kid can sleep through any and all of that.
Seems to me that you've gone long enough with him "off" the white noise that he's obviously fine without it. What we did was to try to NEVER worry about random noise while our kids were sleeping. I think some people get their kids acclimated to a super quiet environment and then they can't sleep as well with random stuff going on. Turns into a big pain as they then can't sleep well on car trips and all that.
So while it may seem like adding white noise to the mix would be "more like the womb", the simple truth is they can't be in the womb forever. Seems more valuable to me to go through perhaps a bit more pain as a parent to have a kid that can sleep through anything. And in fact, the kid waking up a few extra times probably isn't more actual pain than always trying to be quiet, make sure you remembered the white noise machine on trips, etc.
But every situation is different and perhaps I'm missing something else...it's just what seems to work for us.
good tips from a white noise addict. thanks. that's what i always thought, which is why we've never had a white noise machine, but then i started thinking maybe... but i think we'll just keep on with what we've been doing.
When we were at an all-day party on New Years Day the host of the party let me put McKay down for a nap in one of their bedrooms. There was SO much noise in the house that she turned on a loud fan in his room which totally drowned out the people talking noises. HE SLEPT GREAT.
So, whenever I'm watching other kids or Hunter is being noisy, or the construction across the street is too loud I turn on the humidifier in his room and it creates a CONSTANT soothing noise to drown out all the other stuff that would wake him.
So, I guess I use white noise to mask out other noise. I never needed it when Hunter was a baby, but then again, there wasn't so much going on in my house back then either. (Plus Hunter sleeps deeper than McKay...so it just depends on the baby I guess.)
Oh darn, I just read the post on my goodreader and raced to answer the question. That is the movie I was going to say. Looks like I was too slow.
As for the White noise, never used one. And, like you it just seems like extra stuff that millions of babies in the past never had and still slept fine. I just never wanted my child to depend on it.
first of all, thanks for the lime juice tip. i have used Hint of Limes tostitos to dip into the salad, and LOVED that combo, so i believe you!
Second of all, how in the world did you find that blog? isn't it great?
third of all, yasmine and jason were some of our closest friends our first year of marriage--we lived next door in the basement of a two unit house!! and now, thanks to you, i have her link!!
fourth of all, we use that exact machine and love it! i agree, however, with the person who says don't start it if you don't have to. BUT, if it comes down to EITHER tip-toeing, OR white noise, i'd seriously consider that little machine. i've had a few guilt issues myself over the energy usage, but most people use a fan or something with WAY more wattage, so that's how i sleep at night. (i'm an earth-loving, tree-hugging wanna-be hippie myself!)
small world, huh!?!
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