White Noise can help calm and settle your baby

I had a very fussy and colicky baby who never really slept or settled until I was advised to try using white noise. Please read on to discover how a little bit of white noise may help you to help calm your baby………..
Your baby has just spent 9 months in the womb where there was a constant symphony of sound - your heartbeat and whoosh of fluids rushing in and out of the placenta. You will have heard these sounds from when your midwife was listening to your baby’s heartbeat with the Doppler stethoscope.
All of a sudden the poor little thing is expected to go to sleep in a quite room. Is it any wonder a high percentage of new born babies struggle to fall asleep.
Research indicates that “white noise” sounds helps many babies to relax and fall asleep more easily, especially those with colic. This is most certainly because these sounds create an environment which has been more familiar to your baby helping them feel secure.
White noise is the term given to a soft low monotonous hum which contains the full range of frequencies which the human ear can hear. Examples of this are: hairdryer, washing machine, raindrops, a bubbling brook or running water, all of which are similar to those sounds your baby heard in the womb.

These soft sounds work by masking out other baby-waking noises such as dishes clanking, people talking, siblings giggling, TV, dogs barking, etc. This can also help transition your sleeping baby from a noisy daytime house to one of absolute night time quiet.
Eventually your baby will rely on this technique less and less to fall and stay asleep and it is easy to wean them off this technique by reducing the volume by a small amount every night until you finally don’t turn the music or sounds on at all.
Babies enjoy these peaceful sounds, and they are just one more piece in the puzzle that helps you to help your baby sleep – gently, without any crying at all.
Whatever you choose, listen to it first and ask yourself if this would help you relax and would it make you feel sleepy if you listened to it in bed before you use it with your child.
My daughter calmed down very quickly to the sound of the hairdryer and so every night while getting her ready for bed we would play her hairdryer music. My friends all used to laugh when I told them about it however it worked.
There are several sites on the internet which sell white noise music, some sites allow you to listen to a sample before you buy and provide immediate download.
If you are struggling with a colicky baby or just simply a baby who does not settle try letting them listen to white noise. It is worth a try and you may just be amazed at the effect.

About the Author

F. Davidson is a colic baby survivor. Please visit her website to read more about natural methods which are proven to calm and settle babies at http://www.calmsleepingbaby.com