White Noise: The Calming Sleep Tool

Did you know that inside the womb it's 80-90 decibels, about two times louder than a vacuum cleaner? Around 18 weeks a fetus starts to hear sound, so is it any wonder that a baby is basically deprived of sound when he is born and everything is so quiet?

Babies cry the most during the first four months of life. According to Dr. Harvey Karp, The Happiest Baby on the Block author, babies are more like a fetus during the first four months after birth and should be treated as such during this time. One of the simplest ways to treat your newborn like a fetus is by using white noise anytime he is fussy or trying to go to sleep. Conair Sound Therapy or Lectro Fan Evo are the two loudest machines on the market that I've found to be effective. Conair Sound Therapy can also run with batteries so it is a great tool to use in the car. One reason to have a machine that is louder than what you would think is because a baby's ear drums have not thinnned out like an adult's until around four months old.

Here are some key tips to getting the most out of your white noise machine.

1) Do have it on the loudest volume.

2) Do place it 2 feet from the baby's bed on a table or stool that is level with the height of the baby's mattress.

3) Do make sure you can hear the machine when you leave the baby's room and shut the door.

4) Do make sure the timer button is OFF on the Conair brand machine.

5) Do use the noise machine anytime your baby is sleeping for the total duration of his sleep time.