New Parent Tip-of-the-week: White Noise

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay this week! Our site has been up and down all week so we have exhausted ourselves trying to get it back to full speed. We apologize to anyone who has had trouble contacting us or placing an order.

This week's tip is to help baby (and parents) sleep better. Doctors and scientist have said that white noise soothes babies and helps them sleep better and longer. We have found this to be true at our house and have found an inexpensive item to create white noise and help your baby (and you) sleep better.

Visit your local department or hardware store and buy a small fan--the noisiest one you can find. Wal-mart and Target often have smaller fans, less than a foot in diameter for under $10. Place fan in baby's room well away from the crib and baby monitor. Do not turn the fan's airflow toward the crib either. We recommend a wall mounted fan or place the fan on a dresser out of baby's reach, making sure all power cords are tucked away and outlets are covered. We have our fan turned straight up so the air is blowing toward the ceiling.

Now, find the setting that offers a gentle hum but not so loud that it drowns out baby's sounds over the monitor. You may want to test out the settings while baby is down for a nap so you become acquainted to the sounds over the baby monitor. Not only does the fan create white noise but it also blocks out the sounds of traffic or in our case, the neighbor's barking dogs. This also allows parents to do work around the house without worrying about the noise waking baby.

We have been using fans in our children's rooms since they were infants and we have all slept better. Our babies took longer naps and slept for longer periods of time during the night. We even take our small fans on vacation to block out the noise of people in the hallways. Hope it works for you, too!

Sweet dreams!