Ok, so I hear all the time people being told not to use white noise with their little ones... that it’s not necessary, that is a bad sleep association and babies should not have any sleep associations other than the practised skill of settling themselves to sleep and back to sleep when they wake.
I’m a bit of an each time their own kinda gal but I do want to point out why I recommend white noise for baby sleep.
First main one - the womb is noisy, like loud and noisy - all that amniotic fluid whooshing by them, mums heart beat. They are used to noise. A quiet environment is unusual for them - replicating the womb is brilliant.
The white noise - loud, low rumbling and whooshing in nature actually helps set off the calming reflex in fussy and unsettled babies - it is actually recommended by World Renowned Paediatrician Harvey Karp - founder of the 5 S’s for calming an unsettled baby. White noise should be played loud - in comparison - as loud as a shower running - it helps distract baby from crying. Ideally it would be played around 55/60 decibels .
It is an amazing sleep cue - brilliant in fact - it helps lull baby to sleep and forms part of your “baby spa” sleep environment. And a great white noise machine that plays all night doesn’t need to be touched once it’s on... it just plays until you turn it off.
White noise blocks out noisey siblings, the garbage truck in the morning, early rising parents getting ready for work.
It is the most positive sleep association I recommend using and it’s the easiest one to wean from once you are ready to do that. You just turn down the volume bit by bit.
I cannot recommend it more highly. We all have sleep associations as adults - a pillow, a doona etc babies need sleep associations as well and this is just one of the positive associations that I recommend hands down.
Do you play white noise for your little one?
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