The Roofers That Lulled My Babe To Sleep
Tate is a light sleeper. The lightest. He wakes up when my phone rings, when someone standing 50 feet away sneezes, and if I dare speak on the phone while he’s napping in another room.
I am ridiculously careful while he naps. I may be shooting myself in the foot on that account because if he gets used to sleeping in uber-quiet conditions then he won’t easily sleep amidst chaos and noise. But every day all I want is for him to have good naps because there is a world of difference between a well-rested baby and a tired one. I like him all napped up, so I tiptoe.
Today, he fell asleep in the car while we were returning from errand running (just the way I planned it — that sound you hear is me patting myself on the back). When I got home I realized that the roof replacement crew was already getting busy, and I shook my head in frustration. How does one get a baby to nap when it sounds like there are elephants stomping on the roof?
I slowly and carefully brought Tate’s car seat in and wandered around for a minute to find the most peaceful spot in the house until I realized that when you have less than 900 square feet to work with, there is nowhere to hide from the noise. I finally set Tate down on the kitchen floor and winced as the banging started up again. That’s when something crazy happened. Tate slept. He stayed snoozing in his car seat for another 45 minutes while the roofers ripped, banged, and thudded. It was some sort of miracle.
How do your babies sleep in loud noises? Are you extra quiet while they sleep? I would love any tips on dealing with feather light sleepers if you have them!
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I always left the music playing or a noisy fan or the TV on when my kids napped. And I must say, my kids were serious nappers! I still leave a fan on at night to block noises from the living room, kitchen and TV
Works like a charm.
My son sleeps through any repetitive or constant noise, or normal conversation. But sudden sounds wake him right up (like slamming door or ringing phone). I guess it is him being startled more than the noise.
I never had a quiet house while my babies were/are sleeping. I could run the vacuum cleaner in their rooms and under their cribs while they slept without them waking.
I have three words of advice for you: White Noise Machine.
I got one when my little guy was about 6 months and had been having some trouble staying asleep during his naps. I was like you – didn’t dare to talk loudly, get ice from the fridge, or use the microwave for fear of waking him up. Then, one day he took a nap at a friend’s house who had a LOUD air conditioner running in the room he slept in – and it was the longest he’d ever slept at a nap. The next week I bought him a white noise machine (I use this one: http://www.amazon.com/First-Years-Silence-Nursery-Machine/dp/B003WKZ4Y2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327675612&sr=8-1) and we have had much better daytime sleeping ever since! I wish I had thought of it earlier!
Sometimes our little guy is a light sleeper (the dog shaking in the living room wakes him up) and then other times he’s not (a solid wood door fell on our dining room table and he slept through it). Like the previous commenter, we bought a sound machine which I really think helps drown out some noise. When we have it on you can’t hear the TV at all and it’s right next to his room. I bought this one that I actually found in our Bed, Bath and Beyond store (http://www.amazon.com/HoMedics-SS-2000-Relaxation-Machine-Nature/dp/B000F3QG0U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327681199&sr=8-1). I’d highly recommend it because you plug it in (otherwise you’d be forever changing batteries), and you can either leave it on indefinitely (like we do) or set it to cut off at 15, 30, or 60 minutes. We like the “rain” sound best.
Sound machine!!! We use this one http://sites.target.com/site/en/spot/mobile_product_detail.jsp?tcin=10707864
I got it from Target and it also projects images on the ceiling like a mobile kind of. I also like the rain setting but there’s heart beat and lullabys on there. I take it with me if I know I’m going to need it at a friend’s house. It’s worth every penny! I even have a sound app on my phone just in case. I’ve had a lot of trouble with my daughter sleeping also & I know how hard it can be on a mommy… I hope it gets a lil easier for you
Same advice – sound machine. There are also apps on your phone for when you are out and about.