to get upset over street noise outside my flat?

[JeDeLo]

I've just moved into a new flat (rented) and am 24 weeks preg with my first baby. The double-glazing on the windows is crap - you can have a conversation with someone on the street below while the window is shut. I keep getting woken up between 2 - 4am by young people leaving the late bars, shouting and screeching with no regard for residents in the area - and I hate them with the fire of a thousand suns. I am close to buying a Supersoaker and squirting them as they walk past. It consumes me with rage most nights, my adrenaline races and I practically shake with anger - I really worry about the effects on the baby. It does occur to me that a) I am likely very hormonal and b) pregnant women apparently start to sleep very lightly. I want to start making to fuss, to the council, to the landlord, to anyone that will listen - but I don't trust my own judgement on this matter due to the pregnancy - help.

Yanbu to not like it- not sure what being pregnant has got to do with it though...

Making a fuss isn't going to help, you chose a flat that is obviously around an area that people walk through to get to/from bars. It's something you consider when moving in.

I do feel your pain though, I live on the bottom what's called 'booze lane' because it is full of all the pubs and bars people pub crawl on. The bottom bit is lovely with schools and churches, but the top part is loud and we get people walking down. Sometimes it's hilarious but mostly annoying. Especially when I go to walk the dog on a sunday morning and there's piles of sick every few feet

I thoroughly recommend ear plugs, for your sanity. I've found that babies don't really tend to bother about the nighttime noise outside - or they don't hear it like we do.

It's a bit odd I suppose that your double glazing lets so much sound through. I'm not sure it's worth complaining to anyone about though, they will probably just suggest that you move.

We live in a similar sounding place, near pubs and clubs, and I don't mind the noise outside. It does no real harm, the children are immune to it, and I feel connected to the young ones

I want to start making to fuss, to the council, to the landlord, to anyone that will listen

Honest question; what do you expect to achieve?

Neither the landlord, nor the council, nor you, can stop people talking noisily on the public street. Squirting people with a supersoaker will exacerbate the situation.

You may have better luck discussing upgrading the double glazing with the landlord. I understand some blackout blinds can help with soundproofing, so it might be worth doing some research there, and presenting him with solutions, and they need to be realistic solutions. Suggesting he forks out thousands of pounds for replacements of all the windows will just get you laughed at.

The only other option, would be checking your lease for a end of contract clause, and seeing if you can find a flat in a quieter area.

Can you switch things round so that your bedroom is at the back?

Well, it's unfortunate but it's what happens when you live on a busy street. I also live in a flat on a street where it's busy at night when the pubs and clubs shut.

You get used to it.

I used to experience the same feelings OP! I'm pretty noise sensitive, and used to get all riled up when I'd hear folk screaming outside, or neighbours walking about above me due to very very poor noise insulation.

Eventually we moved flats and bought our own place. I made sure there was no-one above us, and luckily it's an old stone building so rarely hear anyone next door.

We still have the odd shouter outside in summer, as we live close to the beach and we have no double glazing at all.

I found two things helped. One, earplugs at night. The squishy blue ones that look like blue tack really block out noise. Secondly, after a while, I just got used to it. I still anticipate the summer months, and have been known to stick my head out the window and politely ask shout like a fishwife if I've been woken up by it. But on the whole, I just adjusted. I was pregnant throughout this too, and so far, 1 year old DS is just fine :)

We have double glazing too and it just lets everything in. I'm sure people's voices go 10000 x magnified when alcohol is involved.

Move. It's a public, busy street. It's going to be noisy.

If its bothering you, and you can't get the landlord to fix(?) any problem with the windows, you'll have to move.

Try and stay calm though. Hypnosis is great for getting your adrenal glands to calm down. Have a session with a local hypnotist- it will be worth it's weight in gold especially as you will HAVE to sleep when your baby arrives, no matter what's going on.

Your midwife needs to know what's going on for you. She may recommend a few relaxation techniques / yoga classes. It's not good for you to be so wound up now.

Also get a white noise machine if moving is a no no.

Think long term, and get ready for a baby. You need to learn how to sleep through non emergency noise.

Oh lord! This gives me the rage!!

I live in an estate every fucking summer teenagers walk around the streets all bastarding night! Where the fuck their parents think they are I don't know about .

They run down the back of the alley ways when the police show up, then are back half hour later. Laughing, drinking, fighting .

Around 8pm it starts with some cunt flying up and down the road on a quad. We are saving to move.

If your like me, you don't get used to it. I suggest you move.

Sweetheart, you are not alone. I am with you

We moved out of our old flat due to endless noise problems with lovely but, unfortunately, ageing and increasingly deaf neighbours. They were very nice but the opera they played so loud I couldn't hear my own music wasn't.

In my new house we don't hear the neighbours at all. Bliss. BUT we live overlooking a car park which at night acts as the start/finish line for a load of boy racers who like to whizz around the village like twats in their souped-up dickmobiles. There is another group who I suspect work in the nearby restaurants and like to play football in the carpark after their shifts. Unfortunately their shifts end between midnight and two a.m.

At first this sent me into a huge stress spiral, I think because we'd already had all those problems in the old flat. But I love this house and don't want to move. So now I've dealt with it by separating the 'types' of noise. If it's a group walking past, or they're gone by midnight, I try not to bother. But if it's after midnight and they're evidently settled in, I call the police. Every time. And they come and move them along. Every time.

I have found that having a set plan of action has really helped as it makes me less panicky. I also got a fan which I put on when it's bad, and it totally drowns them out. I can sleep with it on and it doesn't drive the leccy bill up massively, which I thought it would! You could also try a white noise app on your phone. I don't use earplugs as I have tinnitus, but do try them, they can really help. You can also put up curtains with blackout material if your landlord is okay with it, which does really help.

I doubt the landlord, council, police or anyone else will really be able to help with 'transitory' noise, i.e. people walking down the street. But if they set up in one spot and don't shift for half an hour, then call 101. That's what they're there for. I totally understand the ragey feeling! It's so intrusive and you can't help but feel like they're doing it on purpose. Plus, once you're aware of it it's so much worse - even when there isn't any noise, you're dreading that there might be!

I hope some of the advice here helps at least a little bit.

If you have an iPhone you can download a white noise/tranquil sounds app. Put it on timer and voila instant peace

I would take this very seriously and think about moving somewhere quieter. We lived in a very noisy area when dc1 was born and I found I was hyper-sensitive to every noise at night, in case it was him. Also it was extremely stressful trying to get him to sleep in the day when it was noisy. I developed bad insomnia which lasted three years, till we moved. If I could go back I'd never have moved there.

She explained very clearly what it had to do with being pregnant.