WIBU to ask neighbour to stop ululating?!

[Confrontayshunme]

My neighbour (terraced houses) who I am really close to since lockdown and having her baby in February makes a strange ululating sound to calm her very colicky, refluxy baby, and I can hear it through the thinnish walls. It is similar to when I used to hoover to calm my colicky newborn. She makes a high pitched "lololololololo" sound whenever he cries to sort of drown him out and calm him. It clearly works as he stops crying.

Only now he is 5 months old, and still waking and crying frequently, only the crying is getting louder and so is the noise she makes. Add to this the fact that it is hot and her baby's room is next to our bedroom with both sets of windows open for coolness.

Now I am all for people calming a crying baby, as that is a terrible sound on its own, but it is getting to the point that we can barely watch tv in the evenings or go to sleep and are frequently woken at all hours by this high pitched screeching.

And to be abundantly clear, she is white and English, as are her partner, parents and grandparents. The sound she makes is exactly like I have heard at an Indian friend's wedding party, but it is clearly not cultural, just a fluke that calms her baby.

AIBU to ask her to figure out a quieter way to calm her baby, at least between 10 and 6 or 7?

I found a youtube video which is exactly the sound for a better idea of the sound.

I think there are rules against ululating in a built up area between the hours of 8pm and 6am.

I was prepared to say you were being unreasonable, but then I watched your link. That would drive me mad. The baby crying is just one of those things, but that noise with it is something else!

This is the best thread title I’ve seen in a long time. I have no sensible advice to impart. Could you ululate back at her perhaps? Play the saxophone badly?

Good grief! If it's really like that YouTube clip, no wonder it shocks the poor baby into silence.

Words fail

I was ready to say what do you expect her to do, blah blah blah but that is the most UNNECESSARY and AWFUL noise I have heard. That would scare me to death if I were asleep.

I think there are rules against ululating in a built up area between the hours of 8pm and 6am.

As far as I know indian people dont ultimate at weddings, it's very much a middle eastern thing

Ululate

Oh god this reminds me of when my own dc were tiny. My mum used to try and "soothe" them by repeating "Lah lala laaahhh lahhh" over and over. If they cried louder, she sang louder.

If I happened to he holding my child and they were upset she would come over and sing it at us both.

Frankly, it's what made me stop at two kids

This sounds horrendous.

Does it actually calm the baby? If it's a toss up between a crying baby all night and few mins of the awful sound. Is go for the sound tbh 😂

Fucking hell that You Tube video sounds like a fire alarm!

They might ultimate at weddings

www.thequint.com/sports/other-sports/ultimate-frisbee-team-india-aobuc-japan-bookmyshow

I strongly suspect that those who think YABUbhave not listened to the YouTube clip.

What's wrong with a lullaby instead?

Though poor mum if her baby screams so much making (and therefore listening) to that noise is preferable...

Omfg. I was also going to say give your neighbours a break, whatever gets the baby to calm down but that’s bloody ridiculous! Definitely speak to them about it.

Have you thought about learning the bagpipes?

Maybe next time she does it at night you could bang on her door under the pretence of waking her as her fire alarm is sounding and clearly she needs to evacuate.

I've lived in Egypt and that is a sound that people make at celebrations or when someone receives good news. How odd that this woman uses it to soothe a baby - and it works? YANBU.

Sorry but this has really made me laugh! I have just spent a night in our folding camper in the wind and rain and freezing cold so think I'm delirious with tiredness. I think I'd go round and chuck a bucket of cold water on her to be honest, she sounds bonkers.

That’s crazy! You definitely can’t live with that!
You’ll have to say something. God knows how you broach it though?

@corlan

I think there are rules against ululating in a built up area between the hours of 8pm and 6am.

I so needed this laugh!

Baby probably stops cos thats an awful noise. That's like shouting over someone. That's a nasty noise

@Staffy1

Good grief! If it's really like that YouTube clip, no wonder it shocks the poor baby into silence.

Until the baby starts repeating it.

I'd have a word. Just say it is a very distressing noise -not the baby crying but her noise. If she doesn't understand. Or wait until it is quiet and silent and 2am and play that youtube noise loudly up against the wall. On repeat every 30 minutes. Just when they think it is over.

Personally I'd have gone over the first week and say baby crying fine -you doing that -no

@emmathedilemma

Have you thought about learning the bagpipes?

My sentiments exactly.