Is my white noise CD cheating??

[emza78]

8 week old LO refuses to take daytime naps anywhere other than on me, though I have noticed she'll doze off when the hoover's on. I just purchased a natural white noise album from itunes and tried it on her for the lunchtime nap, worked a dream! She was instantly asleep though woke up when it got to the "rain" track - obviously didn't like that one! Is it really ok to manipulate her naps in this way though? It seems to easy and I really am at wits end, have tried everything to get her to nap in day but if it's left up to her she'll be awake literally all day!

Whatever works go with it :) There is no such thing as cheating when it comes to getting a baby to go to sleep. Our nap-inducing noise was the World Service (night) and Radio 4 (day). That gentle hub-bub of chattering voices seemed to be very soothing.

DS still "listens" to white noise now and he's almost 2. We did gradually wean him off it by turning the volume down a notch each night but I found he sleeps better with it so it's a no brainer for me!

white moise?? go for it - certainly less taxing than having to carry and jiggle the baby round the house for every sleep, which is what i end up doing. I would have that damn hoover/ white noise CD on for a very large proportion of the day if I were you!

goodness me, no it isn't cheating!

White noise worked brilliantly for DS, I found it very soporific myself actually.

Just do whatever works for you - there really isn't someone marking you on this (although I know it can feel like this at first).

"Cheating"? How dare you take the easy option!

I'm joking. Do whatever works and keeps you sane!

It worked for DD for a while, then we moved on to the next challenge...

I used white noise detuned radio until my DD was about 6 months...and as mum295 says we then "moved to the next challenge".. after that we "sleep trained" her IYKWM and then she didn't need it at all. We did go down the route of CC though but you wont need to worry about things like that yet. If it works do it, white noise isn't cheating. It is another way of soothing your baby and recreating the womb environment(sounds etc..) as is rocking your baby to sleep. If white noise is cheating then so is rocking your baby to sleep..

We used white noise since DS was born and still use it occasionally now. (6 months laer)

I used white noise until DD was just over 12 months - worked a treat and for some reason when we stopped it (just to see what happened) she continued sleeping well. Perhaps the white noise gave her the "space" to learn how to sleep well? Who knows. But it worked well for us, we now do not need to use it, and she's a good sleeper.

gosh I wish white noise worked on DD - I feed to sleep far worse 'cheating' :-)

If it works, do it! DS is 3 and still goes to sleep listening to a CD and a lights/sounds show that he's had since he was a baby. I really don't care as it means he's happily in bed by 7pm!

FWIW, DS didn't sleep during the day between 7-10weeks old, and then suddenly started napping better. There does seem to be some kind of developmental thing going on at that age...perhaps when they come out of that sleepy newborn phase but haven't learnt how to settle themselves yet.

sod the album and tune the radio onto white noise - or at least put the working white noise track on repeat

of course now I'm picturing your baby asleep with headphones on

do whatever works - there are no prizes for motherhood so 'cheat' away!

My 7 year old had a white noise CD when he was young, always had a problem sleeping.

For christmas we bought him a radio so he now goes to sleep listening to capital and other strange radio stations. So maybe there is a long term effect

My DD is 2.2 and if she has had no day sleep will go to sleep with no noise - but she still has white noise to get to sleep 60% of the time.

I sometimes think I should stop it - but hey it works for her.

Motherhood isn't a test of masochism. I discovered my daughter would sleep in a battery-powered swing chair. Guess where I put her every night while I had my supper or bathed her toddler brother?

You need to save energy for when they're teenagers. You can never begin too early.

Ditto Abr1de - we too used a battery-powered swing chair a lot. When she got to big for it she still slept fine stationary too. Whatever works when they're young!

I would have run naked round the garden if someone had promised me it would work.

We had a white noise CD - initially we had it on all night, then just the evening. We mostly stopped needing it at about 3 months. Now at 5 months we turn it on when DD has a melt down - she unusually started screaming at 2.30am one night recently but didn't seem awake, the white noise did the trick when nothing else seemed to be working. I am amazed that it isn't recommended in more baby books.

We have used white noise on both our DC, DS moved onto classical lullabys when he moved into his own room ( at about 8mths)and still has them on most nights, he is now 4.5yrs. DD will only sleep with it on (6.5mths), as soon as we turn it off she opens her eyes! She does normally go to sleep her self and we put it on when she wakes half an hour after being put down for bed. I feel guilty about it as I hope she is not becoming dependent on it.. but I am so tired with her waking every hour or so during the night.

When it comes to sleep NOTHING is cheating.