From the moment your baby is born they have to make the huge adjustment to life outside the womb. For 9 months they have been inside a warm, cosy, confined space with the same movements and sounds the entire time. All that they know is life inside that cosy warm place with it’s comforting sounds. So it is a huge upheaval for them to leave that warm safe space and be faced with life outside the womb with all of it’s bright lights and new sounds and unfamiliar sensations.
To make this transition less upsetting for baby it is recommended that you try to recreate what life is like inside the womb and to think of those first few months as the Fourth Trimester.
There are many ways you can recreate the feeling of safety and security your baby enjoyed inside the womb. For example, swaddling can mimic the feeling of warmth and confinement. A warm bath with a soft cloth on top of them can do the same along with that floating sensation felt inside the womb. Skin to skin contact is an effective way to calm and soothe baby with your warmth, smell and the sound of your heartbeat.
Recreating the sounds a baby hears from inside the womb is an effective way of soothing and comforting a new born. Before they are born they hear the beating of your heart, the whooshing of your blood flow, the gurgling of your digestive system and to hear similar sounds on the outside can prove to be very calming & settling for baby.
What is White Noise?
The sorts of sounds heard from within the womb are very similar to what is referred to as ‘White Noise”. This kind of noise helps your brain ignore high-pitched or other unpleasant sounds. White noise makes a steady low sound in all of the sound frequencies similar to the way white light contains all visible wavelengths on the colour spectrum. An example of white noise is the gentle hum of a fan, the sound of falling rain or the crashing of ocean waves.
Is White Noise Suitable for Babies?
The benefits of using white noise for babies is that it soothes them and can help them get the sleep they need. One study of newborns found that 80 percent of babies exposed to white noise fell asleep within five minutes, while only 25 percent of those without the background noise fell asleep that fast.
It’s really important to ensure that your baby is getting enough sleep. Not only does it help you get the rest and sleep that you need, but it essential for their growth and development. In fact, newborns and infants up to 3 months old need to sleep about 14 to 17 hours a day and older babies need 12 to 16 hours (including naps).
This sure is a lot of sleep!
If a white noise machine can help keep your baby happy and well rested then it sure is a great investment.
What White Noise Sleep Aid is Best for Babies?
There are many white noise machines out there on the market. If you’re buying a new device we recommend you get one that has all the features that assist a baby in falling asleep such as sound selection, a timer, automatic shutoff and portability.
With this all taken into account we recommend the following white noise machines for baby:
Aroma Snooze Sleep Aid Vaporiser
The Aroma Snooze is top of the list when it comes to sleep aids as not only does it have the all important white noise option but it also has a pink noise option.
Yep – pink noise is a thing too! Pink Noise is slightly different to white noise as it has the ability to emit louder and more powerfully at lower frequencies. Pink noise is often found in nature such as waves lapping on the beach, leaves rustling in the trees, or a steady rainfall…sounds we find naturally soothing.
With the press of a button you can select the sound of a heart beating, the sound of gently falling rain with pink noise frequencies, the Rock-a-Bye-Baby lullaby and a rhythmic lullaby.
Not only does the Aroma Snooze have pre-recordings of effective sleep sounds, it also has the option for to record your own sounds that work on your baby. You can record yourself shooshing, or singing or talking gently and soothingly and then play that sound back on a loop to gently lull baby to sleep.
The Aroma Snooze also features a clever pulsing light that runs through the red-orange spectrum. This colour spectrum mimics the colours from inside the womb but also promotes the production of melatonin which is out own sleep hormone. The pulsing of the light is designed to fall in sync with the calm slow breathing of a baby sleeping which in turn encourages sleep. The light moves through the colour spectrum from red to orange encouraging a deeper more restful sleep. You can even select it to stay on just one colour if that works better for your baby.
The Aroma Snooze is also a cool mist vaporiser that high frequency vibrations to immediately turn water into a cool vapour without the use of heat. The advantage of this is there is no condensation created and the essential oils used are kept in their purest form so you and baby can get the most benefit from them.
Heartbeat Cuddle Toy
Zazu's Dex the Dog heatbeat soft toy is not just a sleep aid, it can be your little one's favourite cuddle buddy too! Dex comes with a removable smart sound module that's a game changer.
Dex can mimic the soothing sound of a mother's heartbeat, creating a comforting environment for your little one. But that's not all – you have options. Choose to play gentle white noise, sweet lullabies, or calming nature sounds.
The automatic shut-off function ensures a peaceful end to the melody session. And here's the magic – if your baby stirs in the middle of the night, the sound sensor kicks in to play the last selected melody, helping them drift back into dreamland.
Baby Shusher
The Baby Shusher is a sleep machine that uses a rhythmic “Shhh” sound to break baby’s crying spell. During those first few months many health care professionals recommend making this shooshing sound to aid baby falling asleep. However, it can be an exhausting task shooshing baby for the time it takes for them to doze off. For sleep deprived parents it can be almost impossible to sit there shooshing and patting and trying to catch your breath between long slow shooshes.
With the Baby Shusher you can relax and let the machine do all the work. Simply turn it on to the preferred volume and place it close to bub and let it shoosh baby to sleep.
The Shusher can can be set for 15 or 30 minutes depending on your baby’s needs. Simply twist the top section to select the time you want.
The Baby Shusher is wireless and portable so it can go anywhere baby goes.
Each Shusher comes with a handy wrist strap making it easier to carry or tether to the car seat.
Looking for more sleep aids for baby or toddler, then click here