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White Noise Soothes Fussy Babies

How To Get Quick Relief

You can significantly reduce crying due to colic or a fussy baby that needs soothing simply by recreating the ear-pleasing noise your baby was surrounded with for 9 months in the womb. It was cozy and warm and your baby was content just to stay there. Now imagine suddenly emerging into the unknown. The lights are bright and the room is full of unfamiliar sounds. Now your baby is over stimulated and can cry for hours. Your baby is inconsolable because he wants his old environment back and longs for the comfort of the womb. You can help soothe your baby with white noise.

What is White Noise?

White noise is all around us. It really isn’t noise like a honking horn or a barking dog, but rather a steady, monotone frequency that is calming to a baby and lulls him off to sleep. White noise is like holding your hands over your ears, or the sound you hear when you hold a large seashell up to your ears. The roar you hear in a room full of people all talking at once is white noise.

How Do I Recreate White Noise?

Find items from around the house that can mimic what your baby heard for 40 weeks in the womb. You want something that is continuous and repetitive. The lower the frequency and more monotonous in sound the more soothing it is to your baby. One of the most effective sounds is a personal hairdryer. I put the dryer on a towel near the crib and set it on low. My kids loved the steady sound. Some babies love the roar of the vacuum cleaner from outside their room. The droning sound of a fan or an air-conditioning unit or the tumbling sound of the clothes dryer also works great.

Some other sounds your baby may like are a bubbling fish tank, or running water. You need to try a fewsounds to find the one that works and as soon as you do your baby should calm down quickly. If your baby is a newborn you might also try swaddling to help give your baby a more secure feeling. You can also go online and purchase several CD’s with a variety of white noise already recorded for you.

Safety Tips

  • Be careful not to run a loud vacuum cleaner too close to your baby or for too long. You want to protect your baby’s hearing.

  • Never leave an electrical appliance unattended near your baby.

  • If you use a fan or an air-conditioning unit, be sure the air- flow is not directed toward your baby.

  • Good luck because this too shall pass!