Could A Sound Machine Be The Answer To Calming Your Baby?

By Author: Mike Zimmerman
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Certainly every parent or caregiver has had the experience: a child that consistently cries no matter what you try do to calm them. It can be absolutely nerve racking. If you have explored all the other avenues, a sound or sleep machine could be the answer to help calm your baby to sleep.

Possible Reasons Why a Baby May Not Sleep

Most parents know the basics. If a baby won't settle down to sleep, you check a number of things. Do they need a diaper change? How long has it been since their last feeding? They may be hungry. Are they dressed too warmly, or maybe not warm enough? Are they possibly kicking off their blanket or covering? Do they have a temperature? A skin rash? Or maybe they have stomach cramps due to a build-up of gas. If you have exhausted all these avenues then it starts to get more complicated. And at the end of the day (and, sometimes, all night long), it takes an incalculable amount of patience, love, and tender caring. Often as a parent, its guess work as to the cause of the problem, and all you can do is try treat the effect and do your best to calm your baby.

Aspects of Care that ...
... Calm and Sooth Babies

There are many different techniques for calming babies, but most subscribe to the same four common principles. The first is touch. In addition to holding your baby in a variety of comforting positions, touch can also involve gentle massage. Rubbing their back or neck, or patting their bottom generally has a calming effect. Second, a rhythmic motion such as sitting in a rocking chair or gently swaying from side to side can help lull a baby to sleep. The third principle is warmth. Babies generally like to be held close so that they can feel your body warmth, as that was what they were accustomed to before they were born. You could also try to warm their cradle by placing a hot water bottle in it for a few minutes before putting your child down. Be cautious however that it does not get too hot. Check the temperature of the bedding once you've removed the hot water bottle and make sure it is not too hot for a baby. The fourth principle is that of soothing sounds. Some mothers may be talented enough to sing lullabies. But for the more tone challenged or exhausted parents a sound machine could be the solution.

How a Sound Machine Can Help your Baby Sleep

Sound machines emit an array of soothing sounds. They often include relaxing sounds like waves gently breaking on the shoreline, bubbling mountain streams, bird calls and other nature sounds. The purpose of a sound machine is to introduce sounds that help calm the senses. This in turn helps a person or baby relax, allowing them to fall asleep naturally. Often if the parents are very stressed or overtired, a baby can pick up on this and in turn become stressed themselves. A sound machine in this instance can help calm not only the child, but also the parent. Over time a baby can become familiar with certain sounds that calm them. If you are able to turn on those sounds from a sound machine when the child is distressed, it can aid you in calming them and getting them to sleep.

How to Select the Most Suitable Sound Machine

Ideally for babies, you'd want to select a machine that has the most natural sounds. Running water, birds twittering in the trees, wind rustling leaves or waves washing on the shoreline are all good examples. Turn the volume to a low level so that the sounds are in the background and not overpowering. If you live in an area where there is a lot of street noise, those sounds could be what is causing your baby to wake up. In this instance you may want to consider a sound machine that has a white noise setting. White noise effectively masks and absorbs other sounds by emitting a broadband frequency. Until your child gets used to the street noises, a sound machine could prove very useful in helping them to fall asleep.

Calming babies is anything but an exact science. What works on one occasion may not work on another, as there may be other contributing factors that you are not aware of. Experiment with different sound settings on your sound machine, or alternate the sounds with classical music. At the very least it should help you as the parent relax a little too.
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Even doctors recommend white noise sound machines and SAD lights for patients who are sufferers of tinnitus or have difficulty sleeping. These patients can be shift workers who have to sleep during the day, new parents contending with a crying baby, or anyone who is easily distracted by outside noise or has difficulty sleeping for any reason. Visit Sound Machines Direct.com today.