When my daughter was an infant, my mom got this tape of that great ukelele guy who sings "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," whats-his-name--Iz. Anyhow, whenever she wanted my child to sleep on car rides or at sleepovers, she'd pop in that tape and I'm telling you, it worked like a tranquilizer dart to the thigh. And six years later, it still works like nothing else. (By the way, she refuses to give me a copy, cuz it's her secret weapon.) If you lack a mom with a ukelele tape, here's
a nice primer on how to use sounds and music to get your child to sleep. White noise, doncha know.
I like this tip best of all: "Pick something that you will enjoy listening to night after night, too." Now that is key. We tried a lullaby tape with an opera lady and after three listens I was ready to drink a bottle of cough syrup just to kill the pain. I also like this, because I'm of the school that the worst thing you can do is to try and create total silence for your child's sleeping. It's a) hard to maintain, b) will screw you in the long run, and c) means your child will never be able to share a room with siblings unless you break the habit. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to turn on the vacuum because my kid looks ready for a nap.
