feedback for "Parental Advisory: Shhhhh..."

1. If it makes you feel any better, our daughter as an infant would wake up if the breeze blew too hard or the cat meowed down the hallway.
   
   Now, she's a 5-year-old and when we were camping this summer a freight train (literally) chugged through the campground about 20 yards from our tent. It was the loudest thing I've ever heard in my life and she didn't wake up.

   posted by : me on 11/12/2008 at 9:15 AM Flag For Abuse

2. I think it's a phase too.
   
   My oldest used to wake up if you crinkled a plastic bag down the hall from her room. But now she sleeps through her alarm clock.
   
   My gift advice to you: Turn on closed captioning. It means you have to actually look at the TV screen the whole time, but at least you'll get to enjoy Jon Stewart.

   posted by : hand on 11/12/2008 at 1:07 PM Flag For Abuse

3. I'm all for long-term solutions, and ones that don't require lugging silly machines with you wherever you go. Stop tiptoeing around for a week, and let your kid wake up and get back to sleep on their own (with your loving reassurance). You might miss a few key interviews on The Daily Show, but I think everyone will ultimately end up happier.
   
   Read "The Gay Uncle's Guide to Parenting"
   
   http://www.askgayuncle.com

   posted by : UncleBrett on 11/12/2008 at 1:19 PM Flag For Abuse

4. I also have a light-sleeping baby and my solution to TV is headphones! That way you don't have to strain to hear.
   
   Whoever says just let your baby get used to noise must not have a baby that's as hard to get down as mine is -- after spending so long getting her to sleep I'll do anything to avoid wake-ups!

   posted by : lightsleepertoo on 11/12/2008 at 3:34 PM Flag For Abuse

5. People who do not have children always say just let them get used to it - that is because they are not the ones who are counting every minute of precious sleep. We used an air filter because our guy has allergies but it worked like a charm in helping him sleep in a busy house. And they do change over time, but in the moment, do whatever it takes to help your baby sleep.

   posted by : beenthere on 11/12/2008 at 4:32 PM Flag For Abuse

6. We use a white noise machine for babies, but it isn't loud enough to drown out a lot of noise even at top volume (woke her up pouring a bowl of cereal in the kitchen ... twice). So we still have to tiptoe, even at 9 months. We bought a headphone extension cord and splitter so we could watch TV using headphones. I can't help but think that the parents out there who say "just let them get used to noise" just happen to have lucked out and gotten deep-sleeping kids (either that or they're very good at ignoring hours of crying as they repeatedly wake the baby hour after hour, night after night).

   posted by : snorkmaiden on 11/12/2008 at 5:23 PM Flag For Abuse

7. I'm the one with the kid who now sleeps thru freight trains - we also used a sleep machine and it totally worked. I didn't mind taking it with me. It was worth its weight in gold. I would have sawed off my arm for it.
   
   When she was a baby, if she woke up in the middle of the night, she'd be up for hours. We tried the whole "let-her-get-used-to-the-noise" thing and, sorry gay uncle, it didn't get any better. After about 2 weeks of her (and us) being constantly exhausted we used the sleep machine. Poof. Baby sleeps.
   
   A fan, or a humidifier also works.

   posted by : me on 11/12/2008 at 7:14 PM Flag For Abuse

8. It's completely silly to think that all kids can be trained to sleep the same way (ie, ignore them for a week and suddenly, like magic!, they'll be able to sleep through anything). The ability to sleep is a developmental ability. Do all babies walk at the same time? Say their first word? Then why would you expect them all to learn to sleep through the night or ignore noises at the same age? We bought a sleep sheep. It's a small stuffed animal that attaches to the crib and emits white noise. There's no "lugging," it's the size of a stuffed animal. It helped our poor sleeper stretch out his sleep periods. Eventually our kid learned to sleep through the night, and to do so with no white noise (fourteen months, as it were). The sleep sheep helped us until he developed the ability to do so.

   posted by : anne05 on 11/12/2008 at 9:21 PM Flag For Abuse

9. I got that white noise machine that shrinks use. Love It. Take it everywhere.
   
   The wireless headphones?? Got them too.
   
   And I also had the baby who woke if you stirred your tea, but now at four sleeps through the dog barking right next to him. Thanks goodness. New baby started out with white noise in her room. I find it helps me and my husband sleep, too.

   posted by : EllaAnne on 11/13/2008 at 11:09 PM Flag For Abuse

10. Use a fan in the room, not only does it produce white noise but it also helps with SIDS prevention.
    
    See linked article.
    
    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122334074835910025.html

    posted by : Donald on 11/14/2008 at 8:09 AM Flag For Abuse

11. I have used ocean wave sounds on a cd since both my two toddlers were infants. We have always lived in places that made it impossible to sound-proof the kids' room. It's really no problem to take it with when we travel and at this point, the kids are so conditioned to it they fall asleep quite easily when they hear it. I suppose some kids could get "addicted" to a noise for sleep, but mine do okay without it too, so far.

    posted by : Shannon LC Cate on 11/16/2008 at 12:13 AM Flag For Abuse

12. I'm pretty late on this posting.
    
    But I never had to tip toe with my children (6 total).
    
    I think it's because I was constantly on the go.
    
    Even after giving birth, I'm right back to work..kid and all.
    
    So maybe my kids were use to the noise. They weren't as sensitive.
    
    When I had Slater (now 2), it was during Market Week and MAGIC (Vegas, in February).
    
    I'm a control freak when it comes to my business (okay, everything) so I'm there micro managing and making sure the booth design was EXACTLY what I designed and that everything was perfect....and while Slater was in a peanut shell (or whatever the proper name for thos baby slings is).
    
    So there was hammering, drilling, yelling gay men (luv ya Justin) and me pacing and freaking out (with leaky boobs, by the way).
    
    Slater slept the whole time. she whimpered once...because she was hungry. so i had to go find a secure place to nurse. and she was good.

    posted by : ZBecks on 12/4/2008 at 6:46 PM Flag For Abuse