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02
Nov 2011

Sound Machines for Better, More Restful Sleep

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We just moved flats, aka apartments, and once again, I am so happy we held onto our sound machines.  We’re not bad sleepers, and the kids are getting older, so it was tempting to think we might not want them.  However, now that we live next door to {and share a wall with} college-aged students, we’re pretty glad we held onto them.  Music with a strong bass line starts anywhere between 9pm and 2am.  We live on a busy street, so passers-by and cars contribute noise at any time.  In addition to outside noise, the kids are getting used to their new shared room, and to top it off, are getting over jet lag from our last over-seas trip.  That means they wake up at all kind of weird hours for about a week, and since they’re both going to new schools, sleepless nights are not really an option.  For all these reasons in just the past week, I am so incredibly glad we had some white noise to block all the extra noises so we could all get some semi-normal rest.

Sound machines really are clutch in these situations.  I know some people worry that once they get used to using one for sleep purposes, they won’t be able to sleep without one.  I personally have not had that problem, nor have my children.  We just use them to cover noise.  If there’s not noise to cover, we don’t use it.  It’s as simple as that.  I have found that varying sounds at home, and especially on the road when traveling, really mess up sleep.  I am not a woman who can function on too little sleep.  Thus, I will forever keep a sound machine {or two…or three} around for a while.

While I’m at it, I’d like to recommend a portable sound machine- that way you can travel with it for yourself and for your kids, or just move it around the house or to a friend’s place for kids’ naps, etc.  Having a battery option, as well as adapters is great for home, work, and travel.  Most portable machines are quite small and very lightweight, too, making them an easy addition to a carry-on bag or even a handbag.

Sleep is precious- using a sound machine can preserve your night time rest in spite of ambient noise.

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12
Oct 2011

5 Reasons You Need a Sound Machine

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There are many irritations in life.  For me, one of the more frustrating irritations is noise, unwanted noise.  It may sound silly, but I have 2 children, one on the way, and I am surrounded by noise all the time by the nature of my role as mother.  I find by the end of the day, the last thing I want is to hear my neighbor’s dog or passers-by on the street.  I can’t even tolerate loud movies or music.  My ears are just too tired.  Thus, I am a huge fan of sound masking technology and everything to do with it.  Interestingly, for sound masking to work properly, you have to add noise to deal with all the unwanted noise.  Counter-intuitive to be sure.  However, sound masking focuses on covering unwanted noise with white noise which uses a diversity of sound from the sound spectrum.  The result is that the brain can’t focus on one specific irritating sound and is freed from its irritation.

5 Ways to Use Sound Masking

1. For work. The average worker (including you!) is distracted up to 2 hours every day.  This distraction usually comes in the form of conversational distraction.  Thus, an individual sound machine on your desk (or even this free online generator) is great for tuning out this kind of noise. Better yet, sound masking throughout the office space can provide this benefit to the entire office.

2. For sleep. This is one of my favorite ways to use white noise.  I hate lying in bed, listening to the wind howl or car doors slam on the street. Using a sound machine next to your bed will mask the annoying sounds from neighbors or street noise, helping you sleep better and stay asleep with fewer interruptions.

3. For kids. Sound machines can work wonders with kid’s sensitive sleep schedules. Maybe your children are sharing a room for the first time, or you want them to easily sleep through the noise of your dinner party. White noise can ensure good, uninterrupted sleep for your little ones, which means better sleep for you, too.

4. For relaxation. After a long day at work, you want to come home to relax and unwind, but a barking dog across the street is interrupting your reverie. You can relax to the sounds of nature found on many household sound machines. Enjoy the sound of the sea as you sit down to read a good book.

5. For tinnitus. Ringing in your ears, also known as tinnitus can be very distracting and uncomfortable. The irritation caused by tinnitus can be lessened though the use of sound therapy, letting you relax.

A sound machine provides a more focused environment, free of intrusive and distracting noise. This can increase your productivity at work, or provide you with a more restful night’s sleep. Sound masking can also be utilized throughout a open office space to provide better productivity and confidentiality for everyone. Try sound masking for yourself, and begin enjoying the benefits of improved concentration and better sleep!

 

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05
Oct 2011

Sound Machines & Bedtime Routine

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The Need to Plug In

You may recall all the recent storms related to Hurricane Irene.  The fall-out was catastrophic, leaving many without electricity for days on end.  A friend of mine who lives on the northeast coast had days of power outages, too.  However, much to her relief her landlord supplied them with generators.  Interestingly, she itemized a list of her top priorities for power necessity: sound machines, night lights, a refrigerator, a light, and a tv.  While a refrigerator, lights, and a tv may not seem too far a stretch for most, many people may be surprised at the inclusion of sound machines and night lights.  I would wager those people do not have children.

Why Sound Machines are Top Priority

As a mother of soon to be three, I can relate to the desire to plug in.  Hurricanes notwithstanding, I have had my share of power outages, and the first things I think of are our sound machines and night lights.  It’s not that we can’t live without them, it’s just that they are part of our routine, especially our bed time routine.  And as all mothers know, bed time routines are sacred.  There is little a mother won’t do to soothe her tired child to sleep.  For us, sound machines have been a staple almost since day one of new baby.  We had barking dogs, noisy neighbors, loud phones, heaters and air conditioners that turn off and on all the time, as well as just general noise.  Thus, having a little white noise was comforting for us all.

It was when we added baby #2 that we really appreciated our sound machines.  They did the same noise control for our baby and protected our toddler from all the baby’s sounds/crying in the middle of the night.  It’s hard enough to get up with a newborn for midnight feedings- there is no reason to be getting up for your disconcerted toddler, too.

Sound machines can be an essential and comforting part of your bedtime routine with your children.

 

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03
Oct 2011

Tips for Flying with Kids

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If you’ve ever flown, then you know how stressful the whole experience can be.  That experience only gets worse with kids.  It’s not that children are so terrible, but there are so many more factors to consider when adding in little people.  I recently flew across the Atlantic for the first time with my 2 kids.  Well, it was not the first time, not by a long stretch, but it was the first time I did it 7 months pregnant, and the first time I did it without my husband.  I actually had a very pleasant experience and was told by numerous passengers how well-behaved my children are.  Since they are 3 and 5, that’s saying something.  I think most of the compliment is due to the fact that we had good circumstances, so I wanted to share my planning as well as what just happened so you can benefit.

  • As always, talk about the trip with your children before it happens.  It might be weeks or just days, but mentally prepare them for what’s coming.  If there’s a time change or you expect your child to sleep on the plane for a nap or for night time, let them know so they expect it and aren’t surprised.  It is important to know that children never sleep as well on planes as they do in beds, so make sure your own expectations are in check.
  • Call ahead for seating.  It may be that your airline will let you pre-select seats online.  If that’s the case, great!  Most of the time they won’t allow you to pre-book the bulkhead seats- those are the ones that don’t have seats in front of them and are therefore roomier.  Often times, these seats are equipped with a bassinet for infants under a year.  If you have a 12 month old or younger, you should be able to request these seats.   If you are unable to book these seats in advance, arrive early to request them, as they will probably be assigned first come, first serve.
  • If you can’t get the bulkhead, have a back-up plan.  I really liked our seats- they were towards the back which kept us close to the bathroom, as well as the engine noise which served as a nice white noise for my sleeping children.  When I fly with my husband, too, we usually get our own row in that we have 4 seats.  This time I did not have him, so having a 3-seat row was ideal.  If you find yourself with less than 4 in your group, ask if there are 2-seat or 3-seat rows that will work.  This enables you to get out on either side without disturbing another passengers.  For me, it meant that when one child was sleeping, I didn’t have to wake him/her to get the other to the bathroom.

As usual, planning ahead makes for smoother travel, especially with children.  Be sure to call ahead for ideal seats that will keep you close to the bathroom and that will provide good white noise.

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17
Aug 2011

Tips for How to Sleep In {even with small children!}

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Tips for Sleeping In

Do you remember the days when you got to sleep in?  Whether sleeping in was every day or just weekends, or 8am or noon, nobody was pounding on your door or just crying to be fed.  It was just you and you were your own alarm.  Now you have little ones whose cries ring a little too early {or hours too early if you ask me}.  If you are a parent like me, you know the woes of trying to sleep in with small children.  It’s not that the joys of kids aren’t worth it, but wouldn’t it be nice to sleep in every once in a while?

Here are some ideas for the next time you’d like to get a little extra shut-eye.

1. Convince your spouse/partner to take care of the kids on the morning you’d like to sleep in. I have heard of couples switching Saturday mornings, so every other Saturday you’d get to sleep in and on the opposite Saturday you’d have morning childcare duty.  {For most of us, though, once awakened by a child’s cries, we can’t go back to sleep, no matter how well our partners do in entertaining them away from us.  I do like the idea, though.}

2. Ensure that you can actually sleep. Unfortunately, even though you are not out of bed, your kids are, and if they are anything like my kids, they are LOUD. It’s so disappointing to beable to sleep in, but not actually be able to sleep because of the chaos ensuing outside your door. I like to employ a combination of white noise and ear plugs. The white noise that the sound machine makes masks the sounds the kids are making and the ear plugs are extra insurance. Don’t want to waste your free morning! {Tip: Black out blinds help as well, but aren’t as necessary. You’ll likely be so tired anyway, that a little bit of light won’t bother you.}

Sleeping in is quite a luxury- make it happen even with small children by being proactive in your planning and safeguarding your sleep with a sound machine.

 

 

 

 

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27
May 2011

Can You Quit Using a Sound Machine?

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Stages of Sleep & Noise

Babies are born and they sleep through garbage trucks and dogs barking and phones ringing…they may not always sleep at night or for long enough periods, but when they’re asleep, they’re asleep.  That said, the day comes that your baby no longer sleeps through sound..any sound at all.  You start to tip toe at nap time and turn off the TV at bed time, all for the sake of precious sleep.

It’s around 4 months, by the way- that’s when they really start to wake up.  And that’s when we got a fan to help block noise.  However I started to worry about the size for when we traveled and then I worried about the cord because of strangulation.  Fortunately, that’s when we learned about portable sound machines- we started using them in each of our bedrooms.  First our daughter and then our son learned to sleep through intrusive sound because of the white noise.  You see, white noise covers noise with noise- it sounds crazy, but white noise has samples of sound from all over the sound spectrum and the odd result is that this sampling makes it harder for the brain to recognize.  It may sound like a bad thing, but this effect means that you can more easily tune out unwanted sound- great for sleep!

Can You Quit Using a Sound Machine?

So, our daughter has had a sound machine or some sort of sound masking almost since birth- she’s almost 5 now.  My husband and I decided that she has become a good enough sleeper that she probably doesn’t need to have one for sleep.  I wanted to share this with you because so often when I recommend sound machines to new parents their major concern is that their children will not be able to learn to sleep without it.  So, listen up- we told our daughter that she was old enough to sleep without her sound machine.  She didn’t bat an eye, said okay, and woke up the next morning refreshed and exclaiming, “I loved it!  I loved not having a sound machine.”  I guess they can learn to go without one.  And, for the record, I do not regret using a sound machine- it got us through a lot of years of questionable sleep.

Sound machines are great for infants and toddlers {and parents!} as they all struggle to find good sleep- and don’t worry, you can quit using them later if you want to!

 

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23
Feb 2011

Can I retreat from my retreat?

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Can I retreat from my retreat?

Being away from home often requires certain flexibility in where and how you sleep.

This past weekend, my husband and I loaded up our two kids and seemingly everything we own to embark upon a family retreat.  Actually, it was a family retreat for us, but a young adults’ retreat for almost everyone else.  You see, my husband is a part-time parish worker at our church, and he works with the young adults, and since we’re roughly the same age as many of the “young adults,” we figured we’d all go.  So, as I said, we packed everything but the kitchen sink and headed out an hour and a half away to a lovely Scottish town called Arbroath.  It is sea-side and just minutes away from Arbroath Abbey, once an important political spot for Scotland being the place they signed their declaration of independence.

I digress….it was a great weekend, and we all had a wonderful time.  However, it was not the refreshing weekend we had anticipated and even hoped for.  As we knew had to happen, we all shared a room.  Sigh.  I do love my children, but sharing sleeping quarters is not ideal for us.  However, we rejoiced that it’s at least possible now that they’re almost 3 and 4 1/2.  We stayed for two nights, and the first night, I just wanted to pack up and leave as soon as possible.  We had set up my son’s pack n play in the bathroom to give him (and us) walls and some buffer of our noise as we went to bed after him.  Unfortuneately, the poor lad was awake from 1-4am, singing “I like to move it, move it!”  I just kept waiting for him to wake up our daughter and the rest of the guests at the retreat center!

Yea for Sound Machines!

I am so, so, so, so happy we packed our sound machines!  Even though my mother’s ears had to be attentive, the rest of my family was able to sleep through his racket!  Furthermore, the next night, I couldn’t help but notice that the room my children were sleeping in was directly above the meeting room.  Every time someone laughed shrilly or they started music practice, I would tense up worrying about the kids waking up…until I remembered our sound machines!  There was no way they were going to sleep through FUN being had, but with a little sound masking, my two angels were blissfully unaware of anything going on around them.

Sound masking through the use of personal sound machines is extremely helpful when traveling, especially with small children.

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22
Dec 2010

Do you have a sound machine?

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Experienced Travel

Kids are often awake on a plane when others aren't (or don't want to be).

We have done a lot of traveling with our 2 kids.  It used to be that taking the short 2-hour flight with one very content child from Iowa to Texas would stress me out.  2 years, 1 child, and dozens of flights later, I chuckle as I think about all the places and time zones we’ve been in.  Very little stresses me out now.  Maybe that’s a wee overstatement, but I usually fly very confidently with both my children.

Most of my confidence comes from experience and preparedness.  I usually think through all the timing and changes I can and try to plan accordingly.  I have come to know both what bothers my children and what aides them in getting the rest they need, regardless of the time zone or transportation.  I have also resigned myself that travel of any kind just doesn’t afford kids the same routine, and that’s okay.  Losing a few hours of sleep is the price we pay for the privilege of traveling.

Do You Have a Sound Machine?

I will say that one of our funnier moments was when we caught a late night flight from Germany back to Scotland, but not our city.  We landed at 11pm and still had a 3 or 4 hour drive to get home.  In hindsight, we should have gotten a hotel.  Sadly we assumed that our kids would nod off and sleep most of the time.  Well, that didn’t happen.  Our older daughter did her best to sleep, but our son, bless his heart, was continually disturbed by the lights from the oncoming cars.  He would wake up, screaming, right next to his sister.  Since they both are normally quiet while sleeping, our daughter had never had to deal with this kind of noise.  She did her best to sleep through it, but finally asked with bleary eyes and a tired voice, “Do you have a sound machine?”

That was the day (well, the night) we learned several things.  First, if it’s well after bed time for everyone, go ahead and get a hotel room.  Second, do what you can to prepare the kids for the changed environment by talking about it ahead of time.  Lastly, bring our portable sound machine for overnight car trips.

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17
Dec 2010

The Sweet Sound of White Noise Machines

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One of my favorite times of the day is after the kids have gone to bed. I settle down on my couch with my (not-so) trusty laptop and hopefully a cup of (decaffeinated) tea. I bask in the freedom of being able to sit somewhere for a few minutes without someone climbing on top of me, asking me to do something for them, or having to break up an argument. The background noise of my most favorite time is always two white noise machines–one in my son’s room and one in my daughter’s room. When I hear that, I know that I have made it through another day and my children are now sleeping sweetly in their beds.

My kids find the sound of the sound machine comforting too. They’ve always slept with one and don’t know any other way. About a week ago we forgot to click the sound machine on before we left our daughter’s room. Her shouts quickly made us run back in there and we made her little sleep world right again. In fact, when my children pretend to sleep during their play time, they go and turn on their sound machines before they climb up in the bed to “sleep.”

The beauty of using a sound machine to sleep is that it frees my children up to get the sleep they need–not only so they are in a good mood the next day, but for proper development. They are not constantly being awoken by other noises. Using a sound machine also frees me up to be able to move around the house without having to constantly worry about waking them. I like staying up late, so I usually exercise, wash the dishes, straighten the house, and sometime get some cooking done. My daughter’s bedroom is directly across from the kitchen, so most of that stuff happens literally right outside her bedroom door and she sleeps through it.

I really do appreciate those white noise machines.

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19
Nov 2010

How To Sleep In (Even Though Your Children Don’t)

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Its not easy to sleep in when you have small children. In fact, I’d say it is almost nearly impossible. However, there are a few things you can do to ensure that you get to sleep in a few days a month.

Children having a pillow fight on the bed is not conducive to sleeping in. I'm not sure why these parents look so happy in this picture.

1. Convince your spouse/partner to take care of the kids on the morning you’d like to sleep in. I have heard of couples switching Saturday mornings, so every other Saturday you’d get to sleep in and on the opposite Saturday you’d have morning childcare duty.

2. Ensure that you can actually sleep. Unfortunately, even though you are not out of bed, your kids are, and if they are anything like my kids, they are LOUD. It’s so disappointing to be able to sleep in, but not actually be able to sleep because of the chaos ensuing outside your door. I like to employ a combination of white noise and ear plugs. The white noise that the sound machine makes masks the sounds the kids are making and the ear plugs are extra insurance. Don’t want to waste your free morning! Black out blinds help as well, but aren’t as necessary. You’ll likely be so tired anyway, that a little bit of light won’t bother you.

3. Lock your door so the kids can’t get in. My children don’t understand why mommy or daddy would want to stay in bed any longer than absolutely necessary, so they just walk on in and tell you it’s time to get up.  An effective solution is just locking the door. It’ll be up to your partner in crime to keep the kids from shaking the door knob trying to get in.

4. Enjoy. :) Now that you don’t take this privelegde for granted, like you used to before you had kids, make sure you enjoy the extra sleep time you get. You’ll need the extra energy next Saturday when its your turn to watch the children.

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