“Turn on the noise, the baby’s sleeping.” Yeah, that kind of goes contrary to the typical school of thought that we should be quiet as a church mouse when it’s nap time.
However, a lot of people don’t realize that life inside the womb is NOT the quiet, peaceful, tranquil place we might imagine. It’s LOUD in there… really loud. Experts say that the sound levels are right around that of a lawnmower.
Imagine living your whole life where loud is what’s normal, and then suddenly being thrust into a world of quiet. That kind of change would be dramatic for anyone, let alone a newborn. The quiet world we strive for is actually very stressful to a baby.
Cue the white noise! By bringing back this familiar element of their existence, we are providing a tool in helping them make the transition to this new uncomfortable world outside of the womb. It has a calming effect for them, and obviously a calm baby will fall asleep faster than a stressed baby. And the masking of other sounds the white noise provides is just an added extra bonus!
So the next time someone says to you, “Quiet, the baby is sleeping,” use that as the perfect opportunity to tell them about the glorious world of white noise.