Background Noise Maker/ Sound Machine Suggestion for Baby

We use a regular white noise machine that you can buy at Staples for around $20. It has 7 different sounds - we like the one of rain.....
It is small and you can take it with you on trips.
good luck!

Not one that you mentioned but we have the sleep sheep and my daughter still loves it at age 2! We also have one from the first years that hangs on the side of a crib or bed rail and acts as a nightlight as well. Both can be set up with a timer, and the bed one can also come on when she makes noise/cries.

I use a fan at night to be background noise, but it works. I can't hear the traffic outside the window, or the snoring / breathing of the husband, or any other household noises. I am a light sleeper so it really is a soothing white noise alternative that is inexpensive and lasts. the air circulating is also good.
Just a thought. : )

Brookstone Sleepmate is great for white noise.

Hi G.,
I have the same problem with my home and I bought a Conair sound machine but I didnt like it. I have been using a fan and I just face it away from him (my 11 mo old son) on an opposit wall and it works really well. We have used it during summer and winter and havent had a problem. My son is also able to sleep through a couple of parties we have had with the fan on.
Good luck!

Hi G.,
If you'd prefer to check the sound machines or white noise machines on line first to see the cost range...here are a few links.

http://www.sleepwellbaby.com/Baby-Sound-Machines-s/479.htm

http://www.soundmachinesdirect.com/

http://www.amazon.com/DEX-Products-Sound-Sleeper-SS-01/dp...

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=381333...

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/187-###-###-####-###...

I am in regular counseling (I'm bi-polar) and the white noise machines they use are extremely useful. While I'm in the waiting room I cannot hear a word that's being said in another person's session.

Let your fingers do the shopping (as they used to say...lol) and check out the styles and prices online before you head out shopping. When I find what I'm looking for I even call the store ahead of time and ask for price and availability. Sometimes I find out that purchasing the item online, even including s&h, is cheaper.

Good luck. I hope your blessed little one get's some peaceful sleep and you get peace of mind.

W. Q

Hi G.-

I got mine from sleepwellbaby.com

It's the Marpac sound screen that others have mentioned. I have two and one is over four years old. It packs well and plugs into the wall. It has two settings and you can adjust the air vents to your preference. I found that it helped my sleeping, too! I highly recommend this product. :-), Tori

I bought the below for my daughter and son. Love it. http://www.walmart.com/ip/HoMedics-Sound-Spa-Machine-with...

Hi G.,

We have the Conair Infant Sound Machine - SU7 and it's been great! We've used it for every nap and at nighttime for most of our son's 2 years. I have no complaints!

We just turned the radio to the static in between stations. It's cheap and easy. Although I have to say, the one that is motion activated sounds awesome!

This isn't exactly a noise machine, but what has worked really well for us is a humidifier. We have a cool mist humidifier and the humming sound it makes seems to drown out the noise of the house just right (and we have very squeaky hardwood floors). Plus, it's good for preventing stuffy noses at night. My son is 2 1/2 now and he loves it and asks me to turn it on every night. We've been using it since he was born with no problems. It's the Safety First one, I believe.

I always played soft classical.....

We use an older iPod shuffle docked onto a iPod player w/ speakers. We play Grey Noise that we downloaded from iTunes and have it on continuous loop. White noise is a little too high pitched. It works great at blocking out all the household noise but keeping the noise in the room so we didn't hear it in the hallway. We tried a fan but the smaller ones weren't loud enough and with the bigger ones the air was blowing somewhere so it wasn't ideal for the cold months.

http://www.amazon.com/Marpac-Conditioner-SleepMate-580A-M...

We have used this one for two years and it's great. Recommended by a sleep consultant. Not the cheapest but definitely worth it.

We have the Homedic one from Bed, Bath & Beyond. My dad had one when we were visiting with my then 6 week old son. My dad suggested we use it to create "white noise" and maybe the baby would sleep better. It worked and still does at now 5 years old. My son turns it on when he goes to bed and turns it off when he gets up. It travels with us wherever we go too!

Fans are fabulous! I've always slept with one and I use them in my children's rooms as well. Also, a study was released in October of 2008 showing that infants who slept with a fan in their room were less likely to die of SIDS.

No one has mentioned this one yet, but my daughter LOVED the Prince Lionheart Slumber Bear. It makes the sound of the mother's heart beat from inside the womb. I would put it by her feet so when she moved it would restart. It worked really well for us and several other friends of mine, as well. You can get it at Target or Babies R Us even.

http://www.princelionheart.com/site/n_bc_0016.html

G.,
Have you tried just using your own radio? A lot of AM stations have static noise or even a classical music station.

We've used white noise for the last year or so with my toddler and it works great! Instead of purchasing a separate item, we just turn his CD player onto an AM station with a soft sounding fuzz and off to sleep he goes!

Everyone keeps mentioning fans, but that just didn't work for my baby. It wasn't loud enough to drown out the noise of my preschooler playing in the next room. I bought a sound machine from Walmart that was under $20 and we have LOVED it!! It has several options for what to play - from water to wind to even the sound of a heart beating! We keep ours on the trickling water turned up all the way. We've been using it for over a year since she was pretty tiny and it has really helped her to sleep good. She even goes and turns it on now before asking to be rocked. :) Anyway, here is the link, hope that helps. :)
http://www.walmart.com/ip/HoMedics-Sound-Spa-Machine-with...

Hi G.,
We use this sound machine and we LOVE it!

http://www.hammacher.com/Product/60586?promo=search

It is very simple. Makes one noise (white noise) and we bought the one that has two levels which is high and low. We bought these for my brother and he loves them too. We even have travel ones and they help everyone sleep better!

The best thing we have found, and I don't have to worry about a timer because it's always on, is a humidifier. I have a 3 1/2 year old and 11 month old and it doesn't matter how loud we get anywhere else in the house, it's the white noise they need to put everything else in the background. We have the Red Cross cold air humidifier that we received as a gift and I wouldn't give it up for anything! We tried music but it was too stimulating for my older boy who wanted to sing along (even with instrumental) which would keep the baby awake. So we have found great success with out humidifier :)

we use a fan, our dd has a ceiling fan which we've used since she was born. When we go out of town we just use a regular fan my grandparents have and dont point it at her bed.

We used a cd player & blues/ jazz/ classical/ etc.

we have always just used a fan - pointing out of their bedroom door - works great

G.,
My advice - get a fan! Those small black Honeywell fans work great and produce plenty of noise to drown out the rest of the house. When I'm in my son's room with him reading books before bed (with the door closed and the fan on), I can't hear ANYTHING going on in the rest of the house. We sleep with a fan in our room as well, which is not as nice as the Honeywell or as loud, but it still drowns out the noise. So, IMO, there's no need to spend a bunch of money on some device when a simple fan will do the trick. Also, they are easy to pack up and travel with!!!

I'm not sure you even need anything fancy. With each of my 3 boys I used a little BebeSounds air purifier. The white noise is great but not too loud and the best part is that it's small enough to throw in a suitcase when you travel because they're going to get used to sleeping with the sound. And when you clean the little filter screen you realize how much it's picking up from the air around your little one.
Here's a link--shop around because you can find them for less.
http://www.epinions.com/prices/pr-Bebe_Sounds_Baby_Nurser...

We have been using the Sound Spa Lullaby (?) for almost 1 1/2 years now. We bought it from Bed, Bath, and Beyond (great for returns/exchanges). It is continuous music play with nature sounds and lullaby music. I'm not sure about it being the same model, but ours has some projector with lights and cute pics (twinkle twinkle) that light up the ceiling. We use it sometimes. It has lasted quite well. Our boy even turns it off in the morning when he wakes. HOpe this helps.

We have the Conair Infant Sound Machine SU7. I personally love it, because you have a variety of choices for sounds. We have been using this since my daughter was born last May. In addition to being a sound machine, there is also a radio and two alarm settings, so theoretically this can grow with your child. I have also found using different sounds helps to differentiate from bedtime and naptime, or maybe I just think it does (or I need the variety) :)
Hope this helps!

We have 2 LifeWise sound machines, plus one Homedics brand. happy with all of them. My parents have used a Homedics one for years.
Not sure of the exact models. The LifeWise both have a feature of optional changing colored lights.

An air purifier works awesome for us and serves as a duel purpose.

we bought the dex sound sleeper (i think it was 20 bucks at babies r us) when my daughter was just born and used it for 2 1/2 years. we don't use it anymore but it still works.

A fan works for us, too.

But if you have an iPhone (or other smart phone), there are lots of white noise apps. Just hook it up to a speaker and set the time for continuous.

We use a Marpac Model 900 which I purchased used on EBay. It works great and its small so we can travel with it. I dont know what we would do without our noise machine. Good luck.

We got the Homedics Sounds Spa Alarm Clock at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $30 and have used it everyday for 2.5 years. We have never had any problems. It has 6-8 different sound options that you can turn on and it doesn't turn off until you push the button again. We use the noise that sounds like crickets. I like having the clock in the nursery also. We live by this thing, even still take it when we travel. Good luck. I think they have a second version without a clock too.

We really like the Brookstone Tranquil Moments White Noise Sound Machine for Baby. It will play all night, or it can be set to turn off in 30, 60, or 90 minutes. When the timer runs out the noise fades away rather than just stopping abruptly, which can wake the baby. It also has a mode that will slow the sounds down as well as fading them out for the last 20 minutes, to encourage sleep. We play it all night long. It's durable enough and portable enough that we take it whenever we travel with the baby.

Here's a link:

http://www.brookstone.com/tranquil-moments-sleep-sound-ma...

We got a fish tank with a light and filter. The sound was soothing and constant. The light was reassuring for me and for him. And later when he could stand, he could watch the fish to sooth himself back to sleep. Not in the baby catalogues but has all that you request, no? Or how about a clock that ticks loudly?

Get a fan. I have used them for background noise in my daughter's rooms since they were babies. My husband and I use one too.

We are using a hand-me-down Sound Screen machine it's over 20 years old so I'd say it's built to last! Covers over snoring, traffic, TV etc.
small and easy to hide behind a picture frame or lamp...
I've seen the Sound Screen new on the web for about $50.