Sleeping With The Sound On – with Mattress Next Day

Once you become a parent sleep is definitely the most talked about topic. How much you’re getting, when you’re getting it, how on earth you’re getting it. Who’s getting the most, who’s getting the least, and how can you get more. Do your children sleep through the night, do they nap during the day, do they sleep in the car, in the pram, in your arms? We become obsessed with it, mostly because none of us are getting enough.

Mattress Next Day are launching a new campaign looking into the affect sound has on our sleep and it’s definitely made me think more about how we use noise to get more sleep around here. 

Dilan has always been a great sleeper, and I don’t necessarily believe that’s down to any thing other than luck. I believe that sleeping through the night is a developmental stage that all children will reach in their own time. I also believe that sleep deprivation is one of the most evil forms of torture, and a lack of sleep is enough to break even the strongest of people, so it’s only natural for us to look (sometimes a little desperately) for any ideas that might help us get some more.

I’m not one for strict routines, bedtimes always look different here, we don’t have any special smells or magic lights or life changing tips. What we do have though, what we have always used and what really seems to work for us, is sound.

While I was pregnant we visited the Baby and Toddler Show and came across Ewan the Dream Sheep, a soft toy which plays 4 different calming sounds together with a comforting heartbeat. I’ve always slept with a fan on because I found the quiet sound helps me sleep better, so the idea that noise could help a baby to sleep didn’t seem strange to me. Once Dilan was here Ewan quickly became an essential part of our kit and came every where with us, as the soothing white noise would help keep Dil asleep if we were in the car or out shopping. At night I would have it playing in bed and it would send us both into a deep sleep.

sleeping with the sound on

Now that he’s older we have moved on to a white noise app on my phone. At bedtime we read three books together, then turn on the “Shhh” setting on my app. The noise helps to create a constant ambient sound, helping us both to drift of to sleep peacefully. It also masks background noises coming from elsewhere in the house meaning Dil gets off to sleep uninterrupted by the washing machine or noisy neighbours.

I definitely think that sleeping with sounds on has had a positive effect for us, and helped us to get as much sleep as we do. Do you sleep with any sounds on, or are you someone that can only sleep in total silence? Have you tried white noise with your little one? Let me know in the comments!

*This is a collaborative post*

10 Comments

  1. 6th March 2017 / 6:34 pm

    My eldest son loved his Ewan the Sheep, it’s definitely one of the products I always recommend to mums to be.. sometimes it was the only thing that would stop him from crying!

  2. 6th March 2017 / 6:40 pm

    I’ve been now one week at home with the baby I’ve noticed that more we keep noises throughout the day better he sleeps, thank goodness for that. He’s been a good sleeper from the day one and I keep hoping it stays that way haha!
    Wonderful post 🙂

  3. 6th March 2017 / 7:01 pm

    We love Ewan the Sheep here and I doubt we’d get much sleep without it. I’ve tried other similar products but nothing works as good. I have to take it with me if we stay over somewhere.

  4. 6th March 2017 / 10:54 pm

    Isla never really took to Ewan, which makes me sad. These days she falls asleep while listening to Einaudi!

  5. 6th March 2017 / 11:19 pm

    I hate sleeping in totally silence ever since I was a kid. Now we sleep with our TV jntil it switches itself off, which ill know as wake up and switch it back on

  6. 12th March 2017 / 8:34 pm

    With Reuben we never used anything, I had always had people telling me that ‘it would become a crutch’ and that using sleep aids would create all kinds of sleep problems. So I, naively, believed them and was adamant he would not use anything. He did, me. That was hard, every time he heard a noise he would wake and then want me to ‘feed’ him to sleep. We didn’t use noise with him we ended up giving him a comforter.
    When Jessica came along and Sam’s sister bought Ewan for us I immediately used it as part of our routine and to this day, she knows it is her sleep signal and will snuggle for her milk. If she wakes in the night I can put it back on and she will fall back to sleep. I love it! So much I have told all my pregnant friends that they need one!

  7. 14th March 2017 / 5:07 pm

    We used white noise apps all the time when my little ones were babies but I’d completely forgotten about them! Complete silence seems weird so I usually put on some relaxing music or an audiobook or podcast type thing but sometimes that keeps us all awake for longer. I might try the white noise again tonight and see how it goes xx

  8. 21st March 2017 / 7:22 pm

    I can never sleep in absolute silence! I always have either the fan or the air conditioner on. I think my son is the same too as he wakes up the moment I turn off them off!

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