Baby Only Sleeps With Hair Dryer On Or In Hoover Noise

My 2-month-old baby won’t settle to sleep without the sound of the hoover or hair dryer. Why is this and how can I stop this pattern?

Baby Help Line:

How To Help White Noise Dependent Baby

I can’t help but smiling when I read your question. There is just no end to the weird things that small babies start “needing”. I bet you’ll find this quite a dear memory in a year or so. Write it down somewhere!

My guess is that your baby finds the sounds of the hair dryer and hoover soothing. Maybe it resembles (in his or her mind) the sounds heor she heard while still in the womb. It is actually quite common that babies fall asleep really well to so-called white noise, such as the hoover or hair dryer.

Babies are also routine-lovers, so if this sound makes him or her feel safe, he will want it every time he’s about to go to sleep.

You can go three different routes to deal with this habit:

Just stop! It might be a few tough days when it is hard for your baby to settle, but he or she is likely to learn quite fast. Stay close to him and make him understand that he is safe and loved anyway.
Another option, if you don’t want to do it the hard way, take it slowly. Put the hoover in another room, so that he gradually learns to fall asleep without it. And turn it off just before he falls asleep.

Or simply head out to buy a white-noise CD or play white noise from some app, Spotify or website! (Yes, all of these exist, so as you can see, your baby is not the only one sleeping to the noise of the hoover!)

With a bit of patience and persistence, it is my experience that you can change almost any of your baby’s habits. Just try to understand their situation and change it gradually into what you prefer.

Good luck, and I’d love to hear how long it took to teach your baby a new habit!

Paula

More Baby Sleep Habits

Find comments below.

Image by: Leigh Kesler

Comments

Dec 18, 2015

Baby Sleep Sounds

by: Anonymous

It is funny what different things are required to help our babies sleep! I would concur that these sounds in some way “lull” your baby to sleep and have become part of his or her routine. Babies love being driven around in a car and colicky babies love the motion and vibration of a clothes dryer for example. These sounds may have similar sleep and relaxation qualities. For a short term fix you could record these sounds and play them in the baby’s room at night. You know, one persons Mozart…. This is only a short term fix though. Eventually you can probably play other music and sounds. I’d say if it works and the baby is sleeping, then so are you and how can THAT be bad??

Good luck to you!

Laurie

Feb 09, 2016

HAIRDRYER TO SETTLE BABY
by: Anonymous

My baby also needs the hairdryer on to sleep and I have to leave it on for a few hours otherwise he wakes. He is 17 weeks and is finally getting over colic and sleeps through the night. The hairdryer has been my savior as for the first 6 weeks he wouldn’t sleep until I used the hairdryer to settle him. I believe you do what works for you.

Feb 21, 2016

Baby Soother Apps

by: Anonymous

There are even mobile apps for that. Like Baby Soother and Colic Stuff.

We have changed to a new commenting system. Add your comments below or return to Baby Sleep Q&A.

Pin1