Sleeping FAQ: 4-6 Months – Other

My 5-month-old daughter is such a light sleeper

My baby is such a light sleeper, it is driving us all mad. Your previous advice (when I was visiting relatives who live on a noisy road) was to have a little background music on which did help. When I have background noise (music or a fan or white noise) Anna will sleep well most of the time, following the correct nap times and sleeps through the night, although some noise will still wake her (cars going past, people talking outside the house, the doorbell etc). But if we try to have her sleep without background noise, it is just impossible, everything wakes her up. It means we are constantly creeping round (even with the background noise on); we can’t have the washing machine or dishwasher on when she is sleeping; we are always shushing guests and neighbours.
Also we are due to move house soon and will have to live in a hotel for a week while our stuff is transported. This will cause huge problems because I know noise will stop Anna sleeping.
We are fed up with the situation and are desperate to resolve it. I can’t control other people’s noise and even having to control ours all the time is frustrating and becoming unacceptable. I accept the problem may be partly my fault as I have tried to keep her environment quiet so she can sleep, but now we need to reverse the situation.
Is Anna just a light sleeper and it will always be this way? Or is there something we can do? If we go cold turkey on background noise how long will it take before she might become better able to sleep through noise?

Helping your daughter be less susceptible to noise could take a while but once she has learnt to settle back to sleep again when a noise does disturb her, it will be easier for you all. While we do all we can to eliminate noise, most babies are not disturbed by the background sound of dishwashers and washing machines, in fact with some babies they can have a “white noise” effect and help them to sleep as it is a constant and rhythmic sound. Sudden noises such as wailing fire siren, door bell or sudden shout can disturb sleep but it is not always possible to eliminate those.
To help her adjust better, make sure her room is as soundproof as possible to help her with the general noise of the house. Use thicker curtains to muffle outside noise and keep windows closed at nap times if possible. Consider putting a piece of furniture such as a wardrobe against the hall wall or partition wall of her room as that will help muffle sound. If this could be fitted it would be even better. Consider the position of her cot and whether by moving it to another part of the room, it may help the noise level. Beware of placing it against an outside wall, near a radiator or under a window. It may be possible to hang a thick curtain on the outside of her door to help muffle the general background sounds of the home and make sure that the door can be shut completely whilst she has her naps and sleep. As a last resort would it be possible to change her room for quieter one?
How you react when she wakes is also important. Does her waking, always happen immediately after some noise? Or is it at about 45 minutes after she has settled to sleep and you think that a household noise/outside sound has woken her? 45 minutes is about the average length of a sleep cycle and a baby will be in a light sleep at this time. Either way, you need to help her to learn how to settle again. When she first wakes don’t go straight in but give her at least five/ten minutes to see if she is able to settle herself back to sleep before you go in and reassure her. Get her used to settling back to sleep without your help so she learns to do this in the same way as we do when woken with a sudden noise. Getting her to settle back to sleep without help will certainly help with the overall problem. It may take a while and there will be broken nap times which could make her unsettled for a few days but this skill, once learnt, will help her sleep better. No one should have to tiptoe around a house. There are sensible limits to keep to: such as not talking loudly outside her room, but you also need to carry on your life whilst she sleeps.
If you feel that the background noise of a fan or music is no longer making any difference to her, then eliminate it gradually, first during her morning nap, then at the lunchtime one followed by the time between her bedtime and last feed and finally take it away at night time altogether.