Shhh, the Babies Are Sleeping!

Like most guys, my husband loves technology and likes to have up-to-date electronics. So the box TV we got when we got married wasn't satisfying his male... needs if you will. After saving up his money, researching TV's and comparison shopping for what seemed like three years, he finally bought a beautiful flat-screen. We enjoyed watching shows and movies every night until our daughter was born. Suddenly I found myself saying "Shhh, the baby is sleeping!", to my husband, every time he turned on the TV. The following year my son was born and my complaint turned into "Shhh, the babies are sleeping!"

My husband likes to not only watch TV, but to also feel it in his eardrums. This didn't bother me much until the babies were born and it became a point of contention between us. My husband was frustrated and so was I.

Until... my friend recommended the most wonderful thing -- wireless headphones! Aaahh, peace at last. No more blaring TV, no more nagging. Now my husband can listen to the TV as loud as he wants and the kids sleep peacefully. It's the best Christmas gift I every got my husband (for myself).

These Ablepanet Linx Audio headphones are comfortable to wear and the equivalent to the bed that lets each person set the firmness of their side of the mattress... technology helping couples maintain marital peace.


Link: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=able+planet+linx+audio&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=9434709715884014855&sa=X&ei=T9VVTqbPNMfkiAKu5u2pCQ&ved=0CD4Q8wIwAw

Sound Sleep

I have a problem. A sad, sad problem that affects my everyday life... I'm a super light sleeper. Everything wakes me up; a drawer opening, a car door closing, someone sneezing, a clock ticking, a bird chirping. I have actually uttered the words "Stop breathing!" To my husband because even that wakes me up at times. Seriously!

But years ago I found this beauty...

Brookstone calls it Sleep Sound Therapy. I call it My Dream Machine. It's essentially a miracle made by mankind to help people like me sleep through the night. This little wonder offers, according to Brookstone's website, "seven clinically engineered sounds developed by the Center of Neuroacoustic Research." Center of Neuroacoustic Research, I love you! 


I've cycled through the different sounds; thunder, unwind, stream, but for me, the ultimate sound is "white noise." Ah, how I love that sssshhhhhhh sound in my head all night! It makes my brain feel fuzzy and warm and the sleep just comes and suddenly I don't hear crickets chirping, car alarms going off, dogs barking, and my husband can breath. 


I also love this little box because it lets me set a 30, 60 or 90 minute timer for nap time. Yes, my nap time -- I listen to the advice "sleep when your kids do." The sound tapers off slowly so that I wake up gently instead of jumping out of bed with my heart pounding like I do when my alarm goes off. 


My kids have been sleeping with this machine turned on since they were babies and I don't have to worry so much about them getting woken up by outside noise. 


For me, two things would make this product better. First, a timer that would let me set it for night sleep, so I could wake up gently every morning, not just at nap time. Second, the option "car sound," because I love, love, love to fall asleep in a moving car. 


Two decades of research went into making this puppy so don't knock the $129 price tag on it until you've slept a night with it on your nightstand. I guarantee you won't want to return it. Really, I would pay double that amount a week just to get some uninterrupted sleep. Plus I've had my dream machine for years without any problems. 


If you're looking for a way to sleep soundly, I highly recommend this product! 


Product link:
http://www.brookstone.com/tranquil-moments-sound-machines-for-sleep?bkiid=SearchResults|CategoryProductList|596841p

Before You Elbow Your Husband...

My son woke up screaming bloody murder three nights ago. Though it has become a rarity, (thank heavens) it's not insanely uncommon for this to happen. Mateo, our youngest child didn't sleep through the night until he was over one and a half-years-old. And he has never been one to whimper -- when he wakes up he makes sure everyone within a one mile radius wakes up with him. And even though he's three now, I still wake up with my heart pounding, wondering who just got stabbed.

In the fifteen years my husband and I have been together nothing has perplexed me more about him than how he is able to go on sleeping, not even flinching, when our children wake up crying like that. At times I've turned on a light and stared at him to let him know I know he's faking it, to no avail. He just keeps on sleeping as peacefully as when we had no children. At times, when one or both of the kids have woken up three or four nights in a row, I have actually elbowed my sleeping husband but he's one of those people blessed with the ability to fall right back asleep even after having just been elbowed by a resentful, exhausted wife.

But I recently learned something -- it turns out women are biologically hard-wired to hear a child's cry. It's actually the sound most likely to wake a woman regardless of whether or not she has children. Duh, right? (Actually, I would've never considered what sounds are most likely to wake women versus men, but once I read the article it made perfect sense). 

What's the sound most likely to wake a man? The sound of a car alarm. I guess that makes sense because to a lot of men their car is their baby (I actually knew a grown man who called his car his "my baby"). The sound of a child wailing isn't even in the top ten sounds most likely to wake a man. The wind howling is more likely to wake them!

So the next time my son wakes up screaming like a banshee, I'll remember these scientific findings... or maybe I'll start blowing really loudly in my husband's ear to see if he wakes up. Now if he has the pillow over his head, the top ten list of sounds goes out the window and my elbow will in fact be aiming for his ribs.


Do you want to see the list of top ten sounds that wake women and men? Visit:
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/why-mom-wakes-up-when-baby-cries/