There have been strong and often conflicting opinions on the merits and demerits of the pacifier. Some parents swear by them, others believe that they will somehow damage their little one if they use it. There has been recent evidence, however, that using a pacifier can significantly reduce the risk of one of the leading killers of infants between two and six months old: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS as it is commonly referred to, is when an apparently healthy baby dies during sleep, and no other cause can be discerned. While the exact causes are unknown, there are several things which medical professionals have determined to reduce the risk of SIDS. One of the most recent discoveries is that using a pacifier significantly reduces baby’s risk. Here are some other things you can do to reduce the risk of SIDS:

• If you smoke, stop smoking inside the house or around your baby. Better yet, stop smoking altogether.
• Leave a fan running in baby’s room. Face the fan so that it is parallel with baby’s crib. This provides air circulation which helps prevent SIDS.
• Always lay baby down to sleep on his back. Never lay a baby down to sleep on her stomach. This has been found to be the leading cause of SIDS.

If you are breastfeeding your baby, don’t introduce the pacifier right away, as this can cause confusion for the baby and make breastfeeding difficult. Wait until baby is a month old before giving her a pacifier to sleep with. The risk of SIDS is very low before baby is a month old anyway. After baby is a month old, she should be well accustomed to latching on and breastfeeding.

Babies are at their greatest risk of SIDS between the ages of two months and six months old. Giving babies a pacifier (also called a dummy in some parts of the world) not only helps them fall asleep faster and soothe themselves better, but also helps keep their airway open, significantly reducing the risk of SIDS.

The bottom line with pacifiers is this: most of the objections some raise to them are based on anecdotal beliefs. There is no study which proves that using a pacifier can have any negative impact on a baby’s teeth later in life, or that pacifier use damages a baby in any other way. There is, however, significant evidence that using a pacifier helps reduce the chances that baby will die of SIDS.

Have you ever noticed that babies can fall asleep in some of the noisiest places? At home, you can keep everything calm and quiet, while the baby screams her head off, but in a crowded restaurant, or even at a sporting event, baby is able to fall right to sleep, despite the noise.

Turns out there may be a very logical reason for that. While baby was in your womb, she was subject to constant stimulation. Every time you moved, even a little, she was jostled about and rocked back and forth. And as it turns out, it’s actually fairly loud inside Mamma’s tummy.

As early as the 9th week of pregnancy, your baby was able to not only hear, but react to sound. By the end of week 26 (the end of the second trimester), your baby’s hearing is almost fully developed.

During your baby’s entire stay inside of you, she is surrounded by constant noise. Your body’s inner workings make identifiable sounds all day, every day. Even while you sleep, baby is surrounded by the sounds of your breathing, digesting, and the constant, gentle thump, thump of your heartbeat. All of this lends a certain rhythm to your baby’s existence. Believe it or not, part of what is scary to your baby after she is born is the lack of noise in the outside world.

One of the best things you can do to soothe your baby and help her fall asleep is to provide some form of noise. The best sounds include a lot of “white noise,” as these sounds are most reminiscent of the way things sounded inside the womb, when everything was muffled by embryonic fluids.

You can buy commercial white noise machines, if you like. Some of them are even designed specifically to replicate the sounds from inside the womb, which baby is sure to find comforting. Other things you can do to create white noise and soothe your baby include running household machinery or appliances near her, such as the laundry machine, vacuum cleaner, or fans. Make sure that you don’t leave baby unattended, of course, especially after she has become mobile.

Fans are perhaps the best option, as running a fan in the room also helps with air circulation which is believed to lower the risk of SIDS. Place the fan so that it is parallel with your baby (not blowing directly at or away from her) and make sure that it is far enough away that she can’t get her hands or feet near it.

Of course, loud, sudden noises will startle baby, so it’s best to avoid those. But constant white noise is one of the best sleep aids you will ever find for your baby, especially if she is fussy or has colic.

Many believe that exposing children to music helps them develop higher cognitive functioning. Some go so far as to suggest that playing music for baby while she is still in the womb will help her to become more intelligent.

There really aren’t any studies that bear this out, though it is known that babies do hear what is going on outside the womb beginning around the fifth month of pregnancy. It is also known that babies react to outside noises. Babies have been found to move around when music is played for them in a manner somewhat similar to dancing.

Fairly definitive studies have been run relating Classical music to cognitive ability. And it has been demonstrated, fairly clearly, that playing Classical music has a positive effect on one’s reasoning ability, at least in the short term. Unfortunately, the test was run on college students listening to Mozart, though, so it really isn’t clear whether putting earphones on your tummy and playing music will help her become more intelligent or not.

Still, music is widely known to have an emotional effect on people of all ages. Play something upbeat, and we all want to move our feet. Play something soft and soothing, and we relax. It is believed that baby has the same reactions to music while in the womb. Some kinds of music may make her want to move around, and other kinds of music may have the opposite effect.

At the very least, playing music for baby won’t do her any harm. Early exposure to music is good for kids, so why not start them out before they’re born? The more different things babies hear from inside the womb, the better. So, go ahead, put the earphones on your tummy and let back rock out, or soothe her to sleep. In any case, take note of baby’s reactions and enjoy them.

Some expectant mothers claim their babies move around more when they play music, others report that baby stops moving when music is played. Either reaction (or no reaction at all) is fine, and neither is anything to worry about. Of course, you’ll want to make sure any music you play for baby is at a fairly low volume. After all, you don’t want her rocking out too much in there. And, if you don’t mind a suggestion, skip the Mozart and go straight for Brahms and Bach.

If your baby has had any amount of trouble falling asleep, you know how frustrating it can be. She just gets downright fussy, and it can make those early weeks of parenting turn into something of a blur.

Parents with a baby that has a hard time falling asleep will try just about anything to get their little one to relax and drift off. One of the most successful methods of getting babies to sleep is using music. Not only does music soothe the savage beast, some parents can attest to the fact that music can sooth a savage baby!

In fact, where do you think the lullaby comes from? It’s based on the idea that music can help your baby sleep.

The tough part of this is that, like every person has their own likes and dislikes when it comes to music, so each baby is likely to respond differently to different kinds of music.

To figure out if music can help your baby sleep, here are some steps you can take:

1. Start out with something soft, with a steady beat, at a slow or moderate tempo. Play it when your baby ought to be sleeping, but she’s instead being fussy.
2. Choose a melody that is simple, repetitive and consistent. Light jazz or mild classical music is always a good choice to start with.
3. Keep the volume loud enough that it holds your baby’s attention, but not so loud that it makes him more anxious.
4. Try different musical styles until you find one that your baby seems to respond to.
5. Play the music each night just before your baby goes to sleep, even if she’s not giving you a hard time falling asleep. That way, it will help your baby associate the music with sleep.

Finally, you need to make sure you’re being smart about playing music to help your baby fall asleep. Don’t try to use headphones for your baby. If you use a baby monitor, make sure that it’s set up and positioned such that you can still hear whether or not your baby is sleeping over the sound of the music in the background.

If you’re a new parent, it can be extremely frustrating trying to get your baby to fall asleep. Sometimes it seems that, no matter how hard you try or what you do, your baby just doesn’t want to get any rest. Not only does a sleepless baby become a fussy baby, it can also lead to a fussy mom or dad.

Figuring out why your baby won’t sleep is the first step in getting a little shut-eye for both of you. Below you will find some of the most common reasons a baby won’t sleep. While some of these are obvious, they are worth listing. After all, when it’s 3 AM and you haven’t slept more than two hours at a time all week, sometimes the obvious answer eludes you.

Here, then, are some common reasons your baby won’t sleep:

1. She’s uncomfortable. An uncomfortable baby is an awake baby. There are a number of things that can make your baby uncomfortable. For example, she could have a wet diaper. She could be too warm, or she could be too cold. As far as that goes, the mattress in her crib might even be a bit lumpy. Check for signs of physical discomfort to see if that’s what’s keeping your baby awake.
2. He’s hungry. Your baby won’t sleep if his belly is rumbling. That’s usually the reason that  a baby wakes up in the middle of the night, of course: to feed. Be watchful here. Sometimes a baby will unintentionally refuse a bottle or breast at first, so it’s often worth trying a second time.
3. She’s ill. If your baby’s tummy is a little bit sour, or if she has an ear infection, chances are she’s not going to sleep all that well. Check her temperature, and watch for signs like her pulling on her ear. If she’s ill, you need to start trying to figure out what the problem is and whether or not she needs to see a doctor.
4. He’s overstimulated. If your little one has had a busy day, he may just be working things out. He may need to cry a bit in order to deal with all of the flurry of sensory input. If your baby won’t sleep, it may just be that he’s very awake from all the activity and needs some time to wind down.
5. She’s colicky. If your baby cries persistently, it can be a sign of colic. Often, a colicky baby won’t sleep. Talk to your health care provider, and look into treatments for colic.