Noise Reduction in Terraced House?

[Deleted User]

There is no way to block that sound unfortunately. It's just one of those things about living in a terrace house or flat, you have to put up with babies and later children making noise.

[Deleted User]

Buy him some ear plugs. Not like you're partying, it's just something he'll have to get used to.

Nasqueron

hazyjo wrote: »

He could try earplugs.

It's a baby, not a dog, nor loud drum 'n' bass at 3am.

I think you're being more than accommodating.

One thing, is the baby next to the adjoining wall? Is there another room/wall you could move the cot (or whatever) to?

Is your baby literally crying for two hours every night, or a short time at some stage during those hours?

I hate children and I especially hate whiny babies crying, our old neighbours had one and our walls are reasonably thick and it still woke us up in the night. Anything a parent can do to minimise the discomfort for other people would be great, even if it's just hanging thick rugs on the wall for a while

spo2

You don't have to move the baby permanently - just when he/she is crying.
If you are lifting the baby and he or she is still crying when you are walking the floors and trying to comfort him, try doing it in another room - maybe even downstairs - until the crying subsides, then put him in the cot. That way the neighbour is not disturbed so much.

If you are trying to let the baby "cry it out", then it is not working and you should maybe try another method. A baby crying for two hours in his bed is not good for anyone's stress levels!

And remember - this will pass!

[Deleted User]

I had a baby who could cry for ages, used to take him to another room (downstairs) so I could at least listen to TV while trying to calm him down again, and reduce how much I disturbed others. If the baby cries for two hours there's just no advantage to staying in the bedroom. You can't nod off again, neither can the neighbour lol.

Damago

I'm in the same position as your neighbour, and have lost countless hours of sleep due to our neighbours baby crying but wouldn't send a note as I'm sure my neighbours aren't purposely letting their baby cry at all hours just to spite us. I've bought earplugs, they don't completely block the noise but have helped.

We hear these neighbours in general a lot more than the previous couple who lived there, I think the previous couple must've had furniture up against our adjoining wall as we rarely heard them and know the same room it was used as their main bedroom.

Don't really have much advice in the way of soundproofing but maybe knocking at your neighbours and politely saying you're also suffering from broken sleep but are looking in to what options there might be to reduce the noise travelling, to keep it friendly.

need_an_answer

does or has the neighbour ever had children?

Crying happens...it reduces over time

politely thank him for his letter and learn to live with it.


Why on earth should you be even thinking of soundproofing,its a terraced house and its not uncommon to hear noise from nextdoor.

robertboyd

Thank you very much you all!!
Although I am quite sad to see that I could not sound proof the walls as I intended, your comments are really helpful.

oystercatcher

I agree , sort the baby rather than the wall.
Have you spoken to health visitor or GP to check there isn't a health problem? Health visitors have all kinds of helpful ideas. Crying for two hours solid doesn't sound normal but maybe I was just lucky with my children?

Certainly things like taking the child downstairs for a while might help the neighbours problem. I do know people who even resorted to driving the baby around in the night to get it off to sleep (huge assumption here that you have a car) walking up and down or pushing baby around in the buggy might help .

Please check up to date advice though and never sleep with baby in a chair or settee as there is an increased risk of Cot Death / SIDS .

Always remember this is a stage and will only last a few days/ weeks/ months at the most. You will get a routine and a sleeping baby eventually and it's not worth spending huge amounts of money on house alterations for such a short stage........ unless you are planning a HUGE family !! :eek:

BelowTheLine

Right off the bat, congratulations on the baby, you are a saint and it's really nice of you to find the bandwidth to worry about about your neighbour while being a sleep-deprived new parent with a newborn at home.

Having had two of these monsters myself, I can tell you that until they're a year old, their sleep and crying patterns can vary wildly from month to month or sometimes even week to week. They could be waking up every two hours this week and sleep through the night the next. They're very sensitive to pretty much everything so sometimes its hard to tell why.

So before you go away and spend a lot of money/time/effort on "soundproofing" or anything to stop the sound of a baby crying, remember the above. And the evolutionary fact that a baby's cry is designed to drill through anything

Honestly, it'll pass. I fully empathise with the inconvenience experienced by your neighbour, but it's only temporary.

robertboyd wrote: »

I just had
a baby recently and really enjoy the pleasure of being a parent. There was tough moments and also the joy of seeing the baby grow up.
However, I recently received a courteous and kind note from our next door neighbor that baby crying in unsociable hours (1.30 am - 3.30 am) sometimes makes him unable to go back to sleep and hence affects his work the next day (he has to wake up early everyday for work). We live in a terraced house and so the walls between our houses are probably quite thin.