Apps to help baby sleep

Sleep eludes us in this home tonight because our toddler is fussy about who-knows-what. He's not yet at the age where he can dictate what's bothering him, but many of the simple things that used to get him to sleep as an infant don't work, either. One of the tried and true tricks we used with him until he was about 14 months old was the use of a white noise app on our phones. He also enjoyed shushing and lullabies occasionally. Here are three apps that will help get baby and parents off to dreamland.

White Noise Ambience: This app is one of the most popular sleep apps in the App Store. It has been featured on many television programs, in newspapers and touted as the best thing ever by many parents. The app was created by the completely exhausted father of two twin girls. The app features 75 sounds and images, a sound mixer and timers. My son's favorite noise was 'Hair Dryer.' Get White Noise Ambience for $1.99 for iOS devices.

Lullaby for Babies: Nothing soothes a fussy baby quite like the age-old lullaby. This app has three different selections featuring various lullabies. It also has a timer you can set to make sure it stops during the night if Mom or Dad dozes off before shutting it down. If you tire of these selections, the developers also have Lullaby for Babies 2. Both apps get rave reviews and they're free for Android devices.

Baby Shusher: If you've ever read "The Happiest Baby on the Block," you know the power of a good shush. The sound is not meant to be the polite version of "Shut up!" that it has come to be known for. With babies, we shush them because they find the noise comforting. Colicky babies may need shushing for longer than your average fussy baby, so Baby Shusher can be especially helpful for those moms and dads. Hey, it's hard to shush for hours! The app is available for both iOS and Android devices for $4.99.

What tools did you use to help get your baby to sleep?

Photo courtesy of author.