I recently had a baby a few months ago in April. We all know that newborns wake up every few hours to feed. My baby is about 2 months old now and is getting into a better routine for napping throughout the day.
The main problem with her napping is that she is a very light sleeper. I decided to do a lot of research on how to soundproof a baby room due to my current situation.
I live in a complex with pretty noisy neighbors. The neighbors downstairs have a piano, and it seems like they are constantly playing it throughout the day.
I also have neighbors to the left of me that are gamer enthusiasts, so they make sure to let us know every time they die in their game by screaming and yelling.
Not to mention the neighbors downstairs constantly fight and argue at night if their kid isn’t on the piano. If you have loud neighbors, you can check out my article about reducing noise from neighbors.
After doing much-needed research, I have found the best ways to soundproof a room specifically for a baby. I’m not talking about the kind of soundproofing where you won’t be able to hear your baby anymore.
That is not the goal. The goal is to help your baby sleep through the day and night without being woken up by loud noises.
Believe me when I say you don’t value sleep until you don’t get it anymore. I know first hand and I know you do as well.
Soundproof the Door to Your Baby’s Room
The door is probably the most important aspect when it comes to soundproofing your baby’s room. It’s probably hollow, which means sound can easily pass through it.
There are also many openings and cracks around your door’s frame that can cause noise to pass through easily. The biggest gap of them all is the gap underneath your door. Some door gaps are huge.
Install a Door Sweep
The first step that you should take is eliminating the big gap underneath the door. The easiest and best way to do this is to simply install a door sweep. A door sweep will cover the gap and still leave the door functional.
The sweep will effectively keep noise out as well as bugs, dirt, debris, and anything else that may make its way underneath the door into the room.
Be sure to measure the gap under the door to make sure you purchase a door sweep that will fit well. This door sweep is simple to install.
It has strong waterproof backing with adhesive. Simply peel off the backing and stick it on your door. Be sure to cut any excess silicon off with scissors to make it fit just right for your door.
Seal the Doorway
When the door is completely closed, there are still small gaps and cracks throughout the doorway that will let noise through.
The best way to seal your door is to install weatherstripping material around the door frame. This will create a nice seal around your entire door that will prevent noise from easily passing through.
The self-adhesive backing makes installation pretty easy. Simply peel and wrap your door frame using scissors to cut it to the correct length.
For a more detailed guide, you can check out my article here about soundproofing a doorway.
Replace the Door
On top of soundproofing your door, you can also purchase a new one that helps keep sound out. You will get the best results if you replace the door in addition to soundproofing the door.
What can replacing your door possibly do to make your baby’s room soundproof? Believe it or not, most doors in the home are cheap.
What I mean by cheap is that most doors that are installed in homes are hollow or made of thin wood. A hollow door does not hold in sound very well at all.
A good example of this is to compare your front door to another door in your home. I bet your front door is a lot heavier and way more solid than all the other doors in your home.
Another very solid door in your home is the garage door. Do you notice a trend here? All the areas that are noisy have a thick wooden door.
The garage door, the front door, the back door, etc. What you need to do is replace the door that goes to your baby’s room with a solid wooden door.
The first thing you want to take note of is the measurements of the currently installed door. You will need to take these measurements to your local home improvement store for further assistance.
Give your measurements of the door to a customer service representative, and they will be able to show you compatible doors for your room.
Make sure the doors are solid and dense. The more dense a door is, the better it will be at keeping sound out. The door will be a bit pricey due to the sheer amount of wood that it is made out of.
This is why most homes only have a few solid wooden doors where you really need them.
Get Soundproof Curtains
Not only do curtains add style to your baby’s room, but they can also have soundproof properties. Installing thick curtains like these can have a direct impact on reducing echo and absorbing noise from the window as well as noise echoing throughout the room.
How exactly do curtains help decrease noise and echoes? It’s simple, really. The curtains will help by preventing sound from bouncing off walls.
When noise travels to the curtains, they will simply be absorbed by the material instead of bouncing back onto another wall.
Not only will adding thick curtains help with reducing noise, but they also help with heat insulation. Keeping your baby’s room warm during the nighttime is just as important as keeping the room quiet.
Install a White Noise Machine
A white noise machine is actually very effective at keeping your baby’s room quiet. What exactly is white noise?
White noise is the combination of all the different frequencies of sound. White noise is basically 20,000 different tones, all playing at once.
This is how white noise effectively masks any other sounds that may be present. This white noise machine is perfect for a baby’s room.
This white noise machine is filled with different lullabies and nature sounds that are created using white noise.
It’s perfect for drowning out outside noise and will help your baby fall asleep if all your other soundproofing attempts have failed and are not working. You can simply plug this in on a desk or dresser near your baby’s crib, turn it on, and reap the benefits.
The results from using a white noise machine will vary from baby to baby. Some babies need a totally quiet room, while other babies love having some type of background noise while trying to sleep.
I know my baby personally likes to have some sort of noise in the background while she naps. It’s also a good habit to get your baby used to noises while they sleep.
This will help you in the long run because if your baby gets used to complete silence, it can be woken very easily with even the slightest sounds.
Soundproof the Floor with Interlocking Play Mats
Soundproofing the floor is very important while you are trying to escape the room without waking up your baby. Using interlocking play mats instead of traditional floor soundproofing.
Using the play mats adds a unique touch to your baby’s room and also helps set the mood. The reason that a play mat can soundproof the floor is pretty simple.
When you install thick foam padding on a floor, it absorbs impact noise from walking, jumping, and running. The more dense the padding is, the better the soundproofing will be.
Traditional methods of quieting a floor usually include installing thick padding or sound-deadening material underneath the floor. This is great to do in other areas of your home but maybe a little excessive in a baby room.
Not to mention, interlocking floor tiles are a lot easier to install since you don’t have to tear up the floor in order to install them.
Simply cover your floor with interlocking tiles, and it’s ready to absorb noise. You can also remove them as easily as you installed them.
Double Layer the Walls
Adding density to the bedroom walls is a great way to keep noise inside. A common method to soundproof a wall is to layer it with a second coat of drywall and paint it.
Adding an extra layer of drywall onto your existing wall does take some knowledge. If you are not confident enough to add a layer of drywall and paint, then I suggest you do something a little easier.
You can add an extra layer to your wall by installing textured wallpaper like this one from amazon.
This is actually the wallpaper that I have placed in my baby’s room, and I think it does help a little bit just because it adds some thickness to the walls.
It’s pretty easy to install and also looks great. I’m not very handy when it comes to adding things like drywall, but I am confident in placing things like wallpaper, so it worked out pretty well for me.
Use a Baby Video Monitor
If you do a very good job of soundproofing the room, then it may be a bit harder to hear when your baby is awake.
If your baby is like mine, she sometimes wakes up without crying. She will usually make cooing noises that are almost impossible to hear when the door is shut.
I bought this baby monitor from amazon. It had really good reviews. Not only can you hear your baby, but you can also see your baby.
This gave us peace of mind to make sure our baby was always safe and not in danger of suffocating. SIDS is very real and can happen to any baby at any time.
Especially during nap times when they aren’t able to be monitored constantly.
A video monitor makes it that much easier to check up on your baby and is probably one of the best purchases I have ever made.
Final Thoughts
Keeping your baby asleep is important to your sanity. Trust me, I know.
Keeping your baby’s room as quiet as possible will not only help keep your baby asleep longer, but will also help you catch up on some much-needed sleep as well as get some work done around the house.
The best tip for quieting the room would be to make sure the door is solid and sealed. This is one of the most important aspects of quieting the room as much as possible.
Add some interlocking floor tiles and a white noise machine, and you are well on your way to keeping your baby asleep for a long time.
Adding an extra layer or two to your wall is very effective but requires you to be very handy, or else you will need to spend a bit of money hiring someone to do the job for you.
Soundproof curtains help, but they will not be the make-it or break-it method to determine if your room will be quiet or not. I think adding thicker curtains is just like adding the cherry on top of the cake.
It’s not needed, but it’s nice to have. Also, don’t forget to use a baby monitor to make sure your baby is safe at all times since it will be harder to hear your baby wake up once you start soundproofing the room.