Vacuum Cleaners: Sleep-Aid of the Baby World

My poor son suffered from colic for months as a baby.  He would cry and cry all night long, no matter how much I rocked or bounced him.  I was at my wit’s end!  I had followed every suggestion that his doctors had given me, but nothing seemed to help much.  I kept him in a baby sling or carrier close to me at all times, hoping that my presence would soothe him.  However, that did little to stop his constant bawling at night.

Finally, one night, all alone with no way for a break from my poor baby’s crying, I decided to vacuum while I carried him in his baby carrier on my chest.  If I couldn’t make his crying stop, perhaps I could escape by drowning it out for a while with an even louder noise.  My sanity depended on at least a small reprieve!

As soon as I turned the vacuum cleaner on, however, something miraculous happened: my son fell asleep!  Thinking I had finally made it through the worst that night, I turned the vacuum cleaner off, but my baby boy started screaming the moment it was off.  I turned it back on, he sniffled a bit and then fell back to sleep once again.  And once again, I turned off the machine, only to have him startle awake immediately.

It was the strangest thing I had ever seen!  It was as if his off switch was connected to the vacuum cleaner’s on switch.  From that night on, I vacuumed until he was soothed and able to stay asleep.  It was rough on my back and my arms constantly felt like they were going to fall off my body.  My vacuum cleaner, new at the time, didn’t even last 3 years because of the extended use during those difficult months.  Yet, I count myself lucky to have helped my son through such a difficult situation and with my sanity intact!