Having a baby brings immense joy to a family. However, along with that joy comes sleepless nights filled with teething pains, colic, and the challenge of soothing an upset baby. This challenge, while primarily on the parents, often affects neighbors as well. Mark, one of our readers, found himself in such a predicament. Frustrated by the nightly disturbance caused by his neighbor’s baby, he devised a solution that brought unintended backlash.
Mark, 33, wrote a letter to our editorial seeking advice.
Mark began his letter by acknowledging he expects criticism but still wanted to share his story and get advice from others. He wrote, “I’ve recently moved to my own apartment, for which I’ve been saving probably all my life. It was a real moment of happiness to finally have my little place. Right from the beginning, I liked my neighbors—they weren’t noisy. All I wanted was peace and quiet, which I initially got.”
“However, things changed drastically when my next-door neighbors, a very nice young married couple, had their first baby. Since then, my life has slowly turned into a nightmare,” he added.
Mark’s relationship with his neighbors began to fray.
Mark continued his story, saying, “From the first day my neighbors became parents, I’ve suffered a lot. Their baby regularly cries at night, turning my life into a mess. I tried to come to terms with it, being as understanding and calm as possible. I even invested in a white noise machine, but it didn’t help much.”
When Mark attempted to discuss the issue with the new parents, hoping for some relief, the situation didn’t improve. He shared, “I asked the parents to do something about it, but their response was, ‘It’s a baby, and it’s natural for a baby to cry.’ They simply asked me to deal with it.”
“They were completely inconsiderate of my concerns and offered no help. I was extremely frustrated. At that time, I had to work nights, and with the baby constantly crying, I couldn’t work or sleep. I found myself just sitting there, listening to the poor child cry for hours,” Mark explained.
Mark found an unconventional solution.
Mark revealed, “I read somewhere on the internet that playing recordings of wolves’ and wild dogs’ howls can quiet a baby, as babies are evolved to protect themselves from predators at night.”
“So, I used my Bluetooth speakers and started playing those sounds, but not too loud. Think of it like the soothing sounds of dolphins during a spa day. Many people fall asleep to such sounds,” he described.
The results of this strange technique were immediate. Mark said, “I’m not sure if my experiment directly helped quiet the baby, but within about 30 minutes, it did stop crying. My neighbors quickly noticed the noise was coming from my apartment. When they confronted me, I told them the truth, and they were quite annoyed by what I was doing.”
The situation took an unexpected turn.
Mark wrote, “It later turned out that the baby stopped crying only because the parents moved it to their own room, away from the wall our apartments shared. The howling sounds were actually scaring the baby, making it cry more, and the parents were very worried about it.”
“They asked me to stop, and I told them I would only if they moved the baby from that room, as their current arrangement was unbearable for me. If it breached noise rules, I promised to play the sounds only during the baby’s nap times,” he added.
“Now, the whole neighborhood is mad at me. People have stopped greeting me. I feel like I’m being judged harshly, and it’s like I’m an enemy to everyone now, facing a boycott. I feel deprived of my rights and freedom, as my neighbors aren’t offering any compromise. What should I do?”
