Do mobiles help baby sleep?

Do mobiles really help baby sleep? – Guaranteed mums will have different answers; not really helpful, I know.

Essentially, there are two schools of thought on the matter:

The first is that the soft lullaby and bobbing characters on a mobile might help distract baby from the trauma of being left alone to sleep, and will consequently soothe  and help baby sleep.

The second is that a mobile stimulates a baby into wakefulness; it’s thus better to keep his or her cot as toy-free as possible. This theory will not advocate the use of external sleep aids – mobiles included.

I used a mobile when my nearly-three-year-old was a baby. I think it worked; it definitely distracted her but I am not so sure that it wooed her to sleep. As she grew older her mobile definitely became a source of entertainment but it didn’t seem to disrupt her sleep.

I tried a mobile with my second baby – bad idea; she then thought it was play time and was confused out of her sleep time routine.

So, do mobiles help baby sleep? I guess the moral of the story is: if your babs is having trouble falling asleep and you think a mobile might help, try it. And if it doesn’t work then… take it away and try something else. No harm, no foul.

Have you uses a mobile to help your baby sleep? Did it work?