When to Move Baby Out of Your Room

My son slept in the my bedroom in a small craddle until he was about 6 months. The main reason for this age, for me, was when he started only having one feeding a night. That also was the time he started sleeping through the night. I was lazy and didn't want to go to the other side of the house to feed him multiple times in a night if I could have him right next to my bed. :) We also used a baby monitor since the day we put him in his room. Don't know if I would have felt safe having him in another room if I couldn't hear him. But I LOVED when he wasn't in the room anymore. We didn't have to worry about being so quiet when we went to bed or hear him rustling around as much.

Good luck with it.

Co-sleeping in the same bed can be more dangerous because baby can suffocate, but co-sleeping in the same room, but different beds reduces the risk because you are unconsiously listen to him breathe all night long and will wake up if something changes. You will hear every little gasp and pant if he is in trouble. There is really no reason to move baby out of your room unless and until it bothers you, hubby, or baby. If baby wakes up every time you roll over in bed, it is time for him to move. If you need more privacy or can't sleep well listening for every breath, then it is time for him to go. If everyone is happy, which sounds to be the case, there is no reason to fix what isn't broken so to speak. Because he is not in your bed, the transition no matter what the age will not be that big of a deal.

We co-slept with our son until he was about 2 (and still do some nights.) It worked out really well for us and our son. He always rested better being close. We transitioned him when he started being able to communicate that he was ready to spend more time in his own room. We really let him lead the way as much as possible. This worked out well for all of us. Hope that helps a little!

Its really a personal choice, my first ds was in our room until he was 2, in his own bed but close to us. Which also made him a heavy sleeper, he can sleep through most anything!!
Now we have ds #2 and he is in our room in his crib, It gives me such a peace of mind having him close and being able to hear so easily.

We did it at 6 months. She has never slept with us (she is 8) like a lot of kids do.

I have heard and read that it is safer to have the baby in the room with you. I know that I woke up the instant I heard ANYTHING unusual with my children's breathing, etc.

My husband and I had all three of our little ones in our bedroom until they were six months old. (And boy oh boy was this a TIGHT squeeze when we had the twins. Between the bed and the two cribs we had to crawl into the bed from the foot!) At six months we moved them into their own rooms. They were sleeping through the night by this age, so I didn't have to nurse them every couple of hours. They're a bit more mobile, so they can shift and move when they were uncomfortable. They were also more easily disturbed when my husband and I would try to creep into bed. It just seemed like a good time.

Congrats on your baby! And enjoy this time as much as possible. It goes by so quickly.

T.-
I wouldn't worry about moving your baby yet. Your child is young still and the average is 3-5 months when the baby has developed a better sleeping pattern. If you child sleeps all night without a feeding then moving the baby is up to you.
My son stayed in our room till he was about 3 months when his feeding schedule wasn't so demanding.If I had done it earlier I would have been up and down all night.
Good luck!

I had this question as well. I have a 2 month old baby girl. She had been sleeping in a crib in our room until one evening my husband and I wanted some us time . . .we put her ot sleep in a crib in another room intending to move her back into our room later that night. She was soundly asleep so we left her in the other room and low and behold she slept six hours straight. Ever since she has slept in her own room in a crib and she had continued to sleep a minimum of six hours a night, sometimes seven or eight. I think that there is no exact answer . . .just what works for you and your baby!

Research over all shows that co-sleeping is safe and can reduce risk of SIDS as long as safe co-sleeping practices are followed; such as no couch co-sleeping, no large gaps between the mattress and bedframe or headboard, don't do it when consuming alcohol (all very self explanatory)etc. If you want more info on that you can google co-sleeping and SIDs and get a lot of info, just take it with a grain of salt as I think it depends on everyones personal situation.
But we had our daughter in our room until she was just over 6 mo. That way we got to be around her during the more crucial age of when SIDS was more common and by moving her at that age she did not remember enough of it to have an issue with moving to her room. It was a great age for us and we will be doing it again next mo when our second is the same age:( hope whatever you decide works out for you!

If he is making too much noise when he sleeps that it keeps you waking up at night, you can't be getting proper rest. If he is in the next room, you will still hear him. That's what moms do. Right now he is very young. I don't think you need to worry about moving him for another 4 months.

It just depends on what is easiest for you and him. I nursed my kids for 10 months and 11 months.....so having them closer was easier for me. I think we had them start sleeping in their crib around 4-6 months.....but it just depends on what you are comfortable with. We have a 3rd now (3 months) and he is in our room still.....haven't really thought about when I'd want to move him into his room. I like having him close =-).

T.,

With my daughter, we had her in a bassinet in our room until she started getting too big for it (around 4-6 months, I think, she's tall). Then we moved her into a crib in her room, where she's been ever since. It was a blessing to me, I'm a light sleeper now that I have kids and I wake up every time she'd move and she'd stir whenever I walked into the bedroom. Putting her in her own room I think helped both of us sleep better.

As for co-sleeping, neither my husband, nor I have ever felt comfortable with the idea. Both of us move around too much in our sleep and are too afraid we'd accidentally squish our children. One Christmas we were visiting a close family friend, and my son hated the portable crib we had brought for him and wound up sleeping between my husband and I. In the middle of the night he started fussing enough to wake us both up. Hubby informed me that I was trying to sleep on top of my son. Hence our reluctance to have young kids in bed with us while we sleep.

And for SIDS, putting your son on his back to sleep is what the hospitals told us with both my kids (4 1/2 and 1 year). After they both figured out how to roll from back to tummy, we couldn't get them OFF their tummy's for sleeping, but even now I put my 1 year old to bed on her back. How she sleeps from there is up to her.

Hope this helps,
Melissa

Do what you feel, I did it with my first (now 4) because we were waiting on permanent housing (military) and she was are only one, I could take naps when she did. I think she was about 4 months when we were settled and she did fine, I nursed so I was always in there checking on her. With baby #2, he wouldn't nurse and co-slept for about 2 weeks and then I couldn't take it anymore, he moved and squeaked constantly so for my sanity he was in his own room and did wonderful. Now the 3rd baby was a completely different story. To survive the next day with the two toddlers, I nursed this baby constantly all night long in bed with me in hopes for some sleep! He turned one year in February and I finally couldn't take it anymore. He was such a cuddle bug and so sweet but I was his human pacifier and really didn't sleep well nor did he. Over the past few weeks I would put him in his crib (in our room) for naps and to start the night out to get him use to it... Well I am shocked to tell you when I finally moved him to his room (which he shares with the 2.5 yr old) he slept about 10 hours STRAIGHT!!!! So, you decide what works for you and your hubby. I can finally sleep and not worry about my husband rolling on him or him waking us up to suckle every hour. Now my next challenge will be to wean him :) Good luck, they grow so fast! ALSO** the video monitors are WONDERFUL!!! Used them with all the babies (even the 2 year old that sneaks out of his bed) that way you don't have to go in their rooms to check on them.

Hey there T.,

I think that you will get a mix of different responses on this one. It's just a personal choice. :) I think that co-sleeping is the way to go. We love it. Our daughters are 4 and 7 and they still sleep with us. We love our big cozy family bed.

Good luck to you!

C.
www.EnhanceYourWayOfLife.com

I read that six months is an ideal time because if you wait too long it gets harder and harder. So that is what we did. I loved having my son close and sharing the family bed, but it was time for us at six months because my husband and I were getting no sleep. My son was taking up the whole bed and would wake up easily. We tried having the crib in our room but that did us no good, he would just end up back in our bed. So what we did and it worked great- no sleep training needed (crying it out) was to get a futon mattress and put it in his room on the floor for him to sleep on. This is temporary. He was not crawling or rolling much while in bed, so we felt safe with it. We would put pillow around just in case. Also, as a side note once the babies are able to roll the risk of SIDS is very low. I would also sleep with him on the mattress so it wasn't a "cold-turkey" transition but he could get used to sleeping in a different room but not alone (yet). After a few weeks of this situation, I would only lie with him until he fell asleep and then go back to my bed- across the hall and with my super mom ears would be able to hear what was going on. After about a week of this I put in his crib and he has had no problems sleeping on his own, I think he is more comfortable too. It has been much easier than anything I tried that are in the text books and again there was no crying it out- which is horrible. This is what worked for our family and might or might not work for yours. Long story short, you are the mom and you know best. Sleep with your child till they're 12 if you want to as long as they are happy and healthy.