Having your little one sleep in your room during the first few months of life is not only convenient, but it’s also safer than having your newborn sleep in a room on their own as it reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). As your newborn grows and SIDS becomes less of a risk, you can place more focus on sleep training. Teaching your little ones the self-soothing skills they need to become great sleepers will pay off for everyone in the long run. When you are ready to tackle moving baby to their own room, there are a few key tips and tricks that can help make the process much smoother. Here are our top 10 tips!
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Our top 10 tips for moving baby to their own room
When to move baby to their own room
- At around 6 - 7 months of age, your little one will start tuning into their surroundings more. By 8 months, your baby will also become more conscious of whether or not there is someone in the room with them, which can lead to separation anxiety. Try moving baby to their own room before these key awareness milestones emerge, to make the transition easier.
- Make sure your little one is sleeping for stretches of six hours or more before trying to transition your baby into their own room.
- Check with your pediatrician before moving baby to their own room. They’ll be able to offer some insight on whether or not night feedings are still necessary. If they are, it might be best to wait to make the transition for your own peace of mind.
How to transition your baby to their own room
- Spend more time together in your little one’s bedroom beforehand so that they become more comfortable in their own space. Make bedroom activities with your little one peaceful and relaxing. For example, you might try to do some of your feedings in your little one’s room. Massages and lullabies are also great options for relaxing and are quiet activities that will help your child begin to associate their bedroom with rest and relaxation.
- In the weeks leading up to when you’ll be moving your baby to their own room, start carrying out your bedtime routine in your child’s bedroom. Like our previous tip, this practice will help your baby begin to associate their bedroom with sleep. Once you’ve carried out the bedtime routine in your child’s room, you can then place them to sleep in their crib or bassinet in your room. After a few weeks of carrying out this process, you can try to put them down in their own bedroom and see how they respond.
- Before making the switch overnight, let them practice with daytime naps in their own bedroom. Once your baby is more comfortable in their room during the day, you can try an overnight stretch.
- Start moving the crib or bassinet further and further away from your bed over the course of a few weeks. This will help your little one get more accustomed to sleeping further away from you before moving baby to their own room.
- A white noise machine or playlist is a great way to soothe your baby if they are having trouble sleeping in their own room. Pacifiers, teethers and sleep bags are also great options to try if your little one is struggling with self-soothing.
- You might find the transition of moving your little one into their own room challenging. This is completely normal and more common than you might think. In fact, many sleep experts think that the process of moving your baby to their own room is tougher on the parents than it is on the child. If you’re feeling anxious about the nighttime separation, make sure you have a good video baby monitor so you can keep an eye on your baby from your own bedroom, and don’t get discouraged if the transition isn’t immediately successful. These things can take time and you’ll get there!
- If you’re transitioning your child before 6 months of age, you may be able to skip a lot of the gradual steps that an older baby might need to successfully transition to sleeping in their own room. This is because babies under the age of 6 months lack the spatial awareness that older babies typically have. So, if you’re transitioning your little one into their own bedroom before the age of 6 months, try simply laying them down one night to see what happens. You may find they settle in immediately.
