To have my 8 week old baby sleeping in her own room

[Olivetti]

My little girl (8 weeks) has slept in her own room since she was 3 weeks old. She currently sleeps 7-9 hours and I wake up if she even squeaks loudly, and check on her - she usually just seems to be dreaming. She's putting on weight and thriving. I remember very heated debate about this on MN when I was pregnant, so just wondering whether people think it's ok, given she seems to be happy enough.

no she will be fine - lots of hysteria surrounding babies - do whatever you feel is right mum knows best!

It's up to you. You are your DD's mother so YANBU.
However, seeing as you're asking for opinions, it's not something I could have done as soon as I read the advice on cutting down the (very low) risk of cot death.

you will get pretty much polarised views on this...

it's not about your baby being happy and thriving, recent research showed that having your baby in with you helped regulate their breathing and reduced the risk of SIDS iic

8 weeks is very soon to sleep through , she might start waking again anyway

it's your baby and your choice, an informed decision is the key
you read a heated debate on it, you decided it was fine for you to not have your baby in eiwth you, your decision

You are her Mum so you know better than anyone here what is best for her.

well, it isn't relaly about whether she is "happy" and sleeps lots

we know that less babies die of cot death if they are in a room with their parents, hence the FSIDS advice to keep them in with you for at least 6 months

If you know the risks and are happy with your decision then that's up to you, but personally I think you are being a bit unreasonable, cos it doesn't really hurt to keep her in with you does it?

YANBU to do this if you have read all the research and recommendations regarding having baby in the same room as you until 6 months etc etc, and you have decided that this is best for you.
Personally, I wouldnt have done this so early, DD was almost 5 months before I made the move, and she was such a light sleeper I could barely FART without waking her.

thisisyesterday - I'm not sure I agree that it doesn't really hurt, and I'm genuinely not looking for an argument with people, just interested in views as have been discussing it with pregnant friends etc. We did have her in with us, but what we found was that my husband got a very disturbed night because of all the little snuffles/farts/grunts etc so was kanckered at work, and the temtation to lean over and pat her etc was great, which I actually think just disturbed her and stopped her from resting peacefully. She sleeps really nicely in her own room, we get a good night's sleep and are a happy, rested household (well, sometimes!!)

I would say if she is happy and thriving, and you have a baby monitor, then fine.

Its probably less disturbing for her than if someone else in the room coughs or snores.

What is the theory behind babies being more prone to cot death in another room. What causes it? ( i never researched this because I had a one bedroom flat!)

But the advice about your child sleeping in with you until 6months isn't about you, partner or baby getting a good sleep, it is to do with your child's safety.
I know our ds would have slept better on his own and I certainly would have! But if you read all the research it is to do with saving lives.

ok, but you do get used to the noises they make and learn to sleep through it.

my point is that your baby has a higher risk of cot death if they are in another room.

but like I say, if you've decided that your husband's sleep is worth that risk that's up to you.
presumably you read up on it and know all the risks involved and made your decision, so it doens't really matter what we think does it?

YANBU. I put DS in his own room at 4 weeks. Like you, I woke up if he so much as sighed and was hardly getting any sleep. As a single parent, I didn't have anyone to share the responsibility with, so needed as much rest as possible. We both slept better with him in his own room and I could be in his room in seconds if he needed me. I had a sensor monitor in his cot for additional reassurance. Just do what's best for you.

Well, so long as you know the risks it's up to you.

Personally I felt quite strongly about minimising the risk of cot death, that to me was worth more disturbances at night. Different risks are important to different people though.

The theory is that it helps a baby to regulate his/her breathing if the baby can hear you breathing too and so reduces the risk of cot death. I think. But I'm not an expert.

DS is 13 weeks and I moved him into his own room at about 11 weeks. We thought long and hard about it - it wasn't an easy decision - but decided to do it because the other risk factors (eg smoking, low birth weight) either don't apply or we are really careful to minimise (eg risk of over heating). DS is a loud little bugger at night - farting, snuffling, grunting and grizzling in his sleep. I actually decided that it was riskier for him to have a mum who was routinely only getting about 3 hours sleep a night than it was for him to sleep in his own room. My personal choice though - you have to weigh up the risks for yourself.

I don't think monitors/breathing sensors have been shown to reduce cot death btw.

I don't get it.

Having your baby in your room reduces the risk of cot death.

Surely it's a no brainer?

According to what I have read, the reason applied to a lower risk of SIDS is because if the baby was in the same room, you would notice if they stopped breathing.

I would have thought that a baby monitor would be equally as effective if you had it next to your bed.

I agree, YABU if you are unaware of what the research says.
I wouldn't dream of having my babies in a different room until 6 months, if the DH is disturbed he can sleep elsewhere. But then I am rather anxious about these things. Lucky you if you don't worry yourself sick!

charliesmommy - no I think the theory is that it's beneficial for the baby to hear you breathing in order to regulate his/her own breathing.

DS slept in his own room from about 8 weeks. It wasn't possible to put even a Moses basket in our room and his room was even smaller (ie not big enough to have bed and cot in). I "slept" on a single futon mattress in his room when he was very small and it wasn't until we skept in different rooms that either of us got any sleep.

I suppose we could have co slept but I was worried about that and would probably have stayed awake much of the night. Or DH could have been evicted to DS's room but somehow sleep deprived me never thought of that .

i love having my dd in her moses basket next to me, if DP needs more sleep then he can piss off into the spare room lol

I'd rather just open my eyes and see that she's fine rather than getting up and going into the next room. (lazyitus perhaps)

We have a digital baby monitor and I think the screen is quite deceiving, so don't like to rely on technology