18 weeks old sleeping on own

[DanniCL]

Before the perfect parents start, I am aware of lullaby trust advise on safe sleeping and at no point is my baby sleeping overnight on his own. I’m only looking for advice.

So, my 18weeks old baby currently goes to bed in a travel cot in the living room around 7pm. I then transfer him to his cot in my room when I go to bed at ten. He is fed and changed then normally wakes at 7am.

The problem I’m having now that he’s getting older and more alert is he gets woken up easily in the living room by the tv or cat playing etc, I keep things as quiet as I can but he’s getting really hard to settle because of the distractions. Now I do leave him to sleep while I tidy the kitchen and put the washing away, only for about 30mins and I do have a video monitor.

What I’m wondering is what do other people do with their baby’s at this age? Would you put him upstairs on his own for the three hours before your bed?
Now I don’t think I’m ready to put him on his own, I love hearing his little snoring while I chill out, I just want other peoples experience and advice.

I’d put him to bed upstairs at that age with a monitor and check in on him. If you’re planning on moving him to his own room anyway at around six months this is a good in between step.

You’ll get people telling you you mustn’t let them sleep unsupervised for one second before they’re six months old but that’s just not real life is it. At 18 weeks I’d be comfortable with this and am pretty sure it’s what I did with mine.

Also jealous of what an amazing sleeper he sounds!!

My daughter was the same and struggled to sleep downstairs in the evenings from about 3 months. I spent a month going to bed really early with her upstairs but eventually gave in and left her upstairs with the monitor for a few hours in the evening. Was definitely the right decision for us.

I put DD in her own room at 3 months OP. She slept through from )m6 weeks and we would end up disturbing her every night when we came up (creaky floorboards) - she’s slept an absolutely dream and so have we.

Do what is right for you. You are the parent

I was super super scared of SIDS, but I put my little one to bed in her next to me about 14/15 weeks I think, us downstairs, video monitor on constantly and occasional check on her physically. Would put her down about 7/8 and I'd go to bed about 10/11 (started off going up about 9 and built up the time alone).

Keep dc safe in bed every way you can: correct temp/layers/ no loose covers or teddies, down on their back. And keep an eye, you'll be fine x

I always say this on these threads - and I am not judging in any way and can totally understand whatever decision you make - the highest risk time for SIDS is between 3 and 4 months. I think a lot of people don't appreciate that when making a decision. That said, your baby is over 4 months so the risk starts decreasing now.

My dd is 8 months. I’ve never put her to bed alone yet (I lie, we attempted it on nye but it didn’t go well) and pretty much go to bed when she does. It’s the only way she sleeps. Can’t go in indefinitely but it’s working ok for now (husband is doing so much overtime that he works most evenings at the moment anyway so I might as well be in the bedroom watching something quietly as doing it downstairs.)
I wouldn’t have done it before 6 months even if we’d have got one that would sleep independently but that’s not me being a perfect parent, just wasn’t an issue for me following that particular guideline and doing so helped calm some of my anxieties, though by no means all!

I used to just watch tv on super low in our bedroom with both DS until they were 6 months. It’s a pain but nice to chill with them watching them sleep or sleep on me for a bit. I couldn’t wait for it to be over and have some time back but now when they’re 2.5 and 1 yr old, I really miss that time with them

I am super scared of sids which is why I’ve not made the move and still reluctant to although I do think he is ready. I don’t have a tv in my bedroom and it’s one of the things that wakes him anyway so defeats the object really. I might try starting off with an hour on his own for a week and work up from there see how it goes.

I didn’t. It’s only 8 more weeks until they are 6 months old. The USA says all sleep should be with an adult in the room until the age of 1 years old.

DD1 used to sleep down stair in the pushchair when she slept and DD2 used to feed and sleep in my arms.

My daughter is 18 weeks and used to sleep anywhere but and 2 weeks ago began walking at every sound and went through a week of crying at night when she was overtired but wouldn't go to sleep. So we have a basic bedtime routine now, she goes to sleep about 8.30 in her snuzpod, we leave her to sleep upstairs with a monitor and then go to bed beside her about 10.30pm. So far it's worked, she's sleeping well and until 7am most days. We'll keep her in with us to she's at least 6 month I think. I really love hearing her little snores too!

I’ve been putting my baby to bed in his cot (in our room) with the baby monitor on since he was about 8 weeks old. Basically as soon as his sleeping was sorted and he didn’t need me to lie next to him soothing him for hours. He goes to bed at 9, we come back downstairs for a bit. And sometimes I do it in the day if he naps in his cot (which is rare) and I don’t feel like I want a nap as well. But generally in the day he is on me or near to me.

@DanniCL from about 3 months I put both of mine for naps and to bed in our bedroom where they did their overnight sleep. It was the only way they'd get a proper rest and prevent them being overtired. With my first, I didn't realise the advice was to not let them sleep alone until 6 months so I didn't worry. With my second I was more nervous about it because I was aware of the advice but I found that she was settling less and less in the lounge and becoming overtired so I started putting her down in our room and she starting napping much better. She sleeps with a breathing monitor and a video monitor and I follow safe sleep with her on her back in a cot with no loose bedding etc... Sometimes i’d try and nap too but most of the times I do jobs or catch up on some TV.

I think you just have to do what's right for you and your baby. It breaks my heart when my babies are inconsolable because they're over tired so I really do prioritise their sleep and for them, sleeping in a dark room with white noise and no distractions, gets them the most rest!

Yes, for the first few weeks all mine slept downstairs in the living room with us in their prams until we all went up to bed together. And then when they got too big to comfortably sleep in their prams, I started taking them up earlier to their cot in our room.

I genuinely think they got a better nights sleep sleeping without noise and distraction downstairs and because they were used to settling down alone we had no problems when the time came to put them in their own rooms at 12 months.

Once my babies were old enough for it to be worth putting them down at a regular time, I put then down in their crib in my room with a baby monitor, and turned the monitor off when I went to bed.

It was from roughly 12 weeks onwards

All of mine went upstairs from about 2-3 months with monitors.

I would. Definitely.

Separate room sleeping apparently doubles the risk of Sids, but at 4 months the risk drops to negligible anyway.

And it's not even the main stretch of sleep. It's a couple of hours, which will benefit you in other ways. You have to weigh these things up and be sensible about it. You can spend your entire life trying to minimise every risk or you can just live. No other country (including the UK until a few years ago) is so specific about spending every minute in the room with them, they just specify that the baby's bed should be in your room, as the assumption is your longest period of sleep and the baby's will coincide.