0-6mth should not sleep alone EVER??

[Luk]

Hi all, FTM here due in May.

All the SIDS advice says baby should sleep in same room as parents for first 6 months. NHS website wording suggests this means every single nap as well.

If I'm trying to introduce a routine and settle baby down in her cot in the dark at 7pm, am I supposed to sit in the dark with her until I fall asleep too??

What do you guys do with daytime naps and early bedtime? What's practical and safe?

@Bells3032 the SIDS rate is highest at 3-4 months because parents do things like this and say ‘oh they’ll be fine with a monitor’. The protection is an adult breathing in the same room as them, a monitor looking at them can’t do this. The guidance is to keep them in the same room as a parent until 6 months for a reason

Mine didn’t got to bed at 7 until they were 2 years old and had dropped their naps.

You'll only ever get one half of the story on threads like these as if anyone posts that they didn't do this they will get jumped on. You do what you like, but don't assume that because everyone has posted they followed this advice that every one does. Mine were in their own rooms from about 2 weeks and sleeping through the night from 5/6. Personal choice, just another example of only hearing one side. Don't want you to feel guilty if you decide to do things differently.

Yes, they should be in the same room as you for bedtime and naps until 6 months. If DS is napping in his moses basket in the living room I will sometimes potter about in the kitchen and keep checking on him but I think even this is against guidelines.

As for a 7pm bedtime, DS is 4 months old and still isn’t ready for bed until 9pm. If we try and put him to bed at 7pm he treats it as a nap and wakes again. A 7pm bedtime won’t be achievable for a good few months probably.

My daughter has always been a good sleeper and fell into a routine quickly. But she didn't go to sleep by herself upstairs until 7 months I think. I didn't rush to get her out of our room

It's 10 years since I last had a baby but by 6-8 weeks, we settled them in their bedside cot in our room (with the side up) whilst we had our evening downstairs. They were put down about 7 and woke for a feed at 10 ish when I would then go to bed alongside them.
They wouldn't settle in the living room with lights / TV and I didn't want to go to bed that early. It worked for us. Obviously you have the odd few days when they're poorly / cluster feeding and you end up sat with them feeding all evening, but on the whole they slept well.
Use a breathing monitor if you're worried.

Well I used to live in a flat until recently. There was a baby cot in the bedroom and a moses basket in the living room. I also had bouncer I took with me to the kitchen or leave in the living room.

Dm warned me against only putting babies to sleep in quiet dark rooms. And that they need to be exposed to a mixture of sounds. Otherwise, they will struggle to fall asleep and get scared of random outside noises.

@ZooMount you know that’s called survivors bias don’t you?

People make all sort of choices and risks with parenting. Some of them are reasonable and other’s aren’t. It’s up to you to read the research and decide which risks you are willing to take with your baby.

Since the safe sleeping guidelines were introduced the number of SIDS has significantly reduced.

We used to have her downstairs with us, she’d nap from about 6-7pm, lay on the sofa or her play mat whilst we watched TV and fall asleep about 9pm, we’d take her up when we went up. Or if I put her in her crib at 9pm we’d watch a film in bed on the laptop.
one thing I’d say though is please don’t stress at this point about routine because it’ll change so much in the next few months.
in DDs case we always kept light and noise and it was fine but when the 4 month sleep regression but she just magically changed. From then on it had to be dark and quiet for any sleep to happen. Babies are who they are and sometimes your best intentions just can’t change that. She’s 10 months now and can only sleep in dark and quiet rooms but we never encouraged that, it just happened on its own.

Yes, Moses basket for naps so it's in the same room. Or I used the carrycot (it detached from the wheels/frame for use as Moses basket)

Don't even think about bedtime. It won't happen at 7pm for a LONG time. The first 3 months at least are all about survival