Putting baby in own room

[Firsttimemumsteph]

Just wanting to hear some of your experiences with putting your baby in their own room. Obviously it is highly recommended to wait until your baby is 6 months before putting them in their own room. But every baby is different.

What was your experience with this? How old was your baby when you did it? What was the outcome? Was the baby okay with it? Etc.

thank you!

Yes I know that but I just meant that if you are going to move them before 6 months then at least with a monitor you can see and hear changes.

Would you notice silence though? It's not noises that would indicate your baby not breathing.

Out of interest, where do you think data comes from? Data just gives us an understanding based on a very large number of individual patients so in this case tells the story of huge numbers of babies and their parents’ choices re sleeping conditions.

I agree with @Bundeena it is depressing when people disregard guidelines based on rigorous research in favour of anecdotal evidence, especially when they pertain to health of children.

Hang on a minute… aren’t we on a form called “Mumsnet”?! Isn’t this place to ask questions like the OP has? Aren’t NHS guidelines just a compressed view of information gathered by individuals and not individuals actually telling their stories a bit more in depth from a personal perspective? I never refer to NHS guidelines. I was giving my baby orange juice for constipation at 5 weeks and DC is still alive, still thriving, and rarely has issues with his toilet habits now. If I refer to NHS guidelines I’d be trying to make Drs appointments every week and my DC would suffer more.

What has your husband done to address his snoring @Firsttimemumsteph?

In answer to your question DD was 3 years old. She had a health condition that affected her breathing and was very high risk.

Even without the health condition I wouldn't have moved her into her own room until at least 6 months.

What is best for the baby is what reduces the risk of SIDS, not what you want. The guidelines are there for a reason.

Sorry, I reread my previous message and realised it came across as very grumpy! (Sent before coffee!)

You’re right in that you lose a lot of the nuance in large research studies. I also agree with you that many guidelines can be read, understood and then parents can choose to use what is practical and appropriate in their individual child’s situation.

I don’t think the above applies when it comes to guidelines to reduce risk of infant death though (except in very specific situations under medical recommendation).

Guidelines for SIDS have been based on huge amounts of data. Sure, the majority of parents and babies who don’t follow are going to be fine. However there is always that group where the baby died but would have been fine if guidelines had been followed. This is a small group but no one know who these babies are (although efforts are being made to identify those at higher risk.) and because infant death is so devastating, the guidelines have to err on the side of caution.

It’s a small inconvenience for most parents to be a bit sleep deprived for a few months (in the grand scheme!) so most are willing to do this to do whatever they can to reduce risk.

You do realise babies still die even when the guidelines are followed don't you ?

Lots of people wearing seatbelts still die in car accidents too.
Most people still choose to wear a seatbelt.

Yes but SIDS rates are massively lower than they were before the current guidelines. They've worked, particularly the back to sleep campaign. The SIDS rate will never be zero unfortunately, just like people can still get lung cancer even if they've never smoked.

For me, the guidelines weren't just about reducing the risk, but that if the worst happened I wouldn't be thinking what if.

It doesn't mean that you shouldn't follow the guidelines though. Why would you increase the risk? 😕

@caulcauliflowercheeseplease No, you couldn't be more wrong. NHS guidelines are not compressed stories from individuals. What a strange perception. They are based on research evidence from studies on a population level. That doesn't mean anecdotes are always unhelpful, but in matters of safety like SIDS, the guidance is based on a wealth of research evidence.

I think SIDS guidance is 12 months. 6 months is for them to nap in a separate room.

Use the NHS guidance, don't take unnecessary risks with your baby. It could be ok, but it might not be.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/caring-for-a-newborn/reduce-the-risk-of-sudden-infant-death-syndrome/

Six months is the recommendation in the UK.

2 weeks old. In her nursery next to our bedroom.

12 months is ideal, 6 months is a minimum.

DD was about 18 months. I was breastfeeding and it was much easier for me to feed her in the night without having to go to a different room to get her. Also, I couldn't have slept apart from her when she was so tiny, all my biological instincts were telling me to keep my baby close.

We moved DT’s into separate bedrooms when they were six months old. They were sleeping through the night so no getting up to give a bottle and everyone slept better in their own rooms without us all disturbing each other.

7 months old. We started with day time naps before making the transition at night time. He's settled really well and is excited to see us when we come to get him in the morning. Our little dog even runs in to see him which is cute.

I genuinely don't remember but definitely after 6 months for both of them. They were still feeding in the night/soothing on me until after that anyway.

OK.

I gave the recommendations that I've been told by health professionals and my own qualifications, along with reading the research, and my own experience of feeling it was better for DD to remain close to me.

If something else worked for you that's fine.

I don’t know what experiences you want, to convince you to potentially ignore guidelines? People who have lost babies to SIDS, and wonder if they shouldn’t have moved them to a different room? People who have had babies cry but then tire themselves out and start sleeping through the night? People who regretted it as it meant having to get up multiple times and traipse through to a different room?

If there’s a problem with your husband snoring and waking your baby up, perhaps he could go to another room for a while?

We did 3 months

Room was very close though (5 feet away)

Mine were 8 weeks, 6 weeks & 6 weeks. When they started sleeping through the night.

Very happy with my risk assessment.

How come you revived this old thread to post that, right underneath the link to government guidelines for reducing sudden infant death syndrome?

Ds1 around 10 months

Ds2 is still in with us at 8 months but getting too big for his next to me cot so we're going to have to put him in his own room soon🥲