Baby bedtime- where to sleep / SIDS risk

[wishfulthinking1]

Hi all- PFB is 6 weeks old. ATM we really have no routine- baby naps when he's tired, either in carry cot downstairs / wherever we are out and about / on me...

Over the last few nights he's got really grumpy at about 7.30 ish, we've generally then spent the evening trying to calm him down, it doesn't work until we go to bed, about half 9 ish, and I feed him to sleep in the dark and he goes down in is moses basket. This suggests to me that we should aim to do the feed to sleep in the dark bit so he's asleep at half 7 and avoid the 2 hours of screaming / angst. Question is, where should I put him to sleep? If I put him in his Moses basket in our room whilst I go back downstairs is this is SIDS risk?
Thanks!

At 6 weeks I started a bedtime routine, Before that he used to just stay up with us but would be horribly grizzly until we all went up at about 10pm. I started a routine with trying to get him into bed 7ish, first few weeks took ages for him to settle, often 2 hours plus, but it gradually got quicker and quicker. I used to dash downstairs after I'd put him to bed and eat my tea and then go upstairs and read on my kindle/play on iPad. Gradually I'd leave him for longer and longer periods of time, first 15 mins, then 20, etc etc. we moved him into his own room at 5mo. By this time I was settling him and often not going back up until bedtime.

What i did does contradict SIDS advice.

Bump. I'm wondering the same thing. DD is 16 wks and we cosleep. Like OP I'd be curious to know what other people do. So far we've either put baby in pram in evening when asleep but we inevitably wake her up and then she seems to get second (and third) wind till we all go to bed around midnight. But I can tell now she's really tired in the evenings and is becoming increasingly unsettled. Don't know if the answer is for us all to go to bed earlier...

Well, this goes against all the advice but I put my DS to bed (first in our room for two-three weeks, then in his own) at 7pm from the day we got back from hospital. I would leave him on his own, he learned to self settle immediately. And no, I didn't stay with him at 7pm either ! He has never, ever had any problem sleeping and in my opinion, its because we got him straight into a routine so he learned immediately that sleep was something to do 'on your own'.

However, I am well used to being flamed for this approach .

DS just slept downstairs with us in the evening, then we took him up when we went to bed.

At this time of year I'd take him for a quick walk in the pram then park him up while I ate tea :)

Another one contradicting the SIDS advice. DD went in own room when we gave up BF,at about 3 weeks. Now 14 weeks, she's been a brilliant sleeper ever since and sleeps through 6.30 - 6.30. We did take turns to sleep in her room with her for a while (but only when we came to bed, she was on her own before then) - but found that our moving around only unsettled her.

DS is 4MO, has his last feed at about 7pm, then goes into his Moses basket. I might nip too the look or to lock up the house, but other than that I stay with him. There's usually something I can be doing, like putting away laundry. If not, I chill out with a book.

Planning to move DS into his cot tonight, but my routine won't change. Of course, this is all very well for me as I don't have any other children. I can't imagine this would be practical if I did.

I follow all of the SIDS advice carefully except for the period of time between 7-10 pm. At all other timers lo naps downstairs but since starting a bed time routine at the 6 weeks point he sleeps the first part of the night alone in our room. We join him at 10. Have angelcare monitor for some peace of mind but aware this of itself won't prevent SIDS.

However, I balance this small risk against the importance of his quality of sleep in the evenings, establishing what I hope will be good sleeping habits for the future and also (don't flame me!) having an evening with dh.

I put our now almost 22 month ds in his own room in his moses basket in his cot at 2 weeks, and used an angelcare movement sensor pad. Before that he was in his Moses basket next to me, but such a long thing he outgrew it within 4 weeks when he went directly in his cot. We used prepares for bashings Gina Fords routine and worked for us.

He's such a happy thing

I had both dd's in their own room from 4 weeks as they hated the moses basket and we can't fit the cot in our room.

I always left doors open in bedrooms, lights on in the landing, doors open downstairs so they could hear us moving around, the tv, washing machine etc. so they weren't in silence and pitch black, and therefore not in such a deep sleep.

That was the NCT advice I had when I did point out I thought it unlikely I would always have my child next to me when they were asleep for 6 months until I met DD2 as that would include daytime naps as well as sleeping at night.

Again this is against SIDS advice.

It's a SIDS risk. How much of one rather depends on how many other risk factors are present. The biggest risk is smoking, especially in pregnancy.

This sort of behaviour in the evenings is actually v common and normal. It tends to subside any time from 10 weeks onwards.

Ah thanks everyone, this is all very helpful. We seem to have entered the 4 month sleep regression or something like it so all plans to start working towards a bedtime are out the window for now. But I'll start up again when we're on the other side!