FTM alert - when did you put yr newborn to nap in a separate room?

[EssexGirlLottie]

Total newbie here. DS is only 2 weeks old and so far, he has been "following" us around in his Moses basket, bottle feeding on demand and sleeping in whatever room we are in.
The last couple of nights, it's got to about 8/9pm, we've been in the lounge watching TV with him in his Moses basket, and he just refuses to sleep for about 3/4 hours. We thought he was maybe overstimulated, what with the TV and lights, so tonight we've tried putting him upstairs in our bedroom, where it's darker and quiet, after a bath and story. He's been awake for about an hour now, intermittently crying.

Did we consider all this far too quickly? Is he just too little to be napping in a separate room? (I guess the question stands for all naps and not just bedtime)

I am breastfeeding, but my DS is also 14 days old. That is the time he cluster feeds - maybe a dummy would help?

I would be keeping my 2 week old with me at all times. If he is crying, he is probably looking for comfort or food. He is far too young to be left alone. He is only getting used to his surroundings. Maybe one of you could be in the quiet room with him.

If he's been crying for an hour are you sure he isn't hungry, wet/dirty nappy? We kept our dd in the same room as us for naps and in the evening until she was 5 months or so

Dd is 7 months old and she still sleeps in our room and same room for naps usually.But she has been on her own for the first part of the evening, 7-12, from about 3 months.

At 2 weeks old he will have no idea about day and night yet - at this age they just feed/sleep/feed/sleep with added cuddles in between, regardless of the time.

I'm afraid you're some time away from being able to put him down for bed and get your evenings back!

If he's unsettled and crying for ages I suggest he just wants to be in your arms and be close to you. They don't even know they are a separate person at that age!

We have an evening cluster feeding FF DD but at 2 weeks I don't think this pattern had yet emerged. She was mainly napping on us or on the sofa next to us at this age.

In the day my DS sleeps outside in his pram by the back door. We live in a very small village. If I lived somewhere bigger and I had a contained garden I would still do this.

I leave the door open about 30cm as well as the internal doors so I can hear him. Works a treat.

You can leave them in another room but we had ours in with us whist watching Game of Throans (oops) and he used to go to sleep with all the noise. He couldn't see the screen really so perhaps just pop them down by the side of the sofa or drape something over the Moses basket.

I think a baby used to noise as light is good. Once ours is down at night in our room, when we come to bed we can turn the light on, talk etc without him waking. Not long loud chats but enough to get into bed.

To be controversial, we putour daughter upstairs to sleep in our room for first part of evening from about 4 weeks, we set a routine from 2 weeks we have the monitor on at all times and still regularly check on her (every half hour or so) we bath her then I feed her upstairs in a darkened room (ebf). Its really whatever suits u, we found she wasn't sleeping !much downstairs with us so tried moving her and it worked for us.

Ha ColdCottage- we went through our DDs cluster feeding phase in a darkened room with Game of Thrones on too!

Just another voice here reporting that 2 weeks was cluster feeding central for us too- just kept her with us snacking/napping in one of our arms until she passed out at around 10pm and then into moses basket until we were all ready to go upstairs.

Oh, and we kept lights dim and sounds low. She'd get very fussed at that time of the evening if there was too much going on, so I think your instincts to cut down on stimulation are sound, just maybe keep him with you and accept that you'll miss large chunks of onscreen dialogue if one of you has the urge to boil the kettle every half an hour for tea yes I'm looking at you DP

From about 7 weeks

From 2 weeks.