Moving baby into own room

[Happygolucky12]

Please can you help with some advice. We have decided that it is time for our 8 month old to move into her cot in the nursery. For the last week we have been putting down in there but she wakes up constantly and eventually we bring her back into our room where she sleeps soundly in our bed (she has out grown her snuzpod). She is either fed or rocked to sleep and also refuses to nap anywhere other than on me or in her pushchair.....

We can't bring her cot into our room because there is no space and I can't sleep in the nursery as there is no space there either. She had her first tooth which caused some upset and I don't think number 2 is far behind - should I wait?

I am beyond shattered - I don't sleep well co-sleeping and she is a noisy sleeper. My husband is willing to help but he has a very stressful job and can't go to work tired.

Any advice would be fab - thanks

Does she have a comforter of any sort? Could you give her a top you’ve worn to cuddle that smells of you? (You can knot it in the middle to prevent her getting smothered by it). You could also try a bit of sleep training at this age if you feel comfortable with that (not everyone agrees with it but it helped us). The first few teeth really upset them so it could be that. Do you give her calpol before bed and rub teething gel on her gums?

I also used a rolled up towel under the cot sheet to surround her when she first moved to her cot so she felt more secured.

8 months and 18 months are peak separation anxiety phases, so I wouldn’t be attempting major changes that distance her from you now.

Teething definitely doesn’t help. My nearly 8 mo was in her own room all night for a couple of weeks but has mostly been in with us for the past 6 weeks - she’s got 4 teeth either come through or still cutting.
We have just started putting her back in her cot at the start of the night - she managed 2 hours last night so I’m hopeful we’ll get her back in there all night eventually!
I don’t find co-sleeping easy either, sending you a

This was my 6mo daughter a month ago. Don't try to do it all at once take gradual steps. We:-

• started doing 'playtime' in her cot to get her used to it. While I had a shower we would put her in there with a load of toys so if became a familiar environment.
• started doing daytime naps in the cot. Routine of put into sleeping bag, cuddle and rock, BF (unless she'd just eaten food) and then put down and leave. She'd often cry for 2 minutes then fall asleep. Her naps have improved loads as a result of this.
• started doing first leg of bedtime in the cot. Routine of bathtime, nappy change, into sleepsuit, scratch mitts, sleeping bag, cuddle and rock in chair, feed to sleep with rain sounds playing, then place in cot asleep. She'd wake up an hour later and I'd feed back to sleep, then at about 2am when she woke I'd bring her into our bed.
• weaned her off feeding to sleep by feeding with the light on before doing nappy and pjs, then put her in cot drowsy but awake and let her whine until she fell asleep. Also after about a week of going cold turkey on overnight milk she no longer wakes up in the night.

It worked for us but everyone's different. A sleepyhead pillow or sleeping bag helps as it's a warm cosy environment. A cot must seem awfully big to a tiny person.

Yes - she has calpol and teething powder before bed. I've tried putting an item of clothing in her cot but it's not made any difference.

I really don't want to stop now I've started and by looking at her gums I think she maybe teething for a while....

Thanks Ginger - some good tips x

Ibuprofen is better for teething pain.

Don’t use teething powders before bed. They work by making the baby grind their gums together to relieve pain - that will stop them from sleeping. They’re also very sweet, which will wake them up. Make sure you are using Ashton and parsons teething powders - homeopathic ones are literally just sugar. A+P contain actual chamomile which is soothing.

Anbesol liquid is better than any gel. Gel slides off gums leaving baby with a numb tongue. Anbesol numbs wherever it touches. Brilliant for bedtime.

Has she been in the cot in the daytime? My dc struggled at first so I let her play in there with some toys during the day so she got used to the sights/sounds/shadows in the room.

We can't bring her cot into our room because there is no space

Is there a chest of drawers in your room? In that case there's enough room for a cot, they are about the same size. Remove the drawers/dressing table/wardrobe or whatever into the nursery. Then bring thr big cot into your room. Just for the time being.

Nope we have built in wardrobe and draws but thanks for the suggestions.
Going back to the start tomorrow with play in there and see if I can get her to nap but she sleeps better at night than in the day so not going to get my hopes up.....

Following and wishing you luck

I moved my now 8 1/2 month old into his own room at about 6 1/2 months as was pretty sure we were just waking each other up. I also can't co-sleep as just....don't sleep unless it's just us, which is not an option.

He used to always wake up when I fed him and then put him down to sleep. I now just get into the cot with him, feed him there and sneak off- is that an option for you?! Our cot is one that changes into a toddler bed. I figured this must be strong enough to support the weight of a parent + toddler, so went ahead with it. It's worked for us. Sometimes he even stops feeding and just plays with a toy until he falls alseep.

Full disclosure and useful info: he's a totally useless napper and not a brilliant sleeper. Breastfed, no dummy, not a thumbsucker. He goes to bed easily but wakes frequently when teeth are bad/it's a day ending in 'ay'/unicorns are on the rampage but at least I have a reliable method of getting him to sleep. I sometimes wake up in the cot at 3am, but that still counts as sleep, right? Right?!

We do: mostly dark room, sleep sack, noise machine, feed to sleep in cot unless he pops off in which case he'll play with a comforter toy, sometimes whines for 5-10 minutes and then falls asleep. He's utterly useless at napping, but I do attempt to put him in his cot if we're home (which isn't much because we have to get out or drive each other to distraction).