Where should baby nap at 4-6 months

[Katontheforth]

Hello all, first baby due this summer and we are planning all the things we need to buy. I am a bit confused about nap time when they get to about 4-6 months. The official guidance says baby should nap in the same room as you for the first 6 months. However, I am reading a lot of people saying their baby outgrew the moses basket / carrycot from 4 months. So what do you do? Are you supposed to lie them in the cot / next to me crib and just sit next to them (which seems unlikely) or can you use a baby monitor at this age? Thank you all.

With DS1 (who was a good sleeper) we had a mattress on the floor in the open plan living room / kitchen and he would sleep on that. We were unusual in this though, and most parents we knew who had a baby that slept in a cot would rely on the baby monitor.

DS2 is 10 months and has never napped in a moses basket or cot. I'd wait and see what sort of sleeper you have before thinking too much about it!

My DS was still napping on me at that stage. Or I'd put him in his cot in the bedroom and have a nap/read on my kindle.

It all depends on your set up and your baby. It doesn’t matter where they nap as long as they are safe and warm and you are nearby. If you live in small flat, it’s not necessarily a big deal to put them in their cot in a bedroom and be in and out of that room doing other things. But that’s not the same thing as putting them down in a bedroom 2 floors up then going out to the far end of a massive garden for 3 hours.
They can nap in the pushchair and go with you wherever. Or a baby carrier but they do get heavy after a while! Or on the floor on a suitable surface - you could put the moses basket mattress on the floor for example - but only if you don’t have any pets in the house.

You can also use a playpen/travel cot in the living room or kitchen or wherever suits if you want a bigger portable safe sleep space.

We kept our pram indoors, and little one slept in that (we could wheel it between the lounge/dining room, as we moved between rooms).
We do have wooden floors, though.

My first went through a phase at about 4 months of only napping on his changing mat (!) on the floor. My second would still only nap on me at the same age.

I'd make sure you've got the basics for the newborn stage sorted, and then like @Merrow says, wait and see what type of sleeper you have.

Travel cot in the living room is a good economical option if you have space, as you'll probably end up needing one anyway, and it also works as a playpen.

Mine had outgrown the Moses at that age, but had naps in all sorts of places! The pram while out, on me if I was watching a bit of tv, we had a strap in chair which reclined which was used for quite a while (could attach hanging toys etc so would often be in it while I was in the room cleaning/ cooking/other and if he looked sleepy I'd just recline it) in the carrier on occasion, sometimes on the floor at peoples houses! And sometimes in his cot and I'd just leave the door open and do chores upstairs. I think I did start to go downstairs sometimes when he was around 5 months as he begun to not sleep except in the cot but for quite a while it was all easy and I would just put him down wherever

Neither of mine napped in any cot or Moses basket they had. They napped on me, pram or car. That was it. Up to 12 months actually.
I tried so many times for cot naps but mine liked comfort or movement.
I was always envious of people whose babies napped in cots but mine go with the flow and will nap pretty much anywhere so I'm lucky in that sense as we're not tied to going home for naps

Thanks @DontPutTheKidsThroughIt we are getting a pram with a carrycot approved for sleeping so hoping to use that at home for daytime naps in first few months but it was more that I’ve read of so many babies not wanting to sleep in a carrycot or Moses basket beyond 4 months. Will see…

Thats the plan for first few months @IlonaRN but it was more that I’ve read of so many babies not wanting to sleep in a carrycot (on a pram) or Moses basket beyond 4 months. Will see what they prefer I guess.

Yeah definitely wait and see. I wish I’d made no assumptions about where sleep would happen when. Like many people I had an expensive and unused next to me crib, as well as the expensive and unused Moses basket for downstairs. Baby napped on me, in a sling or in the pram until nine months.

Mine is 4mths now and had never really napped anywhere other than on me or in the car. I didn't even buy a moses basket because I knew it would be outgrown too quickly to be with it.

I breastfeed so he will usually fall asleep on the boob and I either take the opportunity for a good sit down and watch some TV or I might transfer him into the sling.

If I put him into the sling awake I can almost guarantee he'll be asleep within 15mins.

@merrow good advice. We are getting a pram with a carrycot so we can try them in that to start with and just see what they like as you say. Thank you.

Mine only napped on me or in the pram at that stage and only started napping in the cot at around 8 months. We did start putting her down in her cot with the monitor for an hour or two in the evening as she stopped being able to sleep well at night with the TV on at around 3 months even though this is technically against the safe sleep guidelines. We also had a Moses basket which I hadn’t expected to use much but it we ended up using it for nighttime sleep for the first 2 months as she found the Next to Me crib too big initially. Basically you just have to see what works when you’d baby arrives as they can have their own ideas about where they will sleep.