Should young baby nap in a dark room or the same room as you? Conflicting advice

[Bumblingonby]

I've got a 7 week old, and just starting to think about structuring her day a little bit to try and foster good sleep habits. The advice on naps seems conflicting though. All the sleep expert websites say that from 8 weeks they should nap in a darkened room in the day to help them produce melatonin and nap well. But nhs/lullaby trust etc say they should be in the same room as you for daytime sleep until 6 months to reduce SIDS risk. So which is it? Obviously I'm not able to sit in a dark bedroom next to my baby for hours each day? I can't find anything online addressing this contradiction so thought I'd ask the citizens of mumsnet...

Would have thought that same room is better. You want them to be developing a normal bodyclock ie a darkened room at night!

I think the safe sleeping guidelines are the more important.
You're not going to get an 8 week old into any sort of sleep routine regardless of the light levels.

Thanks both- to be clear, she currently naps in a moses basket in the living room during the day whenever she wants and I've no plans to structure or change that anytime soon, but assume by 4-5 months once the dreaded night regression hits I should be looking at wake windows and whatnot and thinking about this dark vs light stuff. My instinct is to keep her in the living room with me till 6 months, darkness be damned, even if it means she naps less well. But I was wondering if moving them to their nighttime crib in a dark bedroom away from you for day naps from 2 months is the done thing as seems to be the case for most in this thread https://www.reddit.com/r/sleeptrain/s/hfSyOKTNZl

I wonder if this is a uk vs us thing as most of the dark room advice seems to come from US sources

If you think about it, until very recently babies would be outside with their mothers and sleep when they needed to. I used to pull the curtains closed if DD was unsettled, but she had lots of naps outside with me too. X

At 7 weeks I would do same room.

We used the tuck ds into a dark corner and turn the lights down so it was quite dark, then watch TV with headphones or sit quietly reading/on laptops.

We struggled with sleep with mine till he was about 8-9 months, but we’d (try) and have 1 nap in his room and then 1 nap on the go, so in the car or the pram - because I thought at least he’s learning to settle in multiple environments. But when I look back now, I don’t think it made much of a difference and I wish I just went with the flow a bit more. He’d sleep when he wanted to sleep no matter where he was.

I think it depends on each baby. From 8 weeks old I started putting my third baby into his own pitch black bedroom at 1pm to fit in with the nap schedule of my other two- he’s been like clockwork ever since (currently 3.5 years). I tried a nap schedule with my first when he was a few months old but it wasn’t quite so easy and I wish I’d been a bit more relaxed. So I think it depends on the baby- give it a go and if it works great, otherwise leave it a few months.

Mine mostly napped in the buggy outside in the garden. Much more liberating than in a darkened room - dc just napped in the buggy when we were out and about. I took them on loads of daytrips without having to bother worrying about going home for naps.

Same room as you. Having a baby that can only nap in the dark would be a nightmare and it’s good to no the difference between a day nap and what night time is

I used to keep my little one in the living room but I just drew the curtains so it wasn't too bright.

Still in with you at 7 weeks. Mine still contact napped mainly at that point: in the sling or on me on the sofa! We also did outdoor naps in the shade in the pram. Mine didn’t start doing cot naps until 9 months or so (but had to fit in with other siblings and I didn’t have time to persevere!) I’d wait until closer to 5 months until you do own room .

My twins are 9 weeks and they nap in their room which has black out blinds. They also sleep in there at night too.

Routines are definitely possible at this age. Not for every baby but it's worth a try if it's something you want.

The US are very big on sleep training (which is perfectly logical i suppose if you are back at work after only a few weeks). Im onto my second baby in the UK, and ive only ever really seen the lullaby trust guidance quoted. Both my DDs have always done daytime naps downstairs with me - either moses basket or contact naps at home with tv on and curtains open usually, pram naps if we are out and about, then upstairs to bed with me after 9pm ish feed.

Most of my DCs nap were in the pram, out and about, it doesn't seem realistic, or at least not practical, that they can be in any room for all naps, let alone a dark one. You'd never leave the house!

I think you're right about UK vs US- so much online advice is US based.

In a pram at the end of the garden. Fresh air works a treat. Obviosly checking regularly

Depends if you prioritise them napping better/for longer or if you prioritise having the lowest likelihood of SIDS. I went with the latter, as their safety is more important to me then my convenience.

My DS is 13 weeks and we do a mixture. I try to do one of his naps (usually his first morning nap) in his next to me cot upstairs in a dark room, but I stay with him in the room for most of it (other than a quick trip to the bathroom or a drink). I just read on my phone or have a rest myself. He wakes up after 40 minutes anyway so it's not too long to have to stay with him. The rest of his naps are usually in the pram or sling out and about. I did similar with my DD who's 2 now. Then around 5 months when she started to have longer naps I'd sometimes leave her in the room by herself but would still pop in and check on her regularly.

Thanks all for your sensible advice. I think to combine practicality with safety well keep her in the room with no changes except watching wake windows and putting her down strategically in the basket for another couple of months. If she's sleeping terribly at night at 5 months, i'll consider putting her to nap in her crib or cot in a dark room and checking on her a lot.

Wake windows have always worked well for me. An overtired baby is so much harder to get to sleep in my experience.