As a new parent, you want to know that your baby is safe and sound all night long! If your little one has been sleeping in a cradle or bassinet next to your bed, sooner or later you’ll ask yourself when you should stop sharing a room with your baby.
Most parents share their room with their infant for the first few months because it’s both safe and convenient. But at some point, your little one will move out of your room and graduate to their own crib. When should that happen?
There’s no perfect “when.” Every baby is unique and every family has different criteria to consider as they make that decision. But what are the factors that go into making it? We’re here to help you answer that important question!
Let’s start by looking at why room-sharing is recommended in the first place, and then we’ll go over when your baby should make the move to their nursery, setting the nursery up for success, and how to make that transition as easy as possible.
Key Takeaways
Table of contents
- The AAP guidelines on sharing a room with your baby
- How to decide when to stop sharing a room with your baby
- Getting your baby’s room ready for independent sleeping
- Tips for transitioning your baby to their nursery
The AAP guidelines on sharing a room with your baby
When it comes to making your new baby your new roommate, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends the following:
“Keep [your] baby's sleep area in the same room where you sleep for the first 6 months or, ideally, for the first year. Place your baby's crib, bassinet, portable crib, or play yard in your bedroom, close to your bed.”
Why is this recommended?
They continue on, saying that “the AAP recommends room sharing because it can decrease the risk of SIDS by as much as 50% and is much safer than bed sharing. In addition, room sharing will make it easier for you to feed, comfort, and watch your baby.”
Sharing a room with your baby is not only convenient, but it’s also considered part of baby sleep safety! Other safe-sleep guidelines include:
- Don’t let your baby sleep in your bed.
- Put your baby to sleep on a firm surface.
- Put your baby to sleep on their back for naps and nighttime.
- Keep loose bedding, pillows, and toys out of the crib.
Read more about safe sleep for infants here.
To sum up, keeping your baby safe and sound all night includes sharing your room with them for a while. But, eventually, your little one will need to move into the cute nursery you’ve prepared just for them! When that should happen is different for each baby and each family.
How to decide when to stop sharing a room with your baby
Moving your sweet baby down the hall to their own room is a big deal! It’s no surprise that you may feel stressed about deciding when to do it.
Most babies sleep in a cradle or bassinet in their parents’ room until they graduate to their standard-sized crib. That switch usually goes hand-in-hand with moving from the parents’ room into the nursery, although it doesn’t have to if the crib can fit in your bedroom.
As we said, the AAP recommends room-sharing for at least six months. But that’s not a hard and fast rule, and some families move their little one to the nursery before they reach the half-year mark.
In addition to the safe sleep guidelines mentioned above, deciding on the right time to make the transition usually depends on a few factors: your baby’s weight, height, and physical capabilities and your family’s needs.
All of that being said, let’s take a look at some factors that go into making the decision.
Your baby’s weight
Cradles and bassinets usually have a weight limit somewhere between 10 and 20 pounds. Check your baby’s bed for the specific number.
Once your little one weighs in at that limit, it’s time to move them into their crib. If their crib only fits in the nursery, then the decision is made! Time to move to the nursery.
Your baby’s height
Your little one might still be under the weight limit for the cradle or bassinet, but if they are especially long and lanky, they might quickly grow too tall for it!
If your little one looks cramped, that’s another sign that it’s time to move them to their crib and, possibly, the nursery.
Sleep interruptions
Between the ages of four and six months old, your baby’s awareness of the world around them gets sharper. How does that impact room sharing? If someone snores, coughs, or moves a lot in their sleep, your baby may begin to wake up more often.
This may cause your little one to activate their other senses. They may see or smell you and decide it’s meal time (or play time!). If this is your baby’s experience, you may want to consider moving them out of your room.
While the AAP is clear about the benefits of room sharing, they also did a study that found a lack of sleep can affect babies’ health in many domains, including emotional regulation, mood, and behavior.
The reverse is true, too. Your baby might be the noisy sleeper and could be waking you up during the night, compromising your health. Whichever the case may be, these sleep interruptions are worth considering.
Your baby’s physical capabilities
Even if your little one is still small enough for the bassinet or cradle, once they start to sit, push up on their hands and knees, and roll, it’s no longer safe for them to sleep there because they could easily fall out or roll over and have difficulty breathing.
Sleep training
If you decide to sleep train your baby, you may want to consider doing it in their own room. Working on nighttime sleep training in a room you share can be challenging. Your child may wake up more often or call to you when they do wake if you’re in close proximity.
Your family’s needs
Even when a little one still fits snugly in their bassinet and isn’t rolling over, pushing up on their hands and knees, or sitting up, some families choose to move them to the nursery anyway.
What are some of the considerations? Maintaining a bedtime routine, ease of breastfeeding, sleep quality, and parental intimacy, just to name a few.
In an article on the Harvard Health Publishing website entitled Room sharing with your baby may help prevent SIDS — but it means everyone gets less sleep, Claire McCarthy, MD says:
“Room sharing can help prevent SIDS and support breastfeeding, that’s clear… At the same time, if room sharing means that parents aren’t getting any sleep because they are woken by every baby whimper and squeak, that’s not good for anybody — and if the parents’ relationship is suffering significantly because they don’t feel that they can or should be intimate near the baby, that’s not good for anybody either.”
A very specific reason to consider? You're expecting another baby! How do you envision the new sleep arrangement once your littlest one arrives? Will you want them to share a room with you? Can you share a room with two children?
If you decide this is the time to transition your older baby into their own room, try to do it before the new one arrives. Going through two big transitions at the same time may be too much to handle all at once.
As you can see, deciding when to stop sharing a room with your baby is not always straightforward! If your baby has outgrown their bassinet and the crib doesn’t fit in your room, the transition to their own room will happen naturally.
Otherwise, take your family’s needs as well as the AAP recommendations into consideration and talk with your pediatrician about the best approach.
Last but not least, if you’ve already decided to go ahead with the big move, we’ve got a few tips to make it as smooth as possible for everyone!
Getting your baby’s room ready for independent sleeping
You can help ease your baby’s transition from your room to theirs by setting up the space so it’s welcoming and warm. Here are a few tips for you to consider.
Choose a safe mattress.
But first, one item that's non-negotiable! The single most important item in your baby’s room is their mattress. If you know that your baby will be safe in their crib, you’ll have more peace of mind about the transition from your room to the nursery.
Make sure your little one will sleep on a firm, breathable mattress, like Newton Baby’s Crib Mattress.
Made with our Wovenaire® Core (90% air and 10% food-grade polymer), our mattress is breathable, which means if your little one rolls over during the night, they can breathe straight through the mattress!
It's also GREENGUARD Gold Certified, which means it exceeds the most rigorous 3rd-party emissions standards.
Install a video monitor.
With your baby next to your bed, you could simply roll over to check on them. Once your baby starts sleeping in the nursery, maintain that same peace of mind by installing a video monitor.
This will allow you to still keep an eye on them without getting out of your own bed!
Use blackout curtains.
Even the smallest sliver of light can wake your baby up, and when they’re learning how to sleep in a new space you want to maximize their chance for success. Blackout curtains can keep your little one’s room cozy and dark, especially during a middle of the day nap.
Plug in a nightlight.
A little light may be just as important as dark! Especially useful during the pre-sleep bedtime routine, a dim, soft light can calm your baby’s space and help in facilitating an organic transition from wake to sleep.
Add a white noise machine.
If your baby is easily awoken by sounds (like a car driving by or a dog barking), you might want to consider putting a white noise machine in their room. It creates a consistent soothing sound that blocks out neighborhood noises.
Find the perfect temperature.
The ideal temperature for your baby’s room is typically between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Of course, your baby’s specific preferences should be met first, but this range generally helps keep kids comfortable, not too hot or too cold.
Try a rocking chair and ottoman.
A rocking chair is the perfect place to hold at least part of your bedtime routine. Reading books in the chair creates a relaxed bonding time (with a dose of literacy added in!). Rocking provides comfort for your baby and the ottoman provides comfort for you!
Swaddle your baby.
If your baby has been sleeping in a swaddle blanket in your room, keep consistency by using it in their new room too. And if your little one hasn’t tried one, this may be the perfect time (as long as they’re not rolling over on their own yet).
Wrapping your baby in a swaddle can give them an extra boost of a feeling of safety. Just remember to stop swaddling once your baby can roll over on their own, which usually happens around four months but may be sooner for some babies.
Tips for transitioning your baby to their nursery
If your little one has been sleeping well in their bassinet, mini crib, or cradle, the transition to their new crib in their own room may be easier than you anticipate. But if it’s challenging (or even if it’s not!), here are a few tips to focus on as you make the transition.
Spend time in the nursery.
Before you stop room-sharing, spend time with your baby in the nursery to help them get used to it. Share activities they enjoy, like playing or reading, so they have good associations with the room.
Also, consider doing their bedtime routine in the nursery while still putting them to sleep in the bassinet. This will help prepare them for bedtime in their own room.
Sit in the nursery.
When your baby starts sleeping in the nursery, your comforting presence might help them get used to their new surroundings. To let your little one know you are still close by, sit in the nursery with them while they doze off.
Each night, sit a bit farther away from the crib or decrease the amount of time you sit with them until…voila! They’re falling asleep with no problem.
Move the bassinet.
You can make the transition more gradual by moving your baby’s bassinet into their room. This way they can continue to sleep in a bed that’s familiar to them while they adjust to their new room. After a few days or weeks, try putting them into their crib.
Expand crib time.
If your little one consistently wakes up in the middle of the night during the transition to their new room, it’s OK to move them from the crib to their bassinet (if you’ve placed it in their new room) when they awaken. Try to increase their time in the crib each night, even just a little!
Know what speed you want to take.
If you’re hoping for a fast transition from your room to your baby’s room, consider having them take all of their naps in there, as well as sleep there at night.
If, on the other hand, you want to take it more slowly, try our earlier suggestion: put your baby in their bed at night only and consider transferring them back to their bassinet when they wake up. And if introducing them to their new room for naps feels better to you, that’s a great option too.
Teach your baby to self-soothe.
When your baby wakes up in the middle of the night, they might be confused to find that they’re in their nursery and not in your room.
Because of this, it’s important to teach your little one how to put themselves back to sleep — without you!
To help your baby learn to self-soothe and fall asleep on their own, don’t rock them to sleep. Instead, put your baby in the crib when they’re drowsy but not fast asleep. This gives them the chance to learn how to fall asleep on their own in their crib.
Another way to help them along is to pat them instead of picking them up when they cry in the middle of the night. Put a reassuring hand on your baby to let them know you’re there, but avoid holding them every time they fuss.
Be patient.
Finally, be patient with your little one and yourself! Transitioning from being together all night long to being in separate rooms is a big deal for everyone and might take time.
You may feel a bunch of different emotions: excited to have your room back, anxious about how your baby will adjust, and heartbroken if the process becomes challenging to name just a few.
Be gentle with yourself. Validate your feelings. Trust that your family will make it to the other side!
Sleep tight, one and all.
Since you’re used to sharing your room and having your baby nearby, deciding to move them into their own nursery is a big deal!
The right time to do it depends on your baby and your family. Take into consideration the factors we mentioned in this article: your baby’s height, weight, and physical capabilities and your family’s needs.
Then, when it’s time to make the big transition, give yourself peace of mind by putting your little one to sleep on a Newton Crib Mattress and installing a video monitor in the nursery.
Soon, you and your baby will both be sleeping tight in your own rooms!
Frequently asked questions
What does the National Health Service (NHS) say about when to stop sharing a room with your baby?
Like the AAP, the NHS recommends sharing a room with your baby until they’re six months old to reduce the risk of SIDS.
What factors make it harder for my baby to fall asleep?
Regardless of what room your baby sleeps in at night, they may have trouble falling asleep. Some common issues include:
- Overtiredness
- Overstimulation
- Day/night confusion
- Hunger
- Physical discomfort
- Sickness
- Separation anxiety
- Hitting developmental milestones
Can a baby younger than six months old sleep in their own room?
According to the AAP, the safest place for your baby to sleep is in your room (but not in your bed) until they’re six months old because it reduces the risk of SIDS.
But some doctors have different opinions. A study published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Pediatrics found that four month old babies who slept in their own rooms slept longer in general and for longer stretches of time than four month old babies who room shared.
That said, it’s still important to note that both the AAP and NHS still recommend room sharing until at least six months.
The bottom line is that every child and family have different needs, challenges, and goals. If you are considering moving your baby into their own room before 6 months old, it's best to consult with your doctor before you make the decision.
How long does it take for a baby to like sleeping in their room?
Most likely it will take some amount of time for your baby to adapt to sleeping in a new space. Whether that’s a few days or a few months depends on the temperament of your child and their age when you decide to transition.
Typically, a younger baby will adjust more quickly than an older one, but every baby is different.
