Moving baby into his own room

[mittyblue]

Hi there!
Im a new single mum (new to BB also) and my little boy is 8 weeks this week. I was wondering if any experienced mothers out there could give me any tips; My boy currently sleeps in a hammock style bassinet next to my bed. He is breast fed and doesnt show any signs of even almost sleeping through yet, feeding every 3 hrs, last night he woke up every 2 hrs even. I know all babies are different when they start sleeping longer and I try not to take all the books I read too much to heart so Im not too concerned about this (maybe a little tired but thats apart of the job right!? ) but back to my question...does any one have any advise for me about moving him into his cot, which is in his own room. I have put him down in the cot for a few day naps but he wouldn't settle at all. I know that I'm better off getting him used to it now than say in another 4 months when he will take longer to get used to it. Does this sound about right? Anyway..any stories or advise will be greatly appreciated...books telling me to do this and that and he should be doing this and that by now only stress me out more and I much rather hear about other mothers experiences first hand. Thanks heaps in advance. x

[Tannis]

Hi, Congrats on your gorgeous little boy and welcome to BB!

My DS was in my room for about 3mths when he outgrew his cradle, I started putting him in his cot for day sleeps (as you have done) and eventually he was there all night. I know "they" say not to do it but can you put your DS to sleep in your arms then gently lower him into the cot asleep? I know that might start another habit though.

DD is still in my room and she is almost 7mths old, the plan was once she outgrew her bassinet she would be in her room but its too convienient for her to be in the room so I can feed her if she does wake up.

Oh I just remembered I had been putting DD in her cot in her room during the day a while ago and she wouldn't stay asleep for long if at all, we have now put the cot in our room and she has slept great! Is that an option for you perhaps to make the transition to his room smoother? New bed, familar surroundings.....then familar bed, new surroundings??

HTH

[Glamourcide]

Hi, congrats on your beautiful little boy!! Welcome to the forum, I'm a relatively new member but I've found it's great for advice and interaction with like-minded mums so I hope you have fun here

When DD was born, DH and I were living at my parents' house for a little while so she slept in a bassinette next to our bed. When we got another place of our own she was four months old, but I was still really paranoid about SIDS so popped her in a portacot next to our bed again (she'd outgrown the bassinette and we were slack and hadn't got around to buying a proper cot!!), by then she was sleeping through the night without fail but I was in the habit of waking up a couple of times to check on her and found it easier not to disrupt DH and get back to sleep if I only had to sit up and reach over rather than going into the other bedroom.
We tried getting her to sleep in her own room at around 10 months but it was the middle of winter and the spare room was too cold, so I gave up and let her stay in our room.
It was only when we moved into this house, a few months after her first birthday, that we put her in her own room. She napped fine during the day, but for the first week or so I was sleeping on the spare single bed in her bedroom so that she could sense I was nearby while she got used to new surroundings, and when I went back to (or started) sleeping in the other bedroom with DH, she was fine.

While they're not sleeping through, it's a lot easier to keep them in with you, when he starts sleeping through the night I'm sure you'll have no problems teaching him to sleep in his own room. Don't worry too much about what the books say, you'll find what works for you and your lovely son, I mean people ridiculed me for having a one-year-old sleeping next to my bed but it was much, much easier on both of us to do that until we were both ready, and when the time came she adjusted with no problems.

Good luck, congrats again on your little boy, he's a cutie!!

[mittyblue]

Thanks heaps for that, some great advise and information.

It makes sense to wait until he is sleeping through a bit more definately, esp as he is so content at the moment sleeping in my room and doing day naps in his cot is definately a good idea too..getting him used to his room/bed gradually.

I would move the cot into my room only I have to pull it apart to get it through the door and Im totally hopeless with tools and things like that! I may ask a friend to help me a bit later on..I think gradual introductions is the way to go.

Im not adverse to rocking in my arms to sleep, I don't have to do it very often at all luckily, DS (i just worked out what it meant!) tends to set himself off with a nice selection of Mozart and dark room..esp at night after his bath massage routine.

Thanks for the welcomes, these forums are a fantastic place to find information and ease and anxious - stressed mind..glad to be apart of them and over the moon about joining the mummy club.

I love the little photo in the bath too! What a cute family.