Can babies sleep in their own room from birth?

Taking care of a newborn may be one of the toughest jobs. Parents always get confused about what to do next. Undoubtedly this unrest of doing anything is for doing any betterment of their baby. One great confusion arises about the room for the baby to sleep.

Parents normally cannot decide how long their baby should be with them in the same room when to replace their baby in a separate room of his own.

When to move your baby to his room?

This is one of the most common questions that arise in parents’ minds. Well, researchers of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) proposes to share a room with your baby at least up to 4-6 months and better for one year. But do not share beds. Keep your baby another cot or crib in your room. So, the optimum time to transfer your baby to his room varies from 7 months to after a year.

Why do you need to keep your baby in a separate room?

Some parents do not want to send their baby to a different room. They want to keep their kid with them in the same room. But here are some problems to share a room with babies after a definite period.

Babies need a definite sleep time. Research shows that keeping your children in a different room has a great impact on their sleep.

Babies sleeping in separate rooms older than 6 months nap 45 to 1 hour more than the babies who share a room with their parents.

You may wonder what difference will 1-hour additional sleep make. Well, sleep has a great effect on the behavioral and mental development of children.

Having a room of his own also affect the personality development of babies. All want a place of their own where they feel comfortable. Babies are not many exceptions from this.

Things you should consider while keeping your baby in a separate room

Having a different room for an early aged baby may have some difficulties. Here we will discuss to mitigate those.

Have a cosy sleeping place:

You need to make the new room as much as comfortable for the baby. Get a nice crib, a firm mattress for the infant. Install crib bumpers also to avoid blowing the baby’s head to the side of the crib. Do not put any toys in the cot while sleeping. This may hamper their sound sleep.

Make a healthy sleep routine:

Do not introduce new sleeping times. When you were sharing a room with a baby, he had a sleeping routine. Do not change it. It might be unusual for to him sleeping in a new place. When it is time to sleep just dim the light, tell a story, or sing a lullaby. And these things will indicate the baby that it is bedtime.

Use a white noise machine:

A white noise machine can be defined as a noise blocker. It masks the sound around and also creates a soothing sound that helps babies in sleeping. If you live in an urban area, there might be noise from the traffic that will trouble the baby’s sleep. White noise machines are specifically made for infants to get a nice sleep.

Use a baby video monitor:

Install a baby monitor with both the audio and video facilities. This will allow you to check on your baby even when you are in a different room. When you are in your room, your baby may wake up and cry without you. If there is a baby video monitor, you will know when your baby is scared of being alone or crying. You will be able to take the necessary steps then. There are baby monitors that directly send footage to your smartphone. So you can check even from your workplace.

Cover your baby’s room:

Layer your baby’s room with soft carpets. If someone enters into the baby room, he may wake up by footsteps sound. Soft carpets will absorb the sound. Also, use thick or heavy curtains on windows so that light entering through the window does no hamper sleep. But be careful about the ventilation also.

Think about the paints:

You may be surprised how paints can have effects on the baby. Well, colours have great effects on our mood, perception, and mental condition. Use light colours to paint your baby’s room. Blue or purple slows the heartbeat and reduces blood pressure which helps in falling asleep. Green is also considered as one of the most calming colours. Using one of these will greatly affect your baby’s nap.

Think of baby toys:

Babies over seven months like to explore things in their sleeping place. They like to grab anything to feel comfy during sleep. Soft toys like teddies might be a solution. But be aware of giving toys in a crib in case of babies less than seven months. There might be accidents like choking in those cases.

Add baby furniture ideas:

As you are transitioning your baby to a separate room, it may need some additional furniture and also storage facilities. Use closets and small baskets to store clothes and other necessary items. Make a diaper changing stand also.

 Decorate the room:

The room needs decoration for your child. Keeping in mind about the future, you need to paint some cartoon figures on the wall those kids love. Add some dream catchers to make soothing sounds also.

The transition of your baby to his separate room is not an easy task to do. You must consult with a pediatric to know if your baby is ready or not. Even though he is ready but he feels uncomfortable with his new room, do not push. Keep him in your room for a few days more.

On the first day of transition, keep monitoring on him. If he accepts it, then keep him in a separate room. If he does not, do wait for some more days. This will help him to adapt to the new environment.