When is it actually okay to move a baby to their own room?
Parents usually make the switch when newborn grunting, active sleep, or colic makes it impossible for anyone in the room to sleep. Moving the baby across the hallway stops every minor nighttime noise from waking the parents, though it often gets triggered prematurely by sheer exhaustion rather than a specific calendar age.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Sleeping in shifts with a partnerDid this help you?
- 2Sleeping on a recliner or mattress in the nurseryDid this help you?
- 3Using white noise machinesDid this help you?
- 4Moving the baby to their own room early despite guidelinesDid this help you?
- 5Leaving the toddler in the crib until they start crying or yellingDid this help you?
- 6Waiting for a set wake-up timeDid this help you?
- 7Letting the toddler entertain themselves with books or toys until they are ready to get upDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I’ve never really felt the need to rush in the second her eyes open if she seems perfectly content.”source ↗
“But then I occasionally wonder if I’m leaving her too long or whether she might eventually feel like nobody is coming to get her.”source ↗
“For those with toddlers who are happy in their cot after waking, when do you actually go in? Straight away? After 10–20 minutes? When they call for you?”source ↗
“My child had colic and cried 7+ hours a day. Had a really nice rocking/swivel recliner I spent hundreds of hours in (in baby room). So more like I didn't get to sleep in MY bed for almost 3 months when I got really sick and was forced to sleep train.”source ↗
“Both of my girls had colic so bedside bassinet did not work for us as we took the night in shifts and the "off call" person got the bedroom for some interrupted chunk of sleep.”source ↗
“2 months, I couldn’t take the active sleep any more because I literally could not settle to sleep. Co sleeping did not feel safe either despite safe sleep 7, I had nightmares and baby only wanted to be held.”source ↗
“My daughter was in her room by 2 months old. Her room is across the hallway from us and my partner had a hard time sleeping with all the newborn baby noises, that's why we did it that early.”source ↗