When can a baby sleep in their own room?

Three well-known sources agree:

• The AAP recommends room sharing for at least the first 6 months, with the baby’s sleep area near, but not in, your bed.
• The Safe to Sleep campaign says to share a room for at least the first 6 months, with a separate sleep space such as a crib, bassinet or portable play yard.
• The NHS says that for the first six months, your baby should be in the same room as you when they sleep, day and night.

None of them sets a date after that. Some families move at 6 months, some later. The advice is about the minimum.

Sharing a room means the baby sleeps in their own safe space beside you. The Safe to Sleep campaign says to keep it separate from your bed. The cot should be clear of pillows, blankets and soft toys; the AAP’s safe sleep guide has the full list.

Beyond the 6-month minimum, the sources don’t say how to move. These are common-sense steps, not medical advice:

• Pick a calm week. Not during an illness, teething rush or a travel week.
• Keep the routine and the same sleep space where you can.
• Set the new room up first. Cot clear, room temperature comfortable (see the range), cords out of reach.
• Expect a few rough nights and give it time before you decide it isn’t working.

The NHS says your baby should be in the same room as you when they’re asleep, both day and night. That means daytime naps for the first six months, not only bedtime. If naps happen in another room, your baby needs the same safe sleep space and, ideally, an adult in earshot. A monitor can help with that, but it doesn’t replace being nearby.

• The sleep space. A cot, bassinet or play yard with a firm, flat mattress and a fitted sheet.
• Nothing loose. No pillows, blankets or soft toys in the cot.
• The temperature. See the room temperature guide.
• Cords and blinds. Keep cords from curtains and chargers out of reach. The CPSC advises keeping monitor cords at least three feet from the cot.
• Light and sound. A low night light if you need to check on them, and a soft sound if you use one. How loud is too loud covers volume.

Your baby has slept within sound of you since birth, so a quiet room is new. Many babies wake more at first. Keep responses short and calm, keep the routine the same, and give it a week or two before you judge. If sleep is a struggle for longer, or you’re exhausted, talk to your doctor or health visitor. Your own rest matters too.

Once the baby is down the hall, you can’t hear a stir through the wall. A monitor fills that gap. With Baby’s Day In, one phone stays in the nursery and the other goes with you, so you can listen or look in. It doesn’t replace checking on your baby, and it doesn’t make a room safe: breathing monitors and SIDS claims covers what monitors can and can’t do.

For where to put it, read where to put a baby monitor.