Moving him to crib/own room?

[CrunchyKnitter]

I really hadn't planned on doing that for quite some time, but I think maybe part of the reason DS isn't sleeping well is due to being in the room with us. First, I don't think the Arm's Reach mattress is all that comfortable for him (he sleeps on his tummy now), DH snores and we both toss and turn (ie make noise) a lot, and we have 3 dogs who sleep in the room too (in crates, but they make noise). DH also gets up for work at 6AM and I find myself constantly waking to "beat the alarm".

Sleeping in bed with us or in the co sleeper it's still the same - often up ever 1.5 hours and never going more than 2.5. ALL NIGHT.

It seems like sometimes people have moved baby to their own, quiet and dark, room and crib and they've slept better. Anyone have this experience? He wakes to eat, but I would say eats 10% of the time he's latched and the other 90% he's comfort sucking or is not doing antyhing and is asleep while latched. So it's not like he's starving every couple hrs at night NEEDING to be up to eat, right? I wonder if he's waking and stirring just b/c I am there? I've tried just letting him stir a bit and go back to sleep and every so often he does, but most times that just leads to "wide awake", which I try to avoid.

Any thoughts? Anyone experience something similar and move them to their own room with good results. It breaks my heart to do it, but I think I might try it tonight (and probably not sleep b/c I'll be watching the monitor all night!) He will be 5 months in a couple weeks and has NEVER gone more than a 3 hr stretch.

[Lilygoose]

Not saying you shouldn't try it, but I think its rather common for babies that age to only sleep in 3-4 hour stretches, so it may not make a difference. My daughter didn't sleep for more than 3 hours at a time until she was 11 months I think (its all such a sleep deprived blur), and it got worse, way worse (up every 20-40 minutes consistently) any time she wasn't sleeping snuggled up with my hubby or I. I know my expectation of when she'd sleep though the night (5-6 hour stretches) was way off from the reality of when many babies do.

[CrunchyKnitter]

Originally Posted by Lilygoose

Not saying you shouldn't try it, but I think its rather common for babies that age to only sleep in 3-4 hour stretches, so it may not make a difference.

I'd love a 3-4 hour stretch! lol I feel lucky if I get 2.

One part of me realizes this is normal for his age, but I keep reading (on other boards) about babies his age (and even a bit younger) going 5+ hours. Some even a true full night (which I would never expect, but 3-4 hrs at a time would be pure bliss!)

[Lilly Milly]

It worked for us. My DD is now 5.5 months and at 4 months we moved her to her own crib in own room (next to ours, very small house). She sleeps really well there. We were shocked! Our experience prior to moving her was really similar to yours...didn't seem to need to eat that often but more like "well, if it's right there... The bassinet was too small, mattress too thin. She would cry every couple hours if in the bed with us, still does (two nights ago she was up often and we just moved her in our bed, but she still fussed all night...could be growth spurt or teething).

We travelled this holiday season and shared a room with her (she was in a Pack n Play) and she woke up a lot more. I ended up leaving the room after the first night b/c of DH's loud breathing and she still woke up more/earlier with just DH in room. This was at my mom's. At my dad's we put her in her own room and she slept all night long.

She may be in a growth spurt or something though, so who knows if it is really the room situation?

[desertgirl01]

It did NOT work for us. Or at least, it did not work well for us. My husband and I have been putting our 7.5 month daughter in her crib (in her own room) for 6 weeks now. Maybe once a week she'll actually sleep 4-6 hours, but usually she wakes 1-2 hours after we lay her down and she's back in bed with us, waking to nurse every 1-2 hours. The sleep pattern, for the most part, has remained unchanged. We will keep trying the crib because there is always the chance that this night is "the" night for sleep!

[Jayray]

We moved our DS into his own room around 5.5 months. I have seen *small* improvements--and occasionally we have a really good night. A good night for us is only 2 wakings per night. But typically we still have 3-5 wakings per night and we end up cosleeping between a couple of those.

So I think for us it HAS improved it, but not extremely. DH helps a lot at night. If he didn't, I would probably rather just have the babe back in our room.

[Ruthla]

It sounds like there are a lot of distractions in your bedroom- the dogs, DH's alarm clock, etc.

What if you and the baby both moved into the other room, leaving DH and the dogs in the main bedroom? Could you put a mattress on the floor in there and cosleep with him in a quiet room?