Parents Want to Know 101: Room Sharing with Your Newborn

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Room Sharing with Your Newborn

By Sharon Rose

Before the birth of my first baby, room sharing with my newborn was something I had decided to do. As a gift, my mother gave me a lovely, white, straw bassinet with white lining with ruffles that hung over the sides, to sit by my bed. Although, I had set up a beautiful nursery with baby bed, mobile, changing station, wall decor, and curtains, I felt my baby would be more safe close to me during these early months. The nursery only lacked the rocking chair that I always wanted to soothe and rock my baby to sleep. The nursery and rocking chair could wait for several months, for the sake of safety.

The American Academy of Pediatrics terms room sharing, with your newborn as sharing a room and giving your newborn their own sleeping space. The AAP recommends room sharing at least 6 months and up to 12 months being the best option. According to the AAP safe sleep guidelines, this sleep space should have a flat, firm surface, and a tight fitting sheet. My husband and I did room sharing with our first baby for the first 8 months. We did room sharing with our next two babies until they were 12 months old. We put safety first. Various issues like: frequent waking during the night for feeding, colic, waking due to teething and allergy illnesses made this a good fit for us. Use your own judgement and don’t rush it. Studies have shown that room sharing can reduce your baby’s risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) by up to 50%.

Good sleeping options to set up in your bedroom for your baby can be a bassinet or a pack and play. The prices of each can vary from low to high. A bassinet can have up to a 20 pounds limit, whereas, a pack and play can have up to a 28 pounds limit and a height limit of 35 inches. You can decide what will work best for you and your baby. Now you may be wondering, what should you do if you are room sharing and your baby outgrows the bassinet and pack and play. I can tell you what we did. We moved the larger baby bed into our bedroom, temporarily, and put the bassinet away. If you have the space in your bedroom, this is a good option until you feel it is safe for your baby to be further away from you. Using a baby monitor can be another option. I want you to know that our beautiful baby nursery received plenty of use.