How to Break Co Sleeping and Move Baby into a Room of their Own

There’s a reason why cosleeping has been one of the most-loved sleeping practices throughout history (and continues to be the bedtime norm for over 70% of children in the world!). Sleeping close to your baby gifts the whole family with better nights of rest, while promoting deep bonding during waking and sleeping hours. 

But there inevitably comes a time in every co sleeping family’s journey when stopping co-sleeping seems like the right next step. And when that time comes, it can be difficult to know how to break co sleeping and move your baby to a room of their own without it causing baby (or you!) extra stress.

Luckily, all you need to ease the transition from cosleeping is a little planning—and a little patience! 

That’s why we’re breaking down some of our top tips for smoothing the transition from co sleeping to a room of baby’s own—so that you can help your baby feel comfortable in their new space, while taking all the stress out of stopping co-sleeping. 

KNOW THAT THERE PROBABLY WILL BE A TRANSITION PERIOD WHEN STOPPING CO-SLEEPING 

Though you might know that it’s the perfect time to transition your baby to a room of their own, that doesn’t mean that your baby will be immediately on board. 

That’s because babies—just like adults!—are creatures of habit, and getting used to a new setup after so many months spent catching shuteye co-sleeping safely by your bedside will take a little getting used to. 

Even if you just know that your baby is fully ready for this next milestone in their cosleeping journey, you should still be realistic that getting baby comfortable with the change might involve a few nights of frustration (for you both!). 

If you’ve been practicing safe co-sleeping positions for a while now (like catching your Z’s with a bedside co-sleeper!), then baby has gotten used to having you close and easily accessible if they want love, cuddles, or nursing during the night. 

Though we have every confidence they’ll get used to their room soon—and you should have that confidence too!—it doesn’t mean that you won’t have to put a little work into showing them that you’re still there to care for their every need (even if you’re no longer sharing a room!). 

WHEN DECIDING WHEN TO STOP CO-SLEEPING CHOOSE THE RIGHT TIME

If it’s deep in the holiday season and you have a few dozen family members roaming your hallways and sleeping on your couch, it’s probably not the right time to decide to stop co-sleeping. 

When deciding how to break co sleeping choose a time when all is calm in your household and there aren’t any major life changes or stresses—like big work projects or family events—that could make it difficult for both you and baby to focus all your attention on the task at hand. 

During this time of transition, you should be focused on helping your baby get comfortable with their new sleeping arrangement. If life is feeling a little on the crazy side, consider waiting to transition from cosleeping until things have settled down.

DON’T JUST STOP COSLEEPING COLD TURKEY! HAVE SOME SLEEPOVERS 

Just because it’s time to stop cosleeping doesn’t mean the transition from cosleeping to a room of baby’s own has to happen all at once. You can help your baby get used to their new room by planning to spend a few nights on a mattress or sleeping bag on their floor. 

If you’ve been practicing safe co-sleeping positions with the help of a bedside co sleeper bed, then your baby has gotten very used to having you within arm’s reach. 

You can get them used to sleeping alone—while also helping them feel comfortable, confident, and nurtured in their new room—by showing them that you’re still physically there to support them. 

EASE THE TRANSITION FROM CO-SLEEPING BY FINDING OTHER WAYS TO BOND 

One of the biggest co-sleeping benefits is how much time your baby gets to spend with you. 

When baby is sleeping by your side with the help of a tool like the babybay bedside co sleeper, your night hours are full of deep moments of bonding. 

As you make your plan and consider how to break co sleeping so that the transition is as stress-free as possible for the whole family, consider putting a new cuddles-filled nighttime routine in place before you make the transition. 

Finding ways to show baby your love before they go to sleep—and getting them used to that routine before they move into a room of their own—will help them feel physically and emotionally supported in their new setup. 

So that during the nights when they’re getting used to sleeping in a room all their own, they know that your love is still close by.

When is Co Sleeping Safe for my Baby?

For parents wondering when is co sleeping safe?, there are many factors that need to be considered. 

Here’s the truth: there are many different sleep practices that often get grouped under the “co-sleeping” umbrella. 

And while some—like enjoying the benefits of a bedside cosleeper—offer an ASTM, TÜV, and Confidence in Textiles certified-safe solution for helping baby catch some rest while sleeping by your side, other common “co sleeping” practices don’t offer the same safety guarantee. 

“Bed sharing,” for instance, references the practice of inviting a baby into your own bed to sleep during the night. Though bed sharing is often considered one form of co-sleeping, there are key safety differences between the two. 

BED SHARING: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT SAFETY AND THE QUESTION WHEN IS CO SLEEPING SAFE? 

The American Academy of Pediatrics knows that keeping your baby close during the first year of their life carries a whole host of benefits (like making nighttime nursing a breeze and helping you easily—and quickly!—respond to every crisis call).

That’s why they recommend room sharing with baby for at least the first 6 months of their life, and ideally through the first year. 

But in the eyes of the AAP, room sharing is not the same as bed-sharing. 

While bed-sharing with 6 month-old or younger babies can carry risks—like concerns about comfy bedding, soft objects, or any other pillowy or quilted materials causing harm—room sharing does not create these same concerns. 

When you room share, you offer baby the firm, made-just-for-them sleep space they need to feel comfortable, cozy, and safe all night long. 

You get to enjoy the adult mattress and oh-so-plush bedding you’ve come to love, while giving baby a sleeping space all their own that is perfectly designed to support them and keep them safe. 

Because you’re sharing a space rather than sharing a bed, you can room share with baby from the first moment they come home from the hospital. 

But bed-sharing with 6 month-old or younger babies is not as easily recommended since baby has yet to learn the escape artist skills they need to untangle themselves from any soft fabrics that come their way. (Those escape artist skills will come one day! But not for a while down the road.)

That means that you can feel confident practicing forms of co-sleeping that give baby a sleeping space that’s made just for them from the moment they come home from the hospital. 

But you should take a second safety glance before practicing any co sleeping methods (like bed-sharing with 6 month-old or younger babies) that encourage baby to sleep in a space that isn’t specially designed just for them, but is designed with your own adult comforts in mind. 

HOW TO CO-SLEEP SAFELY 

Luckily, it doesn’t have to be hard to co-sleep safely. 

There are certain gold-star cosleeping practices that help you get stress-free nights of sound rest while supporting your baby’s body and mind. 

Bedside sleepers deliver all the benefits of co sleeping—we’re talking more bonding time with baby, easier nighttime nursing, and boosted support for baby’s healthy physical and mental growth—while gifting you with peace of mind (which is one of the best gifts of all, can’t we agree?).

Bedside sleepers like the babybay attach snugly to the side of your own mattress, allowing you to sleep comfortably on the soft bedding you love while giving your baby a made-just-for-them sleeping space that properly supports their needs. 

That means they can enjoy the firm mattress that’s safest for them—without you having to sacrifice any of your own sleep comfort. 

The best part? Bedside co-sleepers allow you to always be within arm’s reach of your baby all through the night. That means you’ll be able to soak up all the close-by-baby benefits of cosleeping, without a single moment of stress or worry. 

WHEN IS CO-SLEEPING SAFE WITH A BEDSIDE CO-SLEEPER? 

The babybay bedside co sleeper has been lovingly designed to support your baby through nights of safe co sleeping as soon as they come home from the hospital. 

That means that the babybay will be there to support all of your co-sleeping needs from the moment that your baby is born!

And when you feel it’s the best age to transition from co-sleeping, you can be sure that your baby will be ready to get full nights of rest all on your own, with full confidence that you’re there to support them during every step of the way. 

That’s why parents that wonder when is co-sleeping safe? should keep this in mind—how you co-sleep matters when you’re trying to decide the right time to start. 

How to Transition Your Baby from Co Sleeping to Crib

All co-sleeping families are familiar with the feeling—as much as you’ve enjoyed the many benefits co-sleeping has to offer, it just feels like the right time to encourage baby to move away from your side and into a space of their own. 

And though you’re fully confident that the time to transition has come, you’re wondering how to transition baby from co sleeping to crib in the easiest and most stress-free way possible.  With the help of a few tips, tricks, and best practices, you can ease the transition for baby while making the experience worry-free for you. 

CONSISTENCY IS KEY

On the list of best practices for how to transition baby from co sleeping to crib being consistent takes the top spot.  It can be difficult (okay, not just difficult—impossible!) to think logically when you’re woken up at 2 am from a deep dream state. 

But once you’ve put a plan for transition in place, it’s important to follow it. Keeping consistent will help baby feel more comfortable with the changes and make it easier for you to get back to the long nights of restful sleep you crave. 

Of course, there might be nights when your half-asleep brain doesn’t quite stop your parenting instincts in time and your transition plan goes out the window. Don’t worry about one or two-speed bumps along the way—just get back on track with your transition plan the next night. 

KEEP BABY CLOSE 

Just because you’ve decided to move baby into a crib of their own doesn’t mean you have to move them far away. Choosing to gradually transition from co sleeping to crib can ease some of the stress for both you and baby. 

On the first night, keep baby close by pushing the crib firmly against your bed. That way, your baby will be able to take comfort in the familiar feeling of sleeping by your side. As the nights go on, slowly start moving your baby’s crib farther away from your own sleeping space until baby is fully comfortable and confident sleeping away from your side.  

For families who have been enjoying the many benefits of a bedside co sleeper throughout their co sleeping journey, this gradual transition can be made even easier.  Use a conversion kit to transform your bedside co sleeper into a baby bassinet. Then make a plan to start moving your baby’s bassinet away from your bedside slowly during the nights ahead. 

Because baby is already familiar with the sensations of sleeping in their made-just-for-them baby bedside co sleeper, they’ll feel more confident and comfortable as they adjust to the changes in their sleep routine. 

Instead of feeling the impact of many surprise changes at once (New mattress! New crib! More distance away from you!), they’ll be happy to catch some Z’s in the familiar sleeping space they already love. 

SLEEP WITH THEIR STUFF (SO THAT THEY FEEL LIKE THEY’RE SLEEPING BESIDE YOU!)

Your baby has slept right beside you for many nights, which means they’ve gotten used to being calmed by the familiar feeling of sensing you nearby.  (Fun fact: because newborns are still learning how to find meaning in all the things they see and hear daily, they develop a strong awareness of smell.)

Putting a little extra care into making sure that baby still feels the sensation of having you close—even when you’re across the room—can go a long way in making sure nights remain stress-free and rest-filled for all. Sleep with your baby’s bed sheets for a few nights before you start the transition from co sleeping to crib, so that when the time comes to set them up for sleep, they are surrounded by comfortable items that smell like you. 

Of course, you’ll want to choose the item you give to baby wisley. Sleeping with bulky blankets or plush toys can be a safety concern for newborns. 

But by sleeping with baby’s sheets and fitting them snugly on your baby’s mattress before they tuck in for the night, you’ll be able to help soothe your baby and keep any separation anxiety away–without a single safety concern. 

PICK THE RIGHT TIME. 

Only you know what’s best for you and your family—which means only you know when will be the right time to transition baby from co sleeping to crib. 

For many families, the decision to stop co-sleeping will come when baby becomes too active during the night, or you decide that it would be better for you to get back to having some space of your own. But even if your decision to transition away from co-sleeping is accompanied by some need to make the switch now; feelings set the stage for an easy transition by making sure that it’s a good time to start a new routine.

Avoid making big changes when family is in town, a big project is forcing you to work long hours, or other big life events are taking over your time and emotional energy.

Making sure that both you and baby are feeling settled, calm, and ready to rock and roll toward a new routine will help keep things feeling stress-free. 

GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK! 

Though many parents wondering how to transition from co-sleeping to crib feel pressure to get the process “perfect,” remember that only you know what works best for your family. 

Give yourself a break if there’s a day when your perfectly-made plans go out the window and know that your baby will get comfortable and content with the transition from co sleeping to crib soon.

Is Co Sleeping Bad?

Co-sleeping has long been the preferred—and safe, as long as you choose the right method!—way for families around the world to assure that their babies are getting nurturing rest. 

The kind of nurturing rest that uniquely supports baby’s healthy emotional and physical development while helping them feel close and comforted by those they love. 

For thousands of years, parents have relied on safe co-sleeping as a necessary tool in their grow-baby-healthy-and-strong toolkit. 

Let’s Start at the Beginning: What is Co-Sleeping?

Co-sleeping is often the catch-all term that is used to describe the nurturing experience of sleeping with your baby within arm’s reach. 

There are many ways to co-sleep, and co-sleeping will look a little different for every family that practices it. 

Some of these co-sleeping methods are safer than others.

In recent years, tools like bedside co sleepers have made it safe, easy, and stress-free to soak in all the benefits of co-sleeping.

Though sleeping in separate bedrooms has become the norm in the Western world, that does not mean that co sleeping is bad.  

In fact, studies (like one famously conducted by anthropologist John Whiting) have found that almost 70% of children living around the world sleep in the company of others. (Take a moment to really let those numbers sink in— 70%!)

Despite the overwhelming preference for co-sleeping around the world, in America, Canada, and many countries in Western Europe co-sleeping is finally becoming popular once again.

That’s not because co-sleeping is bad. 

In fact, there are many well-documented and well-loved benefits of co sleeping.

BENEFITS OF CO-SLEEPING: A QUICK OVERVIEW 

By co-sleeping, baby and parent are able to bond and become close-as-can-be during both their waking and sleeping hours. (Hard to believe, but our sleeping hours account for a third of our day—make them count!) 

Baby also benefits from a boosted immune system and better-supported development for their body and mind. 

Meanwhile, co-sleeping makes nighttime nursing a breeze for mom while making it quick and easy to respond to crises through the night and guarantee longer and more restful sleep for all. 

It shouldn’t be surprising that there are numerous benefits of co sleeping.

Human biology naturally encourages child and parent to seek contact during the night. 

You might think it’s simply your love for your child that has you craving a quick hug, kiss, or loving touch during all hours of the day and night (and love is definitely part of it!), but that mutual craving for contact is also just built into our physiology. 

That need for contact through the night is something that many cultures around the world understand well. 

In Japan, for instance, the most common sleeping position is referred to as kawa no ji (represented by the character for river: 川). The two longer lines in that character represent the parents, while the shorter one represents the child sleeping between. 

But in America and other Western cultures, history has set a trend of separating parents and babies during the night. 

That’s not because separating parents and babies is better—we’ve just gotten so used to sleeping separately that it’s hard to imagine that another way of sleeping could be more beneficial.

CO-SLEEPING THROUGHOUT HISTORY  

The Western world’s interest in sleeping separately can partly be traced back to the 19th century, when it became fashionable to show your wealth by building houses with extra bedrooms and filling those extra bedrooms with plush mattresses and beautiful cribs.

Though collecting mattresses is no longer the in-trend fashion statement it used to be, most families in the Western world continue to encourage their children to sleep in separate rooms. 

And while there’s nothing wrong with preferring for your child to sleep in a space separate from yours, over time this became seen as the standard way to sleep in the Western world—which quickly made all other sleeping methods seem like harmful alternatives. 

IS CO-SLEEPING BAD?  

When co sleeping is practiced safely, it delivers a bounty of benefits while helping you feel closer to your child (emotionally and physically!) all night long. 

But just like you have to make decisions with safety in mind when preparing a nursery or separate room for your child to sleep in, you need to make safety a priority when deciding the co-sleeping method that works for your family. 

Bedside infant co-sleepers make safe co-sleeping easy as can be by gifting baby with a safe, secure, and supported space to sleep by your side.

Your baby gets to drift off into sweet dreams with you within arm’s reach, while you get to enjoy the worry-free rest that comes from knowing you can quickly and easily respond to any nighttime feeding call that comes throughout the night. 

And while there may be other ways of co-sleeping out there, there’s only one safe co-sleeping method we can recommend. 

With the right bedside sleeper by your side, you’ll never have to wonder Is co-sleeping bad? again. You’ll be able to confidently drift toward dreamland, knowing your baby is safe, happy, and soaking in all the benefits that co-sleeping has to offer. 

Is co sleeping bad

What Is Co Sleeping and How Do I Know if It’s Right for Us?

What is co sleeping? Co-sleeping is often used as a catch-all term to describe the experience of sleeping with your baby close by.

Co-sleeping may look a little different for every family. Parents may lay their child in a safe bedside sleeper that attaches to the side of their own bed, or they might share a bedroom with their child but encourage baby to sleep in a separate crib. They might even sleep with their baby nestled up against them all through the night. 

Though there are many ways to co sleep, some are far safer than others. (Bedside sleepers, we’re looking at you and giving you a gold star!) 

But all forms of co-sleeping have one thing in common: they’ve been the safe sleeping practice preferred by families throughout history. 

Though parents in many modern Western countries have popularized separate bedrooms and detached cribs, for thousands of years going to sleep curled up near your newborn has been the norm. 

In fact, parents from many different cultures have long understood that co-sleeping promotes healthy emotional and physical development while bonding you and your baby, easing the stress of nighttime nursing, and gifting everyone in the house a more restful night of rest. 

(A full night of rest—now that’s something at the top of every new parent’s wish list!)

But as soon as mattresses and cribs became the new in-trend home fashion statement of the 19th century, parents in the Western world increasingly kicked children out of their own beds and moved them into mattresses and rooms of their own. 

In America, Canada, and Europe, some parents continue to boot children out of their own bedroom and encourage them to sleep through the night alone. 

However, anthropologist John Whiting surveyed 186 cultures and found that solitary sleeping might be a Western trend, but it’s far from a universal norm. He discovered that almost 70% of children living and growing around the world sleep in the company of others. 

That proves that co-sleeping isn’t just a trend—it’s the most popular and longest-loved sleeping practice in history.

What are Common benefits of co sleeping?

To grow healthily in body and mind, your baby needs to be able to receive—and respond to—a ton of sensory feedback. When babies are alone in their room at night, they lose the opportunity to grow their sensory awareness during their sleeping hours. 

But when babies are able to sleep close to others, they learn to bond and build meaningful connections while learning, growing, and developing an ability to separate and identify different sensory input. 

This helps them breathe more regularly, while experiencing less stress overall by learning what it feels like to be safe, secure, and protected.  

(And that’s good news—because when babies are less stressed, they put more energy into healthy growth and reap the rewards of a healthier immune system!)

But your baby isn’t the only one who benefits of co sleeping. Parents can care for their own bodies and minds by making nighttime nursing easier and getting a few much-needed extra hours of shut-eye. 

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CO-SLEEPING AND BEDSHARING?

Many parents who start to explore co-sleeping will find another term pop up in their suggested searches: bed sharing. 

Bed-sharing is just as it sounds—it’s the practice of inviting your newborn not just into your bedroom, but onto your mattress as well. 

Though bed sharing may boast some of the same benefits as other forms of co-sleeping—including increased bonding between parents and child and a less stressful night’s sleep for all—it can also be far less safe.

The feather-topped, super-soft, oh-so-pillowy mattresses that most of the Western world prefers can’t properly support your baby throughout the night. Your baby needs firmness and stability under their body while they sleep to ensure their body’s healthy growth. 

Though baby will love having you nearby as they rest, they won’t love your sleeping surface. 

Nor will they love all the extra blankets, pillows, and other comfort materials that adults love to cocoon in. 

As comfy as it might be for adults to tuck into a long night surrounded by a cloud of goose down, those comfort items can easily get wrapped around your baby throughout the night and lead to unsafe situations. 

That’s why parents should choose safe sleep for babies when setting up their environment. 

By choosing a bedside sleeper that fits flush against their bed, parents can control the specifics of their baby’s environment. 

(The first step? Pick a bedside co sleeper that’s right for baby and right for your room!) 

Baby can sleep securely nestled within an arm’s reach of their parents but feel comforted and protected on a mattress that is firm enough to support them and ensure safe sleeping. They can receive, learn, and grow from all the sensory input they receive throughout the night—while their parents sleep soundly knowing that they are safe in a bedside sleeper built just for them. 

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