The official guidance — six months minimum
The NHS and Lullaby Trust both recommend room-sharing for at least the first six months. This is linked to a reduced risk of SIDS, and applies to both night and daytime sleep where possible.
In practice, many UK parents share a room for longer — often seven to nine months — and a smaller number move baby into their own room earlier. Moving before six months is not recommended by current UK guidance, even if your baby sleeps through or outgrows their crib.
If your bedside crib or Moses basket is genuinely too small before six months, the safer option is a full-size cot at the foot of your bed rather than moving baby to a different room.
See our top cot picks →Signs it's a good time to move
Once you're past six months, the right moment is usually a combination of practical signals. Your baby is sleeping longer stretches (typically one night feed or fewer), taking up too much space in your room, or waking every time you or your partner shift in bed.
Many UK parents find the sweet spot is around six to eight months, once solid foods have started and night feeds are tapering off. Others wait until they notice their own sleep suffering from the shared room — your rest matters too.
Avoid moving during a major change if you can help it: a holiday, nursery starting, a new sibling, illness, or sleep regression. Pick a settled week and commit to a few potentially rough nights.
Setting up the new room safely
The room should be 16–20°C — ideally towards the cooler end. Use a room thermometer; a baby monitor with temperature reading is helpful here. Blackout blinds or curtains genuinely make a difference, especially in UK summer evenings when it's still light at 9pm.
Keep the cot clear: fitted sheet, sleeping bag appropriate to the room temperature (TOG rated), nothing else. No cot bumpers, no pillows, no soft toys until at least 12 months.
Position the cot away from windows (for temperature and cord safety), radiators, and direct blind cords. A nightlight is fine if you find it helpful for feeds or checks, but most babies sleep best in full darkness.
See our sleeping bag picks →Do you need a baby monitor?
If baby is moving to their own room, yes. The two categories are audio (DECT — works without wifi) and video (mostly wifi-based, some DECT).
Audio monitors like the BT Smart Baby Monitor are reliable, cheap (£40–£80), and have no internet vulnerabilities. Most UK parents find them sufficient for the first year.
Video monitors — Motorola, VTech, or premium options like Nanit — add reassurance at £100–£300. The Nanit Pro is widely used by UK parents and includes breathing-motion tracking, though it's a subscription product and needs decent wifi.
Avoid 'sensor mats' that claim to detect SIDS — the Lullaby Trust and NHS explicitly don't recommend them, as there's no evidence they prevent it and they can give false reassurance.
See our baby monitor picks →What to expect the first few nights
Some babies move rooms without noticing. Others wake more in the first 2–5 nights as they adjust. Both are normal.
Keep the routine identical — same bedtime, same song or story, same sleeping bag. The only change should be the room. Consider moving familiar objects (mobile, nightlight, white noise machine) with them.
If you're struggling at the 3am wake, don't rush to bring baby back to your room — that usually makes the next transition harder. Give it a full week before you decide the move isn't working. If it really isn't, there's no harm in pausing and trying again in a few weeks.