What are your wind down routines for a baby who sleeps in the same room as you?

[LovelyLilyandJack]

I'd like to introduce a wind down routine for my 7 week old to help with daytime naps but during the day she sleeps in the same room as us so I can't do the whole walk into the nursery and close the curtains / change of scenery thing.  Generally for the first nap this is in our bedroom, and after that in the sitting room.  At night she sleeps in our bedroom and I feed her in her nursery.  I've thought about doing all her naps upstairs in our room where she sleeps at night but am worried about the cot death advice to have her sleep in the same room as us.  Is anyone else worried about this?  I'm paranoid about it!

At the moment I cuddle her and sing a lullaby to her, put her in her cot and swaddle (or half swaddle) her and carry on singing and shushing til she goes to sleep but this often means a very repetitive 20 minutes of just singing the same thing!  Any ideas of what else I could do?

[Mashi]

I was really worked up about cot death also...the first two or three weeks after DS was born I think I woke every 30 minutes to check him. It was just something that got into my head and I couldn't get past it.  The best money I spent hands down was on an AngelCare breathing monitor for under his mattress - the first night we used it I actually rolled over and SLEPT.  If it is something that is giving you stress I highly recommend it.

My DS slept in our room until he was about 7 months, in a small "nook" sort of like a reading alcove that was just large enough for his cot, a rocking chair and night table. It was far enough away form our bed that it didn't feel he was RIGHT THERE but he was close enough that it was only a few stumbles in the night to get to him.

As for the question on wind-down, I never did wind down in DS's bedroom (or his nook when he slept in our room). We always did wind-down in the living room and then carried him to his room, sort of softly humming to him or quietly whispering to him on the way up the stairs.  Wind down varied with age, but I switched to quieter activities like some little finger games, etc and then we had a cloth book with little animals on strings (like tuck the bird into the nest type things iykwim) that we looked at. Then swaddled and carried up stairs.  When we did move him to his own bedroom wind down stayed in the living room - and even now at 17 months it's onto the sofa, read a story and then into your bedroom for bed!

[Shiv52]

I was totally paranoid about cot death too.  I don't know if its the fact they banged on about it so much at antenatal classes or what but I always worried so much about it.  I WISH I'd have bought an angelcare monitor.  DH thought I was being daft but I have vowed if we ever have another one that monitor will be the first thing on my list.  I couldn't cope with the worry and sleeplessness again! 

In terms of wind down, I always did it in living room too.  When she was very little, it was a song, a cuddle, swaddled then into moses basket or wherever.  She slept in moses basket downstairs when very small and the winddown was the same once she was older (added books though) and then up to her cot.  I think she was about 14 weeks before I put her in her cot for naps during the day.