| Where you live will probably dictate whether a baby | | | | 1. The baby will sleep undisturbed by parents coming |
| nursery is the norm; and your budget and living | | | | and going. As they get older, that will be particularly |
| accommodation will influence whether you are able to | | | | important in the evening and night. |
| follow that norm or tradition and supply your new baby | | | | 2. The parents will have their own privacy and time for |
| with their own separate nursery. | | | | themselves. This will be more and more appreciated |
| A baby nursery, or separate bedroom for a new born, | | | | as the weeks, months and then years pass. |
| is not the usual practice in many countries. My children | | | | 3. The parents will sleep better too, especially |
| by my first marriage were brought up in England, | | | | compared to those who have a baby in their own bed. |
| where a baby, on being taken home from hospital, will | | | | 4. The baby is more likely to grow into a strong and |
| go home to a separate bedroom or nursery. My | | | | independent child, with a large amount of confidence. |
| young daughter, Saffron, was born here in the | | | | So long as they are happy and secure, they will not be |
| Philippines where the tradition is for babies to sleep | | | | worried about sleeping alone, as this is what they have |
| with the parents. | | | | come to expect. They know that when they wake, |
| It can be a difficult choice for new parents: do we put | | | | their mother and father are close to hand. |
| our new baby in her own nursery room, or do we | | | | Disadvantages Of A Separate Baby Nursery |
| have her in our bedroom in a crib or even in our bed? | | | | I cannot think of one genuine disadvantage of a |
| There are conflicting opinions about this choice, and it is | | | | separate baby nursery, assuming that the room is |
| one that attracted quite a lot of comment and surprise | | | | within earshot. A baby at birth can cry quite loudly, and |
| here when we opted to put Saffron in her own crib in | | | | why should that be if the natural state is always for |
| her own nursery room, the day she came home from | | | | the mother to be at their side? A baby cries so |
| the baby clinic. | | | | mother can hear from a distance. If that distance is |
| I was very firm in my own mind that a separate room | | | | another bedroom nearby, then that is fine. The baby |
| is best in the long term, and therefore it is best in the | | | | will be unconcerned if it cries and you appear through |
| beginning. A baby, and then child, will grow in | | | | a door rather than at her side already. |
| accordance with what they are used to, and what | | | | Some first time parents will worry that they will not |
| they come to see and feel as the norm. The most | | | | hear the baby if they are asleep and she is in a |
| important things for a baby are that : | | | | separate room. There is no need to worry; the mother |
| 1. They are fed well; | | | | especially will be tuned in to the cry of the baby, and |
| 2. They are kept clean; | | | | will be subconsciously alert to the slightest sound. My |
| 3. They are comfortable; | | | | wife was concerned about this very thing when |
| 4. They feel secure knowing that the parents, | | | | Saffron was born, so for her assurance we left our |
| especially mother, will be there when she wakes. | | | | bedroom door open, and Saffron's door too. She soon |
| 5. They are loved. | | | | realised there was no risk of not hearing the baby, so |
| All of those things are easily achievable in a baby | | | | first Saffron's door, and then our door, were later kept |
| nursery separate from the parents' room. | | | | closed at night. |
| Advantages Of A Separate Baby Nursery | | | | Always remember, babies cry to be heard, so unless |
| A separate baby nursery brings with it a number of | | | | you are both very heavy sleepers, there is very little |
| important advantages, for the baby and the parents. | | | | chance of you not hearing the baby when she is |
| These include: | | | | hungry, needs changing, or has some other problem. |