Two cribs?

Hoffmania

DS will be about 17 months by my EDD.  I take it I need two cribs?  When do people try to start using a bed with a gate?  That's probably too early right?

Also if they are both in cribs, should I try to have them share a room?  We have three bedrooms and hope to have three kids so someone will eventually share unless we move.  Is that a recipe for disaster at this age?  The two bedrooms are right next to each other so Joseph will here LO cry anyway. 

Just looking for advice while we plan our furniture purchase and room arrangements.     

jesselayne8

My babies will be 17 months apart.  I choose to go ahead and buy 2 cribs in hopes that DD will stay in her crib until 2-2.5 yrs old.  I plan on putting the second baby in the crib very early (within 2-3wks).  If you plan on keeping your new LO in your room for several months then you could probably get away with 1 crib.  

I would put them in separate rooms until the second baby is STTN or mostly STTN so that your first child's sleep patterns wont be disturbed.  You could also use a white noise machine/fan to drown out the baby's crying. 

GHBEA

My LO's are 23 and 2 months old they are both in cribs.  We tried to move older DD to a bed but she cried for her crib.  They will share a room until one of the bigger kids moves out.  Right now they are in our room still.

Hoffmania

jesselayne8:

My babies will be 17 months apart.  I choose to go ahead and buy 2 cribs in hopes that DD will stay in her crib until 2-2.5 yrs old.  I plan on putting the second baby in the crib very early (within 2-3wks).  If you plan on keeping your new LO in your room for several months then you could probably get away with 1 crib.  

I would put them in separate rooms until the second baby is STTN or mostly STTN so that your first child's sleep patterns wont be disturbed.  You could also use a white noise machine/fan to drown out the baby's crying. 

I'll probably end up getting two cribs.  Our current one converts to a bed and even a head and foot board of a full bed.  I was hoping to eventually use that along with a set of bunk beds if we ended up with three.  That's in my ideal world though.  In reality, if DS doesn't destroy the crib, one of the next two does and we never use it as a bed.  So I don't know why I'm trying so hard to be efficient

We moved DS out of the bassinet in our room when he was about 1 month.  Based on the size of the rooms, we'll probably have to split them up anyway.  Unless we move them both to the bigger room.

Hoffmania

GHBEA:

My LO's are 23 and 2 months old they are both in cribs.  We tried to move older DD to a bed but she cried for her crib.  They will share a room until one of the bigger kids moves out.  Right now they are in our room still.

Yeah I guess ultimately its up to DS if he's ready for the bed.  It won't help anyone if he's miserable while we're trying to get our newborn situated.

kagl08

I vote 2 cribs and 2 separate rooms with white noise for each, at least until both LOs are STTN. 

We went with 2 cribs. My 2.5 month old and my 16 month old are both still in cribs, with no plans of moving to a bed any time soon. DD will most likely be in her crib until at least 3, or kindergarten....  

norbert5

I would do two cribs. DD1was 19 months when DD2 arrived and DD1 stayed in the crib until she was 2.

The girls started sharing a room when DD2 was 3 months old. We have never used a white noise machine and the girls have only woken each other up a few times. DD2 is now 19 months.

morgs8384

My babies are 13.5 months apart, we didn't have any other option but a second crib because of the age difference. Even now, at 19 months DS #1 is nowhere near ready for a toddler bed. Both cribs we bought change to toddler beds, and also into full size beds so really, it wasn't a big deal getting two cribs.

Mommy2CB

I would buy a 2nd crib and put LO2 in their own bedroom. I wouldn't room share if you can help it until both are STTN and I wouldn't force your first into a toddler bed before they are ready. But that's just me!

Hoffmania

Thanks for the tips!  DH is leaning toward a second crib though he's bummed to lose the guest room.  I just don't want to buy another expensive crib.  I thought I'd look into the ikea type ones.  I am excited about the idea of redecorating the guest room though!

Qmommy

My girls are 18 months apart.  I moved DD1 to a twin at 16 months with no problems.  She didn't show any signs of being ready and she slept well in the crib.  U just moved her over and that was that.  We will do the same for DD2 in April.

KYmama9286

I would definitely get a 2nd crib- our two are 20 months apart and even at 20 months DS would not have been ready at all to switch out of his crib and I wouldn't have wanted him to transition then either. He started climbing out of his crib and things became unsafe around 2.5 so we converted his crib to a toddler bed then and his sleep went downhill. He really stopped napping and it sucked- I would have kept him in the crib for as long as possible if it wasn't a safety issue. Heck, we debated buying a 3rd crib because earlier in my pregnancy we didn't think DS would be transitioned into his big boy bed by the time baby #3 came (we forgot to knock on wood and it was like a week after that conversation that he started climbing out multiple times lol). 

As for sharing a room, I personally wouldn't have them share until they absolutely have to- why mess with a kids ability to sleep if there is another option? 

Ruby_Soho

Qmommy:

My girls are 18 months apart.  I moved DD1 to a twin at 16 months with no problems.  She didn't show any signs of being ready and she slept well in the crib.  U just moved her over and that was that.  We will do the same for DD2 in April.

Pretty much this. DS1 is 2.5 and he's sleeping in a twin with no side rails. DS2 will be going into DS1's room in the twin with the side railing around July so we're done with the transition by the time DC3 arrives. The twins we bought are designed to go into bunk beds so we'll do that when DS1 is 5 (if he's ready) and buy another set of bunks so all 3 kids can share a room and the other room will go back to playroom / guest room (it has a pull out sofa bed).

Monsieur_et_Madame_Ha

I've seen people transition their 17 month old to a toddler bed, so if you really want to avoid getting a 2nd crib, I would say it's doable.

Personally, I would suggest you get a convertible crib for your older LO. That way if he suddenly decides he's done with being in a crib, you don't have to go and get yet another bed for him. And if he sleeps fine in his crib, I see no reason to take him out, YKWIM?

As for your rooming options, I would say to give room sharing a try now. In my opinion, it'll be easier to get them used to sleeping in the same room now that a couple years down the road. And if things really don't work out now, you can always choose to split them up. FWIW, DD2 slept in our room for the first 3 months, then we moved her into her sister's room (they are 22 months apart) and they both quickly learned to just tune each other out. Seriously, they don't really ever wake each other up. 

Haley.Beth

Dd is almost 13 months, and we already successfully transitioned to a toddler bed a week ago. We painted her room, so she had been temporarily moved to the extra bedroom, and dh felt like trying it out before we put her crib completely back together when we were finished. To my extreme surprise, it was a huge success! She loved it. Dd has always been a great sleeper, though, I haven't had to rock her to sleep since she was 6 months old, and she'll put herself down for a nap. She's a good climber already as well (lord help me!), so she can get in and out really easily. 

On that note, though, we are still getting a second crib for #2. I'm worried about her regressing when the new baby gets here, and since her crib is the kind that transitions to a toddler and full size headboard anyway, I'll get the new baby something similar, so their furniture grows up with them, no matter which stage they're in. Cost isn't an issue for us, though, either.  

Mamapoo

I have 2 cribs for mine, they're 2 weeks shy of 18 months apart.

I could not imagine DS not being in his crib at this point.

Mamapoo

Oh, and also, mine share a room. DS sometimes wakes when DD cries, but he'll usually just roll over and go back to sleep right away.

I don't have 3 bedrooms, but if I did, I would put the 2 cribs in the same room and have the other room be the playroom. 

slaneyra

We are having DD 2 in about a month. DD 1 will be almost 20 mths when the new baby arrives. In preparation, we went ahead and transitioned DD1 to a toddler bed at 18.5 mths old. She never climbed out of her crib and she has done great in the bed. She gets out every now and then during the night but her bedroom door is.closed so she can't roam. We will be using a bassinet for the new baby for a couple months and then will be in the crib. This saves us the purchase of another crib. Especially since DD1 would've been out of the crib in the next year anyways.
We are also putting both kids in separate rooms.
Its all a matter of what you are comfortable with, what you feel your kids can handle and whether you can afford the cost of buying a second crib in addition to any toddler/twin beds you will need in the future.