Xp: sharing bedroom

blushingbride_08 · September 2013

I'm thinking of having my ds who is 18 months old share a room with his future sibling. We are hoping they will be about 2 to 3 years apart in age. We have a spare bedroom so they could each have their own but I thought it would be nice if the spare room could be used as a playroom. Does gender matter when sharing a room? Will they wake each? Your thoughts?

DaisyJanie · September 2013

My sister tried this with her son (now 5) and daughter (now 2). It didn't work for awhile, the little one was waking up the older one. But once she was sleeping through the night (1 year old, IIRC), they moved her in permanently and they love it. Usually they wake up at the same time and talk to each other for awhile so they stay in bed longer than they would otherwise.

I'm considering it, mostly because the 2 bedrooms are so different in size it seems like it would be more fair. But we'll use the little room as the nursery for awhile and play it by ear after that.

litzo27 · September 2013

I think while they are little it's much more convenient to have the baby separate (in the nursery or in your room) if possible. It will just improve sleep for everyone. Once they are older I think it's a great idea to have them share a room. We are moving our 2 year old into DS1's room in a couple of months because we need the nursery come January. We do have an extra bedroom but I want to keep it as a guess room/spare office. Plus DS1's room is pretty much our playroom with all the toys so it makes sense and I think they will like sharing it. We would do this even if #2 were a girl. Then again, I grew up in a 1 bedroom apartment with my parents and my older brother and it was no big deal.

CrawltheWarriorKing · September 2013

In my house having a playroom wouldn't really work. Right now the play room is just the family room where we have their mat and toys in a chest, since that's where everyone hangs out it just makes more sense. If they had a play room someone would have to be in that room with them supervising. If the spare room is close to an open area of your house that might be something I'd consider.

I have a DD and DS so either way I prefer not to have them share since once they got older they'd need their own rooms anyways.

court115 · September 2013

My nephews all share a room and they like it. When each boy was a baby, they would sleep in her room until they were on a sleep schedule and could sleep in the other room without waking anyone. Honestly, I don't think sharing a room is the end of the world. My mom grew up in a Philly 3 bedroom row house with 6 siblings and they're all fine. I like the idea of having them share a room and then having a playroom. At least while they're little.

LoCarb · September 2013

Once they are on the same schedule it should work; meaning baby STTN and DS1 doesn't throw tantrums when going to bed (which was common for my DD when she was 3yo). Until then, it can be a challenge.

itsmevkb · September 2013

Maybe I'm the odd one out because my four kids share rooms (two and two and mixed genders.) My 7 year-old boy and 4 year-old girl share and LOVE it and my 2 year-old boy and nearly 1 year-old girl share and there aren't really issues there. The baby will sometimes cry at night because of teething or something and Sully will wake up for like a second and then be right back to sleep. They also go to sleep at the same times (7 for the younger two and by 8 for the older two) so maybe that makes it easier. It wasn't always like that though and even when they were on a little different schedule it was still fine, I just would put one down, the older one was normally hanging out maybe in my bed and then I would put that one down later after the other was asleep. My kids go down easy though.

As newborns they all slept in my room from 3-5 months.

sweetsunnyc · September 2013

My two younger DD's (5 yo and 9 months) will be sharing a room as soon as the baby is completely sleeping through the night. Right now, she is still in a pack and play in our room.

I always shared a room with my sister and I loved it. My teenage step daughter has the third bedroom right now, but even when she moves out, the younger girls will still share a room. We will probably just turn the extra room in to a guest room/office.

skyejo · September 2013

My girls are 3 and 1 and right now sharing rooms is a no-go. And not because of the baby. It's my 3yo! She still wakes at least once a night, crying, which in turn causes the baby to wake up who then starts crying. It's hell on earth.

But once DD1 starts STTN I wouldn't hate having them in the same room. And if we stick in our house and keep our plans the same (1 or 2 more kids) then evenutally the girls will need to share a room.

CarrieB. · September 2013

Our two girls will share a room once the baby sleeps okay. we have a PNP in our room for when the baby comes in about 5 weeks.

We do have 3 bedroom, but one room is in a converted attic space that gets really hot in the summer and we have our elliptical up there anyway, so it doesn't make a good kids' room.

Anyway, I think it's good for kids to share a room. I shared a room w my sister until I was 13 and it was fun.

Iblamethebeer · September 2013

My older two (dd 4 and ds 2) share. They love it.

They moved in together about 6 months ago.

I'm not sure I'd do it with an infant, because I'd be worried about the older kid climbing in the baby's crib and trying to help in dangerous ways (picking baby up, putting blankets or stuffed animals in crib, etc.). But maybe that's just my dd's personality.

scole1414 · September 2013

I am so glad to see this post! My 4 year old daughter and 3 year old son both currently have their own rooms. But once the baby is born, I plan to put the older kids into the same room so the baby can be in the room right next to us (which is currently occupied by my 3 year old son)...When I mentioned this plan to a friend she seemed horrified that I would consider putting my son and daughter in the same room. Alas, I am not crazy or weird! Just practical

kristennd · September 2013

My younger brother and I shared a room until I was 12. It was fine. We probably got into each other's stuff less than if we'd been the same gender.

NicoleWI · September 2013

My 4.5 DD and 2.5 DS are sharing right now and they love it. We actually have a room for DS at our new house but it wasn't set up yet so we let them share for awhile. I DO have a couple downsides, though. They are not great sleepers and we have to nap them in different rooms (DD still naps some days) by putting one on an aerobed, and that's kind of hassle. The bigger issue is they totally keep each other up at night!! Sometimes just talking/playing, and sometimes b/c one is throwing some kind of fit. LIke last night, DS kept yelling about being scared of the dark (it's totally bright in there with Twilight turtles, dump truck nightlite, hall light one, etc). And, lastly, I think it's hard to manage all their "stuff" in one room. Clothes, toys, etc.

But, overall, they love it and it certainly can work fine. We do hope to move DS into his new room in a couple months and we'll see how that goes. They may prefer to keep sharing DD's pink room!

Also, when I was little I shared with my four-years-younger brother for a few years until the "baby" was old enough for the two boys to share. We LOVED it and I was super mad when I had to move out into my own room!!

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