Room Sharing

Christinej2101 · January 2015

I am a nurse and my husband is a law student so to stay on budget when the baby arrives we are downsizing to a one-bedroom apartment. Any tips on sharing a room with your baby? For those who have done it, at what age did it feel necessary for little one to have their own space? How did you carve out husband-wife time with baby in the same room? No graphic details please:)

elvinnoe · January 2015

We were in a one bedroom until DD was 18 months. Mom and dad time wasn't that hard when she was really little since all she ever did was sleep. Later on, we took advantage of the living room. It got more difficult after she turned one because she started to want to sleep with us all the time and started to get demanding, so we moved into a 2 bedroom when our lease was up.

Basically, you'll figure out ways to live with it. It was more important for us to get out of debt than have two rooms and all the extras. Now that we're within a year of being completely out of debt, I'm really thankful we sacrificed in every way we could.

blu-eyedwife · January 2015

I'm not sure where you live, but where I am they have "1.5" bedroom apartments. They can't call them 2 bedrooms because they don't have closets (or windows? I can't remember) but it's an extra room. DH and I used it as a dining room when we lived in one, and one of our neighbors used it as the bedroom for their son. It gives you a little extra space and the difference in cost between it and a 1 bedroom was negligible in our case.

thelittlestbee · January 2015

No real experience yet, but DH and I live in a 1 BR condo and we're just not ready to leave yet. Our bedroom is big enough that we can make a separate space for the baby's nursery. We plan to do this until we can get something bigger, hopefully within 2 years. If you google or pinterest "nursery in master bedroom" there are tons of great ideas!

As for "private" time - I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

tinybugsmom · January 2015

We cosleep and bed share, and plan to until LO is about 4-5 years... just our style. If you wake easily with noises, get a sound machine or app and start getting used to sleeping with white noise. Will help with all the little grunts, squeaks, and non-waking cries that your new little one will make while sleeping.

Grown up time isn't an issue. Other rooms in the house... or while they are sleeping. Many cultures sleep in one room with their kids until they move out, and parents still find the time...

WifeDeAngel · January 2015

We room shared until DD was 1, and it wasn't a big deal. Babies sleep a lot and easily adapt to noises, so us just doing our regular thing was fine. And personal time was fine too. We did use other rooms more as she got closer to 1 though. We plan on having this baby in our room for the first year too.

Christinej2101 · January 2015

Thanks for sharing your successful room-sharing stories!

vic8504 · January 2015

DD slept in the room with DH and I until she was about 6 months old. At that point she was mostly sleeping through the night and it was just easier to have her in her own room. Plus I was more comfortable with being on a different floor than her at that point.

AmyCee · January 2015

My brother and sister in law had a one bedroom with two kids - kids had small beds, mini cribs and I never asked about nookie - they just bought a two bedroom (2.5 years old and 5 years) and they share a room now. It can be done!

lfaithlove · January 2015

We lived in a one bedroom home when DS was born so, while we hadn't planned on co-sleeping/room/bed sharing, it was our only option when we had a surprise baby! And we ended up totally loving it. DS got his own room when he was 14 months old, and although he still loves sleeping with mommy and daddy every once in a while, he also loves his room and his bed. We're in a three bedroom house now but one bedroom is more of a loft type thing upstairs and DS is only 18 months, so we don't wanna move him to a different level of the house any time soon. We will keep him in his room and the new baby will room share with us for a good long while until he/she is ready to move in with brother. Eventually as they get older DS will move upstairs but not for a few years at least.

As far as intimacy goes, I agree with PP's. At first it's no problem if LO is asleep in a bassinet nearby or whatever. Or you can just get creative and go to a different room (or the shower which is what we did a lot... Killing two birds with one stone-- shower time and sexy time while the baby naps. Can't beat that!) and now, as I said, our son is in his own room.

honeybunches101 · January 2015

We lived in a 1 bedroom plus den until DS was 16 months old. He was in our room for about 8 months and it was no problem at all. We did use a noisemaker so DS didn't wake up when we would be tossing and turning in bed, he was a very light sleeper.

At about 8 months we moved him to the sunroom that was sort of part of the living room, most people used it as a dining. There was only space for a crib and glider, and we hung curtains to separate it from the living room. The main reason for the move was DS had outgrown the rock m play and we didn't have room for a crib in our room. We moved when he was walking and needed more room to move around than in our tiny apartment.

It will be fine! If you can get a bigger 1 bedroom or den, do it. But if not, you will make it work.

MissIntentional · January 2015

We live in a 3 bedroom, but our 2 year old still sleeps in our room. I just purchased a twin mattress for her to transition in to her own room next week. It has not been a burden at all, obviously since #2 is on the way.

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