Changing my toddler's room?

dapoint23 · May 2015

So my son will be a little over 2 and a half when new baby comes. My dilemma is do I keep him in his room (which is the biggest room) and make another room a nursery or do I save myself from buying new nursery furniture and move him down the hall and make it into an awesome "choo choo" room? What are you ladies doing with the older sibling rooms? I don't want him to feel displaced by new baby...

LSRoo · May 2015

DS will be 25 months when the new baby comes. The nursery is one of our smaller rooms but its closest to the master so I plan on keeping it a nursery. I'll move DS to a bigger guest room and let him take his furniture. New baby will go in the current nursery and get new furniture. We have espresso furniture currently and if this one is a girl I want to do white. Haven't thought about what another boy will get.
Right now DS is still sleeping in his crib. It's a conversion crib so whenever he is ready I'll turn it in to his big boy bed. Not sure what theme I'll be doing for his new room. Since it's much bigger, I think he will feel like he is being "promoted" to the big boy room. Well, I hope he feels that way

VexyMommy · May 2015

If you're going to move him it would probably be best to do it soon so he will be comfortable in the new room by the time baby comes. I'd ask him leading questions like does he want a big boy room or if he wants to give away his old things to the new baby so he can get new things. Even let him choose some of the decor. Maybe pick out 2 or 3 acceptable comforters/wall hangings/etc and ask which one he likes best so he can feel some ownership/control over the room and the decorating process.

rox7777 · May 2015

Making an emphasis on the big boy part seems to really help with my son. He's 27 months and we bought him a baby doll, so we practice taking care of the baby by pushing it in the stroller or putting it in the carseat. He already has a twin size bed in his room, but when he sees new baby stuff he still wants to play with it or use it. I think 2 is a good time to transition, but I agree with PP, you probably need to do it soon. It took my son about 3-4 months before he was fully committed to his new room. Let him help with picking out decorations and putting them up, it will make it more exciting for him.

maura+c · May 2015

We are doing something similar to the first commenter. We are keeping the nursery the same and moving his brother into the spare bedroom. My kiddo will just be short of 19 months when this new little guy comes along, so talking with him about the change is not really going to work (I'm going to try, but not sure he is going to fully comprehend the change). We are having to buy another crib because my first wont be ready for a big boy bed yet, so my thought on that is we will get a new one for the upcoming baby and move his into his new room.
I think making the 'choo choo' room is a fabulous idea, but definetley discuss the change with him. Having a new brother or sister is going to be change enough. My suggestion is ask him questions about what kind of things he wants in his new room and maybe pick out some choices for him to choose from like comforter, bookshelf, accents, etc.
Thank you for posting this question by the way. I am really concerned about the adjustment my little guy is going to have to a new baby boy in the house. Looking forward to reading other people's ideas and input on the conversation- how to ease your little one into a new room or keeping it the same! I appreciate that!!

dapoint23 · May 2015

Thanks ladies! I'm leaning toward the "big boy" room idea and I like letting him choose his comforter. We'll probably do it soon, but new baby will most likely be in our room for a few months anyway, so he won't feel like it's being taken over too soon.

dapoint23 · May 2015

BTW sorry for posting this question twice... I'm on my phone and can't figure out how to delete the other one!

Laurakat81 · May 2015

I thought about switching DDs room since the paint color is actually unisex but decided against it because I made that room for HER. I think it grows up well with her too. Plus, once I found out what we were having I got some really fun ideas on how I wanted to do a woodlands themed little boy's room so I'm going with it in the new room.

For my older child, we're just switching her to a full size bed and using the crib in the new nursery. I'll let her pick out new sheets and honestly, that is the extent of what we'll be changing. For us it just seems easier than making her move to a new room and get in a new bed and potentially go through a few sleepless nights because its not where she is used to being.

MadBloom · May 2015

We are currently picking out colours for DD's big girl room. She'll be 18 months when her sibling arrives so she'll still be in her crib but her new room will look more like a little girls room instead of a nursery.
She and I have slept in the guest room before so I'm not too worried about her not being able to sleep in the new room.

dapoint23 · May 2015

My son also ends up in our bed most nights anyway, so a new room can't make things much worse lol

kdsmith43 · May 2015

DS will be 3 when new baby comes, we are currently working on painting the other spare room and moving him to a twin sized bed in a whole new room. I have made a really big deal about how awesome it is, so hopefully it will be a smooth transition. We will put the new addition in the old nursery and plan to keep it the same color either way. Poor kid is already getting the shaft.

Lynnbirds4 · May 2015

My son will be a little over 3 when the new babe comes. Our nursery is the smallest room, so I decided to just keep that room for the baby and graduate him to a big boy room. We have already converted the crib into a toddler bed, so he is used to the freedom. I have bought new furniture, including a twin bed with a trundle for the big boy room. I am actually going to start painting this week! I want him to get used to it before the babe comes because I don't want to think the babe kicked him out and took "his room". My nursery is decorated for a baby, so I think it is a great time to transition and do some things (like sheets and stuff on the walls) in his current interests! There still may be an adjustment period for him, but I'd rather do it now than later...I have the energy to deal with it well now and he won't "blame" the baby. Hope that helps!

Elyse1384 · May 2015

This is a huge concern for me as my little guy will only be 19 months when the baby gets here. The baby will be in our room for the first 3 months and like @ellastaxx, our current nursery is the smallest room and nearest our master bedroom so my DS will need to move. I really don't want to buy another crib and I'm hoping we can transition our son to a toddler bed by 21 months, but I've heard that some toddlers need to be in a crib longer before making the switch. My cousin couldn't get her little guy to make the transition until 3 years, yet my coworker had her son out of the crib by 2 years. Worst case I can put the pack and play in the nursery and move the crib with our son until he gets used to a toddler bed, but the last thing I need are two LOs awake in the middle of the night. Plus, my son moves constantly when he sleeps so I need to find a good toddler bed that is very low to the ground and reliable rails. Ugh... mom problems.

agerstner · May 2015

We are keeping DS (will be 2.5 when baby arrives) in his room but we just transitioned him to a toddler bed and moved the crib into the new nursery. Both rooms are beside our bedroom so that wasn't really a factor.

Pontot31 · May 2015

We are trying to figure this out too.
My 3 year old daughter seldomly sleeps in her own room though. She's with us most night due to crazy work schedules and my husband and I never overlapping in bed at night.
I asked if she wanted to help design the spare room (that she calls Na Na's room... That's where my mom stays when she visits) and make it her own. She is super excited. But she keeps saying she's going to share a room with the baby.
I'm thinking maybe a new big bed... She has a twin in her room and I was going to give her the queen in the spare room. And her own decorations would maybe make her sleep there. But I'm not getting my hopes up.

Squirtgun · May 2015

I asked my pediatrician about the switch to big girl bed (we're just going to have them share a room, based on the space we have in our house) and he recommended that any major changes either be done at least 4 months before due date, or to wait at least 4 months after baby's birth. He said that any problems with jealousy/ regression normally happen within the first three to four months, and that doing a transition right before baby comes or within those first few months would probably cause or exacerbate any problems which would occur.

lyankowi · May 2015

I want to move DD into my craft room, it is already painted purple, with the baby coming in November the current nursery is the warmest room in the house with only one window, the baby will be in my room for awhile though

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