Siblings sharing a room

AdventureMama · August 2015

Mamas of 2+, I'd love to hear your experiences of your littles share a room. When did they start, what's the age difference, sleeping arrangements, how well do they sleep, that kind of thing.

DS will be 2.5 when baby is born but they won't officially share a room (for sleeping) until probably at least six months later, because we cosleep in our room so that BFing is easy. So I imagine he'll have a toddler or twin bed and we'll keep the crib in there too, but won't put the new little one in there for quite awhile. All of baby's stuff will be in there too.

Thoughts on this? Things I should consider? How to get DS ready for the change? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

jellybellybean3 · August 2015

We actually just put my 4 year old and almost 3 year old together. We pumped them up and bought them this cool bunk bed with stairs. And the transition was so easy. I thought it was going to be a nightmare but after the first few nights my 3 year old even started sneaking up top and sleeping with his sister. And now they just share the top bunk, lol. I was expecting some big fighting but it was the opposite.. And actually I think they like the comfort of having each other even though both will deny it if you ask them

Anyways, my situation is a bit different so I'm not sure how it would go with a baby but I'm sure after the first couple weeks it would be fine! To help transition I also painted the room and did a little re-decorating to make it "new" and exciting for them (or in your case your toddler). That really pumped them up and made them excited to sleep in there together.

AdventureMama · August 2015

That is the sweetest thing @jellybellybean3! I would love it if my kids wanted I bedshare someday. Aww. (Side note, I really really hope that my toddler doesn't want to revert back to sleeping in our bed once baby is in our room. That would not be fun...)

I figure by the time we'll be ready to have them share, we won't be team green anymore (obviously, haha) and can really have fun decorating, so that's a great idea! I also like bunks although that's a ways IMO our future. Do you think a loft bed for toddler would work over a crib? And can a 3 year old handle sleeping that high by himself? My H is a carpenter so he can build us whatever configuration of beds we need.

Ju111310 · August 2015

My boys will be 17 months apart. We have two bedrooms downstairs, including the master, and two upstairs. I'm not comfortable putting DS1 upstairs alone at 17 months. He sleeps great, but just the what ifs are too much for me. The boys are just gonna have to share the nursery and we'll make the best of it. The new LO will be in our room for 2 or 3 months then they'll share. DS1 will be about 20 months at that point and hopefully ready for a toddler bed. I'm worried about the baby waking him up at night, but I've heard lots of positive stories from friends so I'm hopeful that he'll learn to sleep through it!

DaisyTortilla · August 2015

Right now my toddlers are technically sharing a room, we have her toddler bed and his crib in the same room. But they sleep in our room, DD would be fine sleeping alone, DS won't sleep unless he's holding my hand. We are starting the transition for both of them in their room this weekend. We don't want new baby to wake them up repeatedly through out the night. Once we find out the sex, the same sex babies will share the bigger room and the other sex will have a smaller room to themselves, but that won't be for a while.

oregontrailmom · August 2015

We moved my 8 month old into his big brother's room once we were ready to stop cosleeping. It took some adjustments to get the baby okay with sleeping in his own room so we put him down first and then snuck the two year old in there once baby was sleeping. The older brother was actually thrilled to be sharing a room, we just kept talking it up a lot. Ds1 was a pretty good sleeper so I could go in and feed or change baby at night if I needed to.

Latina211508 · August 2015

We have a 4 bedroom but 1 room is downstairs. So my son has his own room and my two daughters now share a room. Before my youngest was in our master loft. It's literally a bedroom in the master with no door. But since I'm pregnant with baby #4 we wanted to transition my youngest sooner. Also my husband didn't want to put our 6 year old downstairs just yet so we figured the girls can share a room for a couple years if that. My girls are 19 months apart and my youngest was a few months over 2 when we put her in her sisters room. They both loved it and thought it was a sleepover. Only issue we had is at first they would talk and giggle a lot. All my children have a bedtime at 8:30 so sleep schedule wasn't an issue. When my youngest naps during the day my eldest daughter knows she can't play in the room so she just plays downstairs or our loft. They both have toddler beds but I'm actually wanting bunk beds. My husband is afraid my eldest will fall off though. Lol she's a crazy sleeper. Good luck!

jordans_wife · August 2015

Our 2 boys share a room. They started as soon as our youngest moved out of our room as an infant and into the room with my then 2 and a half yr old. Now they are 3 and 5 and sleep in bunk beds. They've shared a room since the beginning and it has been extremely smooth. If one wakes in the middle of the night they could be screaming and the other one still won't wake up. They love room sharing and I love having them in the same room together. It started bc we had no choice space-wise but now we've moved into a much larger house and it's by choice.

AdventureMama · August 2015

oregontrailmom said:

We moved my 8 month old into his big brother's room once we were ready to stop cosleeping. It took some adjustments to get the baby okay with sleeping in his own room so we put him down first and then snuck the two year old in there once baby was sleeping. The older brother was actually thrilled to be sharing a room, we just kept talking it up a lot. Ds1 was a pretty good sleeper so I could go in and feed or change baby at night if I needed to.

Yeah, see, DS sleeps great and he does awesome falling asleep on his own and staying asleep all night, but I can barely even check on him before I go to bed without him stirring (old house, creaky doors and floors!). So I'm nervous about the MOTN stuff... what if baby cries at 3am and DS wakes up raring to go? I wouldn't put it past him.

RN0107 · August 2015

DS1 and DS2 shared a room right after DS2 was born. DS1 was 2 and DS2 was 6 months when we made the transition. Like PP said we would put the baby down for bed first and then my older son would go to bed once baby was sleeping. If took 3-4 weeks but they got used to each waking up in the MOTN and the other would sleep through it. My kids are very light sleepers too but DS1 used to sleep right through the baby screaming at 3am.

minivanmafia · August 2015

I have no advice but we plan to do the same. The 9 year old has his own room due to age difference but the youngest now ( there will be a little over 2 year difference) and the baby will share a room, similar to you @adventuremama, once the baby is 6/7 months old, due to BF-ing. By that time I'm hoping it's an easy transition.

oregontrailmom · August 2015

AdventureMama said:

oregontrailmom said:

We moved my 8 month old into his big brother's room once we were ready to stop cosleeping. It took some adjustments to get the baby okay with sleeping in his own room so we put him down first and then snuck the two year old in there once baby was sleeping. The older brother was actually thrilled to be sharing a room, we just kept talking it up a lot. Ds1 was a pretty good sleeper so I could go in and feed or change baby at night if I needed to.

Yeah, see, DS sleeps great and he does awesome falling asleep on his own and staying asleep all night, but I can barely even check on him before I go to bed without him stirring (old house, creaky doors and floors!). So I'm nervous about the MOTN stuff... what if baby cries at 3am and DS wakes up raring to go? I wouldn't put it past him.

Noise machine! I set it on white noise all night and it does wonders. I didn't get one until we moved to our new (older) house add realized how annoying those beautiful hardwood floors really are.

AdventureMama · August 2015

oregontrailmom said:

oregontrailmom said:

We moved my 8 month old into his big brother's room once we were ready to stop cosleeping. It took some adjustments to get the baby okay with sleeping in his own room so we put him down first and then snuck the two year old in there once baby was sleeping. The older brother was actually thrilled to be sharing a room, we just kept talking it up a lot. Ds1 was a pretty good sleeper so I could go in and feed or change baby at night if I needed to.

Yeah, see, DS sleeps great and he does awesome falling asleep on his own and staying asleep all night, but I can barely even check on him before I go to bed without him stirring (old house, creaky doors and floors!). So I'm nervous about the MOTN stuff... what if baby cries at 3am and DS wakes up raring to go? I wouldn't put it past him.
Noise machine! I set it on white noise all night and it does wonders. I didn't get one until we moved to our new (older) house add realized how annoying those beautiful hardwood floors really are.

That's a good idea. We use a fan but it's clearly not loud enough

ashbooth · August 2015

We have a 6 yr old daughter 2 yr old son and in February a newborn we plan on all 3 sharing a room( when the baby starts sleeping through the night, until then baby will have a spot in our master bedroom) we only have a 2 bedroom house (it's temporary thank goodness!) lol we have a loft bed for the oldest and the crib and twin bed are under the loft bed the two oldest love sharing a room they always end up together lol I am a little nervous ab our 2 yr old and the baby but we shall see how it goes

good luck to you all!

tdoswell1 · August 2015

I am pretty "nervous" about this. My son will be 4.5 years old when the baby is born. It only makes me nervous because if or should I say when the baby wakes up multiple times in the night will that disrupt my sons sleep? Maybe I should leave the baby in the room with me until he/she sleeps through the night?

camusoh2011 · August 2015

We currently have three sharing a room (not ideal, but we're making it work while we save to move to a bigger home). My stepdaughter is not always with us, so that makes it more manageable. She and DS1 have a bunk bed. She has top he has bottom. They have always shared a room (since she was 3 and he was born). They love it! More often than not when we come to check on them before we go to sleep they are both in the same bed telling stories. They are now 7 and 4. DS2 joined them in his crib at a few months old. We always start babies in a sleeper in our room to make it easier for late feedings. This baby will have 6 months of sharing a room with us (possibly). He/She will sleep in a rock n play near our bed. DS2 might upgrade to the bunk bed with his big brother if he wants. This would open the crib for this kiddo until we move this time next year.

Because of sharing a room all of our kids are heavy sleepers. They love it and are super close! The biggest issue is all the toys! Just limit the large items and have a storage plan.

wisco29 · August 2015

Right now dd is in our room, we decided we aren't even going to start trying to transition her to her own room until we move.

As of now I'm working on not falling asleep with her on our bed so I can move her to her own bed. If I move her sleeps the whole night in her crib but I always fall asleep with her so I don't wake up to move her until 3 am.

=caenis= · August 2015

I'm pregnant with my first, so don't have experience on this with my own kids yet.

However, I shared a room with my little brother until I was 8 and he was 5. We both liked it, most of the time - and from what I remember we had a lot of fun! We had bunk beds and each had our own dresser, so while we shared most of the room, we did have our own little spaces.

cbou · August 2015

My little brother and I are 16 months apart and we shared a room for a long time. I can't remember how old we were when my parents decided to move me in with my big sister, but my brother and I cried and cried because we loved sharing a room!

wisco29 · August 2015

cbou said:
My little brother and I are 16 months apart and we shared a room for a long time. I can't remember how old we were when my parents decided to move me in with my big sister, but my brother and I cried and cried because we loved sharing a room!

I shared a room with my brother off and on at my dads until we were 8 or so. He had a 3 bedroom but rented out the 3rd to a friend to be able to afford it. It was perfectly fine with bunk beds and all.

I shared a room with my sister at my moms house who is 5 years younger than me from the time she was born to when I was 15 or so and then finally they made my brothers share and we each got our own room.

There is nothing wrong with making kids share, I think it helps them learn to get along, they have to share their toys etc

toorahloorah · August 2015

This is one of my stressors about baby 2s arrival. New baby and DD1 will be 17 months apart but I'm planning on the baby sleeping in our room for the first 6 months. I'm hoping beyond all hope that when the baby is transitioned into her room (she will be 2 at the time) she doesn't get woken up all night by the baby. Fingers crossed!

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