Baby & Toddler in Same Room, Crazy to Consider It? Post Reply

[Ladybird12]

Hi,

We have a 2 1/2 yr old in her own room and an 8mth old baby still in ours. Now thinking about moving the kids in together and just wondering if anyone had some advice or could share their experience of this?

We do bedtime routine for both kids together but our son's night sleeping is still erratic, and with at least one overnight feed.

I would love to hear from anyone who's faced a similar family-of-four-in-two-bedroom-house situation.

Thanks in advance!

[KasiaT]

My best friend put her 1 year old together with a 2.5 y/o in a fairly small room. First few weeks were tough as the little one kept waking the older one up a few times a night but then they got used to each others noises and now they sleep so well together. In the mornings the older one sometimes jumps into the cot and "reads" books to the little one. As long as your 8 month old more or less sleeps through, go for it.

[2009Kat]

I did it when the baby was 10 months and toddler just over 2.5. It was fine - the baby didn't sleep through the night for another year and despite being up numerous times a night didn't tend to wake his brother. The danger area is 5-6am wake ups when they may be in lighter sleep, that is when they sometimes woke each other up. I suppose we consciously ran to a crying child quicker than if they had been in their own room for fear of waking the other (particularly when toddler went to nursery and was really overtired). Now we have space for them to have their own rooms and they still share!
Go for it, it will be fine.

[nvmof3]

I had my boys who are 16 months apart together from when the littlest was around 10 months and it was fine. The first week they "chatted" in the evenings and I had to be quite strict, but the only real problem we had was when the big one started "rescuing" his brother from his cot in the early mornings when the little one was about 15 months by pulling his arms until he fell head first over the side of the cot, so we had to take the little one out of a cot earlier than we might have done otherwise which meant he then dropped his afternoon nap. We have space for them to be apart but they still share aged 7 and 6 and would hate to be apart. They never wake each other up during the night even if they are being sick or wailing, but the early mornings are a bit of an issue as if one wakes early, they are both up and firing on all cylinders within seconds. But now they are a bit older, I put the lego in their room and they will usually do lego together until it is "morning".

[Mummymummymummy]

Mine have shared a room since baby was a year old and toddler 2 1/2. We had no bother at all. They're more trouble now in fact, they're 2 1/2 and 4 and mess about at bedtime, grrrr. But they never wake each other up, even when we take the 4 year old for a dream wee at 11pm. Depends on the kids I guess

[Mummymoo]

I had my girls together from when they were 3 months and 24 months. I used to go in and feed the little one in the night and occasionally the older one would grunt and I would say hello and she would drift off again.
The greatest thing has been that they have kept each other company in the mornings.
I never want them to be apart - I am really pleased that neither of them can remember it any other way and I don't think they would even consider wanting their own rooms.

[Ladybird12]

Thanks everyone! This has been most reassuring. I think we'll take a deep breath and give it a go.

[dizzymum]

My daughters are 18 months apart and have been in the same bedroom since my youngest was 5 months old.
The first week was a complete nightmare, they constantly woke each other up, bedtime was a long drawn out battle and I found it hard to remember why on earth we were putting ourselves through it. The second week was way easier and since then it has been a breeze.
They are now 7 and 8 and despite having bunk beds they sleep in the same bed every night. My siblings and I are very spread out in age and the sleepy chats my daughters have as they drift off to sleep each night makes me almost jealous of their closeness.
Practically it is brilliant as when we go away they don't have to adjust to sharing a room in a tent, hotel or friend's house. They now sleep through anything and there have been nights where one is being sick, the bedroom lights are on and the other sleeps right through. They have never been woken by their new baby brother who is not such a great sleeper!
My advice would be to try and arrange for another adult to be around to help you out at bedtime for the first week if at all possible and don't try to put them down in the same room for lunchtime sleep. I wasted vast amounts of time and energy trying to make that work, I should have just put my eldest in my bed for her nap.