So my 3.5 yo and my 16 mo sons have had their own rooms since birth, but now that baby #3 is on the way, there will need to be some sharing. The baby would be in a bassinett in our bedroom until about 3 mos, but after that, s/he will move to another room.
What works best? 3.5 yo and 16 mo together? 16 mo and newborn together? 3.5 yo and newborn together?
My 16 mo is a pretty good sleeper, as we have always provided white noise in his room (humidifier with fan). The 3.5 yo is also a good sleeper (once he stops trying to leave his bedroom).
Thanks Mamas!
I kinda was thinking the same about the older kids sharing, but wanted to check before I headed out to buy my oldest son his new bed :)
I personally would bunk the two boys together for now, and give baby their own room for the first year. After the first year, I would bunk the two younger ones together to give the older boy a chance to have his own space and prepare for kindergarten etc.... Plus, the older one may have some toys with smaller pieces etc...that you don't want the younger two getting into. Congrats on the new baby!
The baby will need his/her own room. Babies are noisy when they sleep and if your new baby shares a room with one of your other kids, your baby could wake them up. Also, babies wake up crying in the middle of the night, so that is another reason why one of your other kids could be woken up.
Another reason for your baby to have his/her own room - safety. What if either one of your other kids crawls into your baby's crib and hurts him/her? Or puts your baby's blanket (if you provide one - I don't suggest it) over his/her face and suffocates him/her? Or throws a small, chokable toy in your baby's crib in the middle of the night or early morning when you are still sleeping? Definately put your older ones in a room together and the baby alone.
I would say the 3 1/2 yr old and the 16 m old should share the room. As they grow up, rotate. Keep the rooms neutral in color/design and let them each have turns having there own room. My aunt did this with her 3 kids (2 boys and a girl) and there were no complaints/squabbles about why so & so has their own room. Heck, my girls sometimes have sleepovers in each other's room.
I would lean toward the older child being in the room with the newborn. By the time the newborn is born and then spends 3months in your room, your oldest will be about 4? And should have pretty good sleeping habits by then. Ultimately, you're going to have to just play it by ear as you go - the newborn might wake up the other kids, so you might want your almost 4 yr old and almost 2 yr old bunking together with the baby in it's own room?
I would put the newborn in his/her own room. Their sleep patterns change so rapidly you may find yourself with cranky kids from a lack of sleep if the baby starts getting up very early or sleeping very late.
If the new baby is a girl, that sort of answers the question long-term too.
I originally misread the ages of you children...thought one was 16 years old (and of course should have his own room). My mistake.
The older boys should share a room for now. Later on you may want to switch it up and allow the oldest his own room for a while.
i would definitely start out with the baby in his own room. once baby starts toddling you can change it up according to personality.
khairete
S.
I would put the baby into the room alone until they are a good sleeper too.
We had three girls. At one point, with only two BR's we put all three of them in the same room to sleep and have clothes in, then made the other one a play room with the toys. It worked for us.
M.
My older 2 had just turned 3 years old and 21 months old when #3 arrived. We made the transition a month or 2 before #3 was born and they shared a room beautifully (still do)! It sounds like you've already established good sleeping habits with the older two, so stick with what you've done and the transition shouldn't be too hard!
As many posters suggested, I think you should keep the two who already have good sleep habits in the same room. A baby could definitely disrupt the sleep of either of your older two.
I also like the idea of allowing all the kids to sleep and have their clothes in one room, and use the other room for a toy/playroom, that is unless you have another toy/playroom somewhere in the house. But even to do this, I'd wait to move them all into the same room until your newest addition is well into a good sleep pattern, so as not to disrupt anyone else's sleep.
i think that the 3.5 and 16month old should share a room due to a young child could get a toy in her/his mouth etc. And the sleep patterns from a newer baby vary. Good Luck and I hope everything works out. Congrats on the new baby
I would wait until you find out the gender of the new baby. If it is another boy, you may want to have the two youngest bunking together or rotate the sharing each year so each year someone gets to enjoy their own room.
I hope this was helpful to you.
