Having Trouble with Siblings Sharing a Room

Hi N.-
Hmmm, that's a tough one. Here are my thoughts. The first is a sound machine for your son- things like rain, the rain forest, ocean waves....even those world flute cd's you can get from Target for $9.99, and let them cycle continuously throughout the night. Plus, it helps with night sounds and any fears- they won't thing a noise here or there is out of the ordinary. Actually, you could use it for both- and the sound may distract them from that pure silence and they won't wake up as easily when one or the other makes a noise. The other idea is to create a sound barrier between the 2; split the room into 2 halves with either a book case or screen (you can hang blankets over it for aesthetic appeal). It should cut down on what they hear from each other- plus if they each have the sound machine or some music (some is made specifically to help deep sleep), it might keep them both in sleep land a little longer. I would put your daughter closer to the door so that she is easier access being so much younger. I hope this helps!
-E. M.

Gosh N.,

I think I just posted almost the exact same question! The only difference being that my daughter is not having a feeding during the night ...I will share any insights/experience as they come along through this transition.
Take care,
C.

Usually kids sleep through anything! It's unfortunate that you have two light sleepers. If I were you, since you are still nursing the baby and she isn't sleeping through the night yet,I would have her sleep in my room. It's much easier to get to her, nurse her,and get her straight back to sleep without interrupting the entire house (dont turn on any lights!). Once you get her sleeping thru the night, move her back into the shared room. The first year of the baby's life is always the hardest because you are sleep deprived. Just remember that this is all temporary. Should be pretty good insentive to set your goal for a three bedroom house for your future ;)

At 8 months your little one should not need to nurse at night unless you have chosen this path. She should be atleast 14 pounds and if so is big enough to consume her calories during the rest of the day. Do you remember when your son slept through the night?
I agree that you need to give this a little more time and keep reassuring your son that it is night and time for all to sleep. You will all get through this,,,A.

Both of my kids are the same age as yours. What we did with our 8 month old is put her crib in our room. She has her own little area until she is old enough for a toddler bed. Our room is not big, but we put her crib against a wall and put her name over it and a little 3x5 rug under her crib. That way my almost 3 year old sleeps, and if my baby wakes up I don't have to walk as far and can wait to see if she falls asleep on her own. Good luck.

You could try putting a noise machine it the room?

Hi N.,

I have had the same frustrating issue! The main challenge is to get the baby to sleep through the night. We waited until our older child was away at Nana's for 3 nights, we didn't have to worry about the baby waking her up. If you don't have that option, pick a designated period of time to have your son sleep in your room, and let the baby work through waking up. It may take a couple of weeks, and you have to be consistent. This may be the time to wean her of her night-time feeding. After several nights of her knowing that it won't be "play time", she may cease to wake up. Good luck.

I feel your pain. I'm in the same situation. I don't have any great ideas, but I will say that my kids eventually learned to ignore each other. My son still wakes up in the middle of the night (he's 1), but my daughter (who is also a light sleeper) has somehow learned to ignore his crying out. I even have had to let him cry it out a couple nights and she managed to stay asleep (yet other small noises wake her up). So my only advice is to give it time.