I have 2 sons, ages 6 months and 3 years old and they have begun to share a room and need advice on how to do it. I am afraid that my youngest is getting into bad habits like being rocked and held to sleep, not going to sleep on his own and eating 1-3 times a night depending on the night. I don't know how to train my youngest like I trained my oldest because they share a room. Whenever he makes a sound, we are up to check on him and if he doesn't go back to sleep we take him out and feed him or get him back to sleep. This is not what we did with my oldest and he is a great sleeper and can get himself to sleep. We do this because we are afraid that the youngest will wake up the other. So, I am looking for help and ideas. Thanks! Also, about feeding because I don't think he is hungry at night but, that is what we do.
I dont have any suggestions but I rocked my oldest until he got into a toddler bed and never had any problems getting him to sleep. I really think that he just didnt like the crib.
H.. i had 5 children . and brought up two grandchildren . what i did i no its going to bea mess. just but the food ina bowl . and but on her high chair. lets see if she picks it up. i will be kind of mess but thats what i did with all my children . she will learn how to pick up the food cut it in small pieces. let me no how your doing
B.
If your sons are going to be sharing a room, the older one is going to have to get used to the sounds that the younger one makes - it will be hard in the beginning but easier to just get it over with now than later. Otherwise you'll be doing this forever!
M.
Could you have the youngest sleep in your room until he is older if you are just concerned about him waking the older brother? 6 months is not to old to still be needing a nighttime feeding. I would guess that the older child would just adjust to the noises of his younger brother at night.
Hi H.,
I have 7 children, and so ours have always shared rooms. I found that the night wakings didn't necessarily awaken the older kids if I attended to it right away. However, when I felt that the baby didn't need the night feeding anymore, I would actually take the older kid out of the room for a few nights while I trained the baby to get himself back down without me. It usually only takes a few days. With that being said, it's been my experience that at 6 months, my kids still needed at least one night feeding. But they still can be trained to get themselves back down afterwards, so it's not disruptive for everyone. I highly recommend the sleep book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. He walks you through step by step how to train your child to sleep well. I've used it over and over with my kids at various ages, and it's been a sanity saver.
He is still a baby and may need to eat. It sounds like you are doing what I would do!
I have two boys as well. I also plan for them to eventually share a room. It may be reassuring to know that waking up a couple times a night is very normal for a 6 month old. Some babies sleep right through the night at that age but they are not the majority. As far as the bad habits are concerned, I guess it depends on how you look at it. An alternative point of view is that you are babying your baby while he is still a baby. You will never have this time back to just quietly rock your baby to sleep. It's not necessarily a bad thing or habit. He may naturally become a better sleeper in a couple of monthes. You know your baby best so just trust your instincts.
Hi!
We have three daughters in one room, with our son in his own room, so we've dealt with exactly what you are talking about! My six month old son is only JUST starting to sleep through the night without feedings, so I wouldn't worry about your baby still needing nighttime feedings...that should stop eventually, but I wouldn't stress about it. As far as running to him because you don't want to wake his brother...we spent about 3 weeks with one of our daughters in a pack-and-play in our room, so that she could learn to "put herself back to sleep" at night without waking her sisters. (We never let her scream, but she fussed for a bit, and we didn't have to stress about it). Then when she was sleeping better, we moved her back into her room.
Good luck!
