Any ideas for sleeping a 2.3 year-old and 4 month-old in vertical space? Our bedroom has no floorspace for anything more than what's in it (our bed, a crib and two dressers). What would work is some kind of bunk toddler bed, where our 2 year-old could sleep on top and the baby in some kind of crib below. Of course it would have to be safe. I have looked and looked for ideas, but have not found anything. The only idea we have gotten is to turn the bedroom into the kids' room and have the living room double as our bedroom with a pull-out couch, but my husband is a big guy and his back will not tolerate any pull-out that we have ever used. A Murphy bed is not an option because there would not be enough room in the room to open it up, and also beause we are in a rental and cannot and do not want to alter the apartment as we would need in order to create a Murphy bed. Of course we should move, and will within the next year, but we need to do something in our apartment in the meantime. Many thanks in advance for any helpful ideas!!
Well I use to have a 1 bedroom and I had my bed, my sons foldable almost twin size bed that I got from ikea and my sons crib which would let me open the closet door enough to fit my body in it? Try ikea they have small beds for the 2 year old till maybe he's 5.
I'm not sure what a murphy bed is, but would a daybed help? Even if you just have enough space to get around to the crib for the baby. Like you said, it would be temporary. This way you could close it during the day for more space. Since you use real mattresses on them, it may be good for your hubby. Or how about a good futon?
Hi H.,
I would say either go to a loft bed that a crib can fit underneath... or turn your bedroom into the kids room and go for a futon(they can make them pretty large, in the living room for your bed. They don't alter the living space, and you'll still have a couch during the day that is EASILY transformed into a comfortable bed at night. hope this helps
-N.
Hi H.,
We actually used another crib mattress that we pulled out from under the crib for our son. He's 4 now, but he slept on it when he was three and his brother was a baby in the crib. If you have the room, you could also stash the extra mattress under your bed. It may not work indefinitely, but it's something to consider. Good luck!
My sister-in-law purchased a loft type bed for my niece because her room was so small & she had no more floor space. It was through Flexa Kids Furniture & they make all kinds of kids beds & may have an answer to your problem. My sis-in-law said they are very happy with it & it is well built furniture - something you might find use for in the future. If you get a loft you can put part of your bed underneath to save on floor space or put the baby's crib under.
Another idea if you don't feel comfortable putting a 2 year old up so high is to replace your living room couch with a daybed/hide-a-bed. They make some very nice ones now that when you pull out the lower bed & raise it up, together the matresses make a king size bed. My sis-in-law had one of those too & I slept on it with my hubby & 2 girls (ages 4 & 1 at the time) when we visited them & were all pretty comfy!
I would get rid of one or both of the dressers and put a toddler bed in the room. The dressers could maybe go in the living room, or hallway if they are needed. Remember it's only temporary. A bunk would only take up more space and be dangerous for a two year old.
If your intention for sleeping arrangements is to keep everyone in the bedroom, there is an option you may not have concidered yet. Rather than looking for a solution for both kids, think bigger. They do make twin/full and twin/queen bunk beds. You could leave the baby in the crib and have the toddler sleep in a twin bunk above you and hubby. If you are looking for even more room during the day, while doing an internet search before I actually found bunk beds that are a twin bunk on top and a full sized futon on the bottom. This would allow you to fold the futon up during the day and give the kids a little more space to move around and play. This may not be the best solution for your love life but just might work for the living conditions you currently have. The only thing I am not sure about is the safety of putting a 2 1/2 year old on the top of a bunk bed. But there may be a way to keep the child in the bed until you let them out, I'm thinking about the crib tents and wondering if there might be something like that to work with a twin.
I hope you find something that works for you!
K.
Here are my two cents, in a pinch! Safety would be first if it were me, so I would suggest putting your bed (box spring and mattress) on the floor without a frame, headboard etc. to save space to one side of the room first. That should save some room. Then I would move at least one of the two dressers into the living room area, double it as a place to put books on top, make it decorative, but still use it as a dresser! That would increase your bedroom space, so you might have enough room for a toddler bed now,(pretty inexpensive, usually 40 bucks or less), and keep the crib in there too for your infant. If you still don't have enough room, consider moving both dressers into the living space, getting rid of any other furniture that you rarely use, like a coffee table or maybe an end table. And space saving things like over the door compartments can hold socks, underwear, t-shirts and can be put on the back of your bedroom door to help with storage. Hope this helps, I too have lived in smaller spaces!
Hi H.,
I understand your dilemma. When my oldest son was young (birth to about 9 months) we all slept together in a king sized bed. The bed took up the entire (small) bedroom. Not very comfortable to move around in but it did the trick at night. We kept our dresser in the living room. Later, when it was no longer safe to co-sleep (crawling around and tossing and turning too much in the middle of the night), my husband and I slept on sleeping bags in the living room while my son slept in a crib in the bedroom. Of course, we were much younger then! My back wouldn't take that arrangement well.
I agree that bunk beds would be unsafe. Have you checked out IKEA? They have small cribs and toddler beds that don't take up as much room as the traditional (bulky) crib. Later, when your kids are a little older, you can also check out IKEA's toddler bunk beds that are VERY low to the ground and small and look a lot safer than those high bunk beds. They also have great ideas to save space by going vertical with storage. Maybe you can get rid of a bureau by using shelving units or hanging baskets/nets, etc.
Hope this helps!
You could put the baby in a pack 'n play or portacrib in the living room and a toddler bed in the bedroom (or vice versa). I also like the suggestion to put the dressers in the living room and the crib and toddler bed in the bedroom. A bunkbed would be dangerous for both, and in all honesty - pretty big and take up a lot of room. Good luck.
I can feel your pain I too lived in a 1 bedroom apartment when my children were newborn and 1 year.What I did was I did have a pull out couch in the living room and I took the matress from my bed (which I took apart) and put that on my pull out at night. I pretty much gave the bedroom to my 1 year old and newborn(duiring nap time in the day) I did make more work for myself by every morning having to put the mattress back in the bedroom against the wall to close the pull out bed but it was better than having my 1 year old sleep with us.My newborn at night would usually sleep in a portable crib on the side of the pull out bed for easier access to him as well as to not wake up my 1 year old with the nightly feedings. This may not be what you had in mind but it worked for me.Good luck---
