I know I still have many many months but for anyone that has been pregnant knows that your mind races over what life will be like and how things will change. So my question is this - I am due with baby number 2 in Feb and my daughter will be just over two at that time. Currently my daughter is in a toddler bed in the smallest room at the other end of the hall in her toddler bed where she can see us if she wants at night. She is an amazing sleeper and has been in this room since we moved her out of our room (she was in the pack n play) when she was about 3 months old. So we plan to have the new baby in our room in the pack n play for the first few months again as we did with our daughter and then move the baby to their own room
My dilemma is how to go about this. The 'spare' room now is cold in the winter so we figure its better for my daughter to be in there because she can at least pull the blankets up on herself and express to us using words that she is chilly BUT I dont want to put her in there until its necessary to make the move and the few months that the new baby will be with us in our room will allow the cold winter to have passed. I just feel like if we wait until we are ready to move the baby into her room and move her to the bigger room that she will feel like her world is being all turned around. Am I totally overthinking this or is this valid to be really stressing over and really thinking about?
Thanks all for the awesome suggestions. My husband is one of those ' lets just let it be and see what happens' LOL not a planner at all while I sit around and worry about everything. Opposites attract I guess =)
As for the room being cold its definitely because it is half over the garage and there isnt much insulation in there. We already got a newly insulated garage door and we plan to add a bunch of insulation to the floor/roof of that room but like everything around here - its on the list (when did life get so busy?) I recommend 4 day weekends - is everyone in? That room also happens to be the farthest area from the furnace so that doesnt help in pumping the heat into that room
I too like the idea of a christmas big girl room, Im just a bit worried at the fact that she is still so young and since Christmas is so overwhelming already and her birthday is the 24th I wonder if so much in such a short time will be too much for her
Thank you all for the ideas and I will surely keep you all posted as to what happens when it happens
Happy Friday
How about making the room a BIG SISTER suite for Christmas! That way she can move and get acquainted with it before the baby comes!
If it were me I would definitely do it before the baby comes. That way your daughter doesn't feel like she has to give up "her" room for the baby. Right now you could make it all about her and get her excited about a "brand new big girl room!" She may feel resentment if she senses it's about the baby kicking her out of her room. You could always get a space heater if the room is cold in the winter, they do make ones that are kid-safe.
Perhaps less complex...can you look at your air distribution and balance the heat flow through the rooms? Or seal the windows?
Personally, we tried to move our toddler before #2 was born...it was months of screaming and scared of the new room, and eventually, he stayed right where he was.
We have a small space heater designed for kids rooms, if we need it. Puts out amazing heat, but it's not a fire risk if it gets knocked over. I might try that, instead of the bedroom shuffle.
Definitely do it before the baby comes or is close so it's about your daughter get a bigger, better room :) and not about being moved for the baby.
Leave the baby in your room until warmer weather and see what happens next Winter.
Put an electric heater on a shelf in the room that in not accessible by your older girl, cord included in not being able to be reached. The ceramic ones are not too risky and don't have coils that are exposed. That is the kind we used in our little guys room. The unit was plugged in behind a dresser and the mirror covered the cord. The shelf was along side the chest about 4 ft. up.
Since the new baby isn't coming until February, you have a couple months of cold weather to experiment with how to make the room warmer. As others have suggested, I would look into whether their is a block in the heater or try a space heater. When our daughter was born, we sealed all the windows with plastic and a hair dryer, and that made a huge difference. It was almost too warm!
I love Carrie D's idea of making a big sister suite as a Christmas present.
If you decide to move your 2yr old into the other room, make it a project you can work on together. Picking out paint colors (and help with painting), wall decals (flowers, butterflies, etc), & other room decor. Let her spend time in the room playing, having you read to her, sleeping in the room (for a night). This way, when you have the baby, you can move her into the room without much fuss because she will already feel like it's her room. And, you will then have a few months to change the "old" room into the baby's room.
But first, take care of the heat situation. If you have a water baseboard system, the hot water is constantly circulated throughout all the pipes so that there is no weak spot, or cold rooms. If you have forced air, check the ducts to make sure the room gets enough air. There is also a heat unit that fits into the duct opening & looks like a regular vent cover on top. This unit supplies additional heat, & has a fan to force more air. It plugs into a regular AC outlet, & is controlled by it's own adjustable thermostat. It can be found at local home supply stores.
But also check the windows, walls, & floors for any "cold" spots, or air flow from outside, & be sure to seal everything.
Isn't planning for a new baby so much fun? I love it. I would wait to put your daughter in the bigger room until you have to do it. Then, when the time comes, make a big production of moving her to a big girl room. You can decorate it pretty for her, be very excited for her, etc. Then, after a week or two, move the baby into the "baby room." It will be warmer then, giving your older daughter yet more time to mature and be able to be old enough to make sure she is warm in her room at night. Enjoy these precious days!
We had the sames situation with one of our bedrooms being extreme in temperature, but I wanted our son to have that room since it was bigger and he has a lot of toys. You have to find out why the room is cold/extreme in temperature. In our case we opened up the vent to find it was blocked with metal duct, so we had to cut through the duct work to get it to work properly. (Really wasn't a lot of work to do.) It could be lack or insulation too, which can be easy to install.
You are NOT overthinking this, at least not from the perspective of another overthinker! LOL
I would be thinking the EXACT same things about your situation...
Now what to do, what to do...
Half of me feels like, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it..." As in, if your daughter sleeps well where she is (such a blessing!) then leave it as is.
Is there a way to keep the other room warmer? I think that would be my first approach. Warm up that room somehow. Also, if you are keeping your baby with you for a few months, the same would apply with the cold season passing before you'd move baby in the 'cold' room... so he/she would be over a year old before they had to sleep in that room through winter months...
I think that's what I'd do... keep the baby in my room until the cold weather passes, but in the meantime, work on warming up the room somehow. Then move the baby to the room when the weather warms up and have it warmed up by next winter...
Keep your angelic sleeping toddler in her comfort zone... a lot will change with her when new baby comes, I don't think I'd mess with her room and precious sleep unless I HAD to...
Let us know what you decide!
