Has anyone had a newborn and older child share a room?

[ksr5377]

How did that go?  I was thinking I was going to have to move my older three into a room together so the baby could have its own room.  I don't want it waking anyone up in the middle of the night.  However, a friend mentioned that she doubted the older ones would wake up at all, as long as I didn't let the little one cry for too long.  It got me thinking and I'm thinking she's right.  But I need confirmation on that.  The baby will likely just sleep with me until it's about 3-4 months old, that's when I have usually started them sleeping in their crib.  Will this work?

[Rachel]

I think it depends on the older child. I moved my now 16 month old in with my 5 year old at 4 months. It has worked quite well, my older son sleeps like a log and the baby was rarely waking at night. Now the baby wakes about 30 minutes before my older son each morning. Even if he cries when he wakes, if I am quick with the diaper change the older one won't wake.

 

This would have never worked with my daughter, she is a light sleeper and an early riser, she would have crawled in the crib and messed with the baby.

 

My friend has 4 girls now 8, nearly 7, 5.5, and 3. Due to space they all shared a room up until 2 years ago. I can't say they slept well, but they slept. She now has the 8 & 5 year old in one room and the 7 & 3 year old in the other. It's been that way about 2 years and works well for them.

[AK_Mom4]

Youngest DD shared a room with older DD from the time she was about 3 months until oldest DD's senior year in high school.. Oldest DD is a good sleeper. When the baby would wake up, I would come get her, change the diaper, nurse her and put her back to bed - older DD never woke up. I would listen to music or the radio or an audiobook while I rocked her and DD just slept thru it.

[Renee in NC]

Yes.  My now 20 year old shared a room with his now 7 year old sister starting when she was about 9 months old.  They are STILL incredibly close.

 

It was never an issue.

[mmeblue]

My DDs have shared a room since DD#2 came home from the hospital (we don't cosleep).  There was a brief adjustment period, and then it became the new normal.  DD#1 has a mat she can sleep on in our room for when she gets scared at night, and we've allowed her to use that on the few occasions when DD#2 was being particularly fussy but needed to stay in her crib (e.g. sleep training).  But usually they don't wake each other up, even when DD#2 was a newborn and needed middle-of-the-night feedings.  

 

Oh, we did a LOT of talking about the rules with DD#1, before and after DD#2 was born.  Don't touch her while she's in the crib; don't put anything in the crib; don't climb on/into the crib; etc.  #1 was nearly three years old when #2 was born.  If I'd felt that she wouldn't understand or obey the rules, we would have put the crib in our room instead.

[Tenaj]

We did this once with my now 19yodd and my now 12 yods.  She was 7 and he was about 6 months when we moved him out of our room and into her room.  She was thrilled and it worked out quite well because he was a fairly good sleeper and she hated being in a room by herself at that age.   They are still best buds - very close relationship despite the age difference.  When he was about 7 months old, he discovered that he could reach the light switch from his crib and delighted in turning the light on and off when his sister was trying to sleep . . . what fun memories.  We eventually put duct tape over the switch at night so he couldn't do it (there was no where else for the crib to be in the room) and every time  I'm cleaning that room I think about getting the baby oil out to clean the residue off the switch and I just can't do it because it makes us all smile to remember why it's there.

 

I think they shared a room until he was ready to move to a regular bed which was probably about the age of two or so.

[Desert Strawberry]

My room and my children's room are attached. Essentially, we all sleep in one room. No one has ever woken anyone else. When I had a one-year-old and a baby, one would occasionally stir when the other cried, but they didn't really wake up.

[ksr5377]

Thanks everyone, this is such good new for me!  I don't know why I never thought of it before.  Thankfully all 3 of mine seem to sleep soundly, although a baby in the room will prove if I'm right or not.  Now we'll just see if it's a boy or girl and eventually put the crib up in the right room! 

[lynn]

When I brought ds 2 home my oldest ds would not sleep in his room he always ended up in the bed, not the crib,  in the baby's room. When the baby would wake up my oldest would get up and sit beside me while I fed the baby his bottle then I'd  tuck both back in bed.    They were roomies for 10 years until oldest got his own room because he had bad insomnia.

 

 

[mom@shiloh]

We did this often and it worked out fine.  

[2_girls_mommy]

It is giving me comfort too.  My new one will sleep w/us for the first 8 or 9 mos, but after that I usually move mine to a crib in the other room.  The closest room houses my 9 yr old.  She may need to move in w/her 11 yr old sis, but they fight so much when they have to share.  One likes a light on, one doesn't, etc.  Also the little one gets scared being farther away from us.  I think she might find comfort in having the baby in her room, at least for awhile.  I might try it for a year or so. 

 

Then we could move youngest to sis's room when baby is walking and babyproof the room for baby.  Gives us another year or so before we have to think about it.  Something to think about...

[Ravin]

DS and DD share a room. We have a full/twin bunk bed, and I cosleep with DS on the bottom bunk. Once he night weans, he'll have it to himself. DD was 7 when he was born.

 

It's an unconventional arrangement, but between the kids and I being early risers, DH's sleep issues, my inability to sleep if I have to get up to nurse, and the fact that DD will sleep through a 3 ring circus five feet from her bed once she's out, it's worked well for us.

 

We'll hopefully have room for DD to have her own room soon.

[fairfarmhand]

When my son was 2-3 months old, I moved him in with one of my older kids. I chose the child who slept the soundest. A few times she woke up, but soon it became part of the "night noise" like the dog barking, the a/c going on an off and other people visiting the bathroom. She learned to sleep right through it all.

 

BTW, my son, the only one who has ever shared a room since he was tiny, has always been the easiest kid to get to sleep. He needed company to go to sleep. Laid him in his crib and walked away. He'd whimper for a minute and then lay till he went to sleep. I wish I'd allowed all my kids to have a roommate at a younger age, but I was too stupid to know better.