Kids Sharing a Room

My boys shared a room at about those ages, but I kept them separate for naps. I'd have my oldest sleep on my bed. They still do this even though they're 4 and 5 (the 5 year old now has rest time). They'd never nap if they were in the same room!

For us, we had our 2nd child when we were still in a 2 bdrm apartment, so the crib had already been set up in the toddlers room. The baby didn't sleep there for the first few months though during the night as I had a cradle next to my bed.
With our 3rd child, by that time we were in a 3 bdrm house, and the kids had their own rooms.
The oldest knew since she had the larger room, she'd be sharing with the baby. Again, we used the cradle for the first few months. After that, when he was in the crib, if he woke up at night to nurse, sometimes she would wake up, pick him up & bring him to me, other times I woke up & went & got him & she'd still be sleeping. It just depended on how tired she was. LOL
Eventually, we had the kids switch rooms (as there were now 2 boys & they needed the bigger room.)
This "mix-up" of rooms, furniture, toys, etc seemed to make everything easier on everyone. (It was a lot of work, but both older kids were excited by it.)
I'd say, set up the crib/bed in the room & let the other child know that pretty soon, they'll be sharing. Help the older one figure out things to have as "theirs", like this dresser is only for your stuff... this side of the closest is for your clothes... setting up boundries helps.
Also, asking them to help keep small items that babies might eat up off the floor is good too. It makes them feel useful & important.
Have fun! :)

I have not done this (my kids have their own rooms) but I recommend the following. Put the baby down as usual an hour before. Then when it's time for your toddler to go down move your bedtime ritual to your bed. So she'll get time with just her parents in their big bed to do stories, prayers and songs. Then you can carry her into bed and say a quiet good night. If the routine is set up this way from the beginning and followed consistently that should help keep her bedtime peaceful enough so as not to wake the baby.

Good luck!
E.
Evanston

We actually moved my 2 year old's toddler bed into our room for a week while we transitioned our 7 month old into the crib in the kids' room. Once the baby was comfortable with the new routine, we put my toddler's bed back into the room. The baby goes down at 6:15, and son goes down between 7:30 and 9, depending on if he naps. We do his pj's, prayers, and books in our room, and then walk him quietly to his bed, and he knows to whisper and just go to sleep. Amazingly, they rarely wake one another up, and if they do, it doesn't take much to put them back down - usually just a quick snuggle.

Good luck! In the end, I think they'll be closer for sharing the room!

One thing to be careful of -- your toddler can probably get creative and get him/herself into the crib with the baby if s/he wants. So just be alert! =)

T.

I agree with the other posts, ours started sharing at 2 1/2 and 4 months. I just had to be careful about the 2 yr. old adding stuffed animals, books, etc. to the crib in the morning. She got the hang of it pretty quickly though and our now 10 month old can manage if extras do end up with her in the am. I also highly recommend a noise machine to help cover the little rustlings during the night.

This morning the 10 month old cried for several minutes (loudly), my toddler didn't even stir!

My girls have shared a room since the youngest was about 10 months old. Yes, there was a slight transition time. More for the oldest than the baby. The 2 year old would wake up at night! We talked about it for a few weeks first, explaining how much fun it was going to be, and how it was her chance to look over her little sister. Now, I couldn't seperate them if I wanted to! They just love being together. It's a great idea. Good luck!

Our kids, 6 and 3, starting sharing a room later than yours, but here are some things that we have done that might be helpful: they nap in different rooms b/c of the varying schedules and nap needs; at night, we put them down separately and then move one back in after one has fallen asleep; we made the "move-in" a big to-do, so that it was seen as a great thing by our older child, who was losing his own space.

S.
Mom of Jerimiah (6 1/2) and Samara (3 1/2)

My BIL and SIL have kids exactly 2 years apart (to the day!) and when their youngest was about 4 months old my SIL's father passed away and her mother had to move in with them, so the kids went from separate bedrooms to the same room. I think it was the biggest adjustment for my niece (the older one) because she had to give up her room. But as it turned out she was a really good big sister and actually tried to calm her brother down by talking to him if he started crying in bed. Now the two of them are really close! She praises him and disciplines him just like her mom! It's adorable!

Anyway, as far as bedtime goes my BIL and SIL found that since my niece stopped taking naps pretty soon after the baby was born, it actually worked out great to have them go to bed at the same time. That way she got a little more sleep at night to compensate for the nap time loss. 2.5 years later the system is still working.

A.,

I don't think you are inviting trouble. My two oldest shared a room since the younger was out of the bassinet. they are two years apart.

Just expect that there WILL be a transition period... some wakings... don't get mad, or angry, but keep bedtime somewhat 'business-like' (for lack of a better term) and quick.

Good luck... they'll eventually get used to it. Heck, i shared a room with my sister who is 9 years older than me... I was in 4th grade when she was 18... she had friends over in our room, they'd be listening to records of the Bee Gee's with all the lights on, and I learned to fall asleep. :)

I have a toddler (28M) and an infant (6M) and they share a room. The tod is in a twin bed and the baby is in a crib. At first the baby stayed in Mom and Dad's room. But at 4M she moved in with her sister. I put them down at different times. The baby at 7pm the toddler at 8pm. They won't wake each other up at night. Kids do not wake up easily if they are in a sound sleep. After the baby is alseep, the toddler an I go in and put on her overnight diaper, read books and say our prayers...the baby sleeps thru it all. And if the baby wakes up in the middle of the night, I would let the baby cry for 5 min at a time before I would go in and help her fall asleep. I'd let her cry just to see if she would comfort herself...most often she would fall back asleep before the 5 min mark. It never seemed to bother the big sister. But napping at the same time can be tricky. If I really want to make sure they both get a good nap at the same time, I let the big girl nap in her bed and I throw the baby in the swing that we keep in another part of the house.

Hi A.-
I just did this 2 weks ago, mine are 3 and 4 months. It has gone pretty well. I do not put them for naps together, the baby still naps in her bassinett. As far as putting them down at night, we usually put them down together and it has gone well. We tell our older one that she is having a sleepover and she needs to stay quiet. If the baby cries or wakes in the night, she often looses her paci, I run in and quiet her quickly but really the older one sleeps through. I think they just get used to the noise and sleep through it all. Good luck!