Seeking Advice About an Almost 6 Month Old Sharing a Room with 2 1/2 Yr Old

I had my 2 year old in the same room with his baby brother starting at about 3 months old because we didn't have any other space. My 2 year old was a good sleeper and the crying always woke me up first and my 2 year old rarely ever was bothered. They still share a room and are 6 and 8.

Well, I have my 6 month old daughter in the same room with my 3 year old son. I put her down at 7:30pm, and my son at about 8pm. (We read his goodnight story in the LR) She usually wakes up between 11:30-2:30am looking for her last nurse of the night and she wakes up between 6:30-7am. I was worried that she would wake my son, but he sleeps through it, no problem. They do tend to wake up at the same time...sometimes if she wakes up early I bring her into my son's bed (he has a full-size futon on the floor) and nurse her and we all cuddle and kind of wake up together, it's sweet. I don't have safety concerns. My son has been very gentle from day one, but in any case my daughter is in a pack-n-play, not a crib, so there's no way he could climb in there, or "swat" her or anything, anyway. Also, we have a small house and I hear them both if there's any stirring. I think I'd have them in the same room even if we had a bigger house, because they seem to like it. You can always try it and see how it goes, and how you feel. If you have safety concerns, obviously I wouldn't do it. One more thing! I was co-sleeping with my son from the beginning, and now that his sister is in the room with him, he is okay with me in the room with daddy. There are nights when he comes to find me and I bring him back into their room, and sometimes I fall asleep in there...so I guess, for me, that's another reason I feel very comfortable, I'm close to them either way. Just wanted to add that!

I would not.

For once the inconvenience and reasons stated above.

I would also bring up some safety issues that I personally would have. I have an almost 2.5 year old who LOVES babies. She is very gentle with them and very nurturing but in NO WAY would I lever leave her alone in a room with a 6 months old. I would not be worried that she might hurt him intentionally, but at that age they don't really understand what can be hurtful for a baby. Even if they follow directions most of the time they can't really be trusted to do so when unsupervised.
I would not leave them in the same room without an adult during the day and not at night.
Good luck!

Our boys are 23 months apart, and we put them in the same room when baby was 6 months old.We had no issues. Baby too woke up 1-2 times a night, but our oldest just slept through it all. As far as safety goes, our youngest was cruising around holding on to things at 6 months, so he could hold his own. I am not sure if it would be different with a baby that's not moving around .I always knew when toddler was up though and would not leave them in the room for long.

We did a similar thing, My daughter was 2½ when her sister moved in to her room at 6 months old. At first it did wake her up when the baby woke up but soon she got used to the noise and sleeps through the most of it. Every once and awhile she will wake up but falls quickly back to sleep. As for the safety thing, I guess I never really worried about it. I guess you have to feel it out with your oldest child. They have been sharing a room now for over a half a year and they really seem to like to share a room. They will wake up in the mornings and I can hear them "talking" to each other and making each other laugh. I think it's great to get them used to sharing rooms. I would just have a baby monitor set up to begin with until you get used to having the baby farther away and what that sounds like and that will give you the opportunity to go and get the baby before they start making too much noise, but I am sure your oldest will just adapt to the noise. Some how kids can sleep through anything as long as they get used to it.

We have had all three of our youngest in one room at different duty stations. I made it special by telling the older one or both the girls that they would be sharing and how great it was to share their room.
Nothing wakes up my kids and I used to vacuum underneath the crib at naptime.
Ny kids were pretty much on the same schedule while they roomed together, but squiggly babies didn't bother the older ones.

The only way to know what to do is try it. Worst case, your baby will have to move back in the room with you. I had the same issue even though my daughters are 4 years apart. They were fine in the room together. Most of the time, the toddler won't even wake up. My oldest daughter started kindergarten and still got enough sleep to make it through a full day.

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I would not.
For all the reasons you listed.
Your toddler will NOT be getting adequate sleep... and it will affect her/him... and what if your Toddler resents it or does not like it? Or as you know, toddler moods changes all the time.

A baby does not have to be in a "room" per say. Is there another space that you can put the crib?

I would not combine the baby with your Toddler. For safety reasons as well...for both of them.
For example: A toddler if irked... could also just get out of bed and swat the baby. And some children simply cannot sleep well if a baby is in their room, crying, waking, etc. Its can be frustrating. Its frustrating enough for an ADULT Mom waking up all night to a baby waking... why would it be "easier" for a Toddler to do that or deal with it?????

all the best,
Susan

If your husband is a noisy sleeper, why not let him have his own bedroom for a while and you can share a room with your two little ones? That way, you can be there for your baby when she needs you..and your toddler can sleep.

My 3 1/2 yr old and 10 month old are now sleeping in the same room. If my 10 month old wakes up during the night I just lay her back down and turn on some soft lullabies and she goes back to sleep. She hasn't woke my 3 yr old up and they usually wake up at the same time in the morning, or baby a little sooner. If she wakes up and wants out of her crib, I go get her and snuggle in my bed, and if my 3 yr old wakes up she comes and snuggles in my bed. It's worked out wonderfully, and the baby has been sleeping better since she's been in her crib.

Hi M.
I have a 5 month old girl and 3 year old boy and we just dealt with a similar situation. She is too big for her bassinet and we only have 2 rooms so her crib is in with her brother. 5 nights ago we put her in with him and to my surprise neither one woke the other. We put our 3 year old to bed first and told him we were bringing in his sister and to please be quiet if he's still awake. (weren't sure how that was going to go either but he listened). Once we brought in our daughter she went right to sleep. When she woke at 5 to eat she was crying but didn't wake our son at all. I checked the monitor and he didn't move a muscle. I fed her and put her back in the crib and she slept until 9. 4 of the 5 nights she sleept from 9-5 and back to sleep again until 9 and none of the times did she wake our son. When he woke up in the morning at 7 he didn't wake her either. I was AMAZED!

Before we moved her to her crib she was waking twice a night and I think it's because she knew I was there. She needed her own space and more room to move in her bed.

We were very nervous to put them together but so far it has been a huge success. Everyone told me they'd get used to each other and I didn't believe it. I was wrong! :)

Good luck, I am sure it will work out for you too
A.