What do you do when you're expecting your third child and your house can only accommodate 2 comfortably? Ask the experts!
Our house isn't very spacious. No open rooms, no vaulted ceilings, no walk in closets. It's more like a two story built in 1880 with original doors that have knobs that don't work, tiny tiny closets, and more walls than needed. I'd take a picture but currently my sleep comes before housecleaning. =)
So where will we put our newest addition? We honestly have no 'perfect' solution. We have two obvious options. Both will cause major headaches.
Option 1:
Andrew moves into Austin's room and the baby sleeps in Andrew's room.
Problem:
Austin takes FOREVER to fall asleep. He goes to bed very easily but will play with musical toys, open his curtains, slam dresser drawers, etc. anywhere from 30 minutes to almost 2 hours. Andrew falls asleep immediately in his own room (with a box fan to drown out Austin's noise) so Austin would obviously keep Andrew awake. Austin also randomly gets up at the crack of dawn and slams his bedroom door. Not all the time but you get my point. No sleep for poor Andrew who is a great sleeper in his own room.
Option 2:
Austin keeps his own room which he needs and Andrew shares a room with the new sibling regardless if we're having a boy or girl.
Problem:
We'll keep the baby in our room for approx. 8 weeks but I'm a firm believer in letting babies sleep in their own bed. I value my rest too much! =) A crying baby and having me come into the room every 3 hours to nurse would also disrupt Andrew's sleep. I remember the nights of letting Andrew cry for 10 minutes and then hoping he would fall asleep on his own. Would this work with both kids in the same room?
HELP!!!
What would YOU do? Or What have you found that works for YOUR family?
Every option we think of is not an easy one by any means. Someday we will buy a bigger house but not any time relatively soon!
6 comments:
If it were me...
I would put the crib in your room until the baby is sleeping through the night and then move the crib into the room with Andrew.
Good Luck!
Hi Michelle! Congratulations! We currently have Mason and Clark (girl/boy) in the same room, but we had Clark with us for a while first. He started in the bassinet (about 4 months) then would do half and half in his crib and in our bed. He is now fully in his crib. Our problem initially was that Mason didn't sleep well, so we were terrified of Clark waking her once she was asleep. Now, when one of them stirs/cries a little in the night, the other just rolls over and seems to hardly notice. I think they both sleep a little better with the other in the room. We have decided that if we have another, the baby crib would be in our room for an extended time, then moved up with the others (and possibly moving Mason into the guest room). Good luck!
Wow, I was just about to write the same thing as Myssie...until I read hers. Now I wont write it...I will just say "ditto" As long as the baby is in a crib and away from your bed it will be as close to independent as it can be. It might be an invasion of your space for longer than you would like, but it seems like a good option in the long run.
What ever you decide, I know you will make it work!
Our bedroom isn't large enough to have a crib in it, so that was an option for us (not that I would want a crib in there anyway!) And even though we had space for separate rooms when Natalie came along, I still had her share with Lukas. I took her out to the living room to feed her at night so Lukas wouldn't be disturbed. I had a little set-up with diapers and wipes and Boppy so all the nighttime stuff could be done away from the nursery.
You could also have the crib in Andrew's room and a PackNPlay in the living room so you could put the baby in bed wherever is most convenient for the situation, for both naps and nighttime. To get my boys to sleep through the night, they needed some "crying it out" time, which would disturb any siblings in the same room. And if the baby is used to sleeping in more than one location, you can choose where to put him when he gets to that point.
I'm probably not going to add much value here...I have a child where it takes a while for him to fall asleep and he wakes up at teh crack of dawn everyday. He is on the autism spectrum (I know it is different than RTS, but they have some similar characteristics). I also have a little girl and while she does sleep in her own room, the kids' rooms are next to each other and I was worried about her crying and waking up my son.
Having said that, if you have the room, I would also put a crib or Pack n' Play in your room or the living room for the new baby to sleep in. I bet you could get at least 6 months out of a pack n' play easily and more out of a crib.
Once that is no longer feasible, I would move the new baby into Andrew's room. Even if the new baby is a girl, you could have them sleeping in the same room for several years.
Maybe, as Austin gets older, his sleeping habits will change and you could move Andrew in with him if the new baby is a different sex. If not, you don't need to worry and leave all alone with Andrew and new addition in the same room.
GL and I hope you can find a solution which works for your family!
Ben and Katrina shared a room until I moved out (3 years) no one seemed to suffer.
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