Expecting a second baby - sleeping arrangement
- 03-03-2009, 11:08 AM #9
i have more than enough bedrooms for the kids to have one each (there are 5 bedrooms in our house) but i still choose to have the two (boy & girl) together. they are so young, it doesn't really matter. they LOVE sharing a room. often in the morning, they will play happily together for 30-45 minutes before anyone else is awake.
maybe when they get to 6+ years, i might change it, but not for now.
- 03-03-2009, 11:29 AM #10Registered User
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Thanks Buckeroo and Carang. Sounds like wonderful idea to have the kids room in with each other. I'll definitely consider that once #2 is older and won't need to wake up as often. I've been rooming in with my younger bro until I got married too. As far as I remember I so wanted to have my own room haha. But we did enjoy it when we were both kids.
- 03-03-2009, 12:04 PM #11MLBW Guest
I have friends who have a 19-month-old and a 4-month-old. They also only have two bedrooms in their house. Before the arrival of their second child (well in advance--probably 4-6 months) they transitioned their older child into a "big boy" bed.
Then, they used a rolling bassinet for the younger child when he was born. Since the bassinet was easily transferable, they would put their newborn son in it with them in their room and when he fell asleep they would move the bassinet out into the hallway, just outside the door (the bassinet sits up on a stand so it is not on the floor).
Sure, it's not a really "fancy" arrangement but it's practical and also affordable. Also, for us, it was helpful to not have the baby in the same room with us while we were sleeping--even though I had to get up to breastfeed (son was never okay with breastfeeding in a lying position) it was a lot better to just have a break from baby (especially on a mental level) by putting him outside the room--I could easily hear him if he started to cry. We definitely needed our own space--even from an early age with baby.
Another option is co-sleeping with a special co-sleeping baby bed. Personally, our family does not work well with co-sleeping--we did that in the beginning with our son as it was winter in HK and we only had one heater so we all slept together to share the heat. However, neither the baby nor we slept well at all. So, we do not co-sleep anymore and our quality and quantity of sleep is much better. Every time we have tried in the past to do the co-sleeping thing again it has been a miserable failure.
I don't think it's a good idea to put two young children in the same room together (initially) as if the newborn cries a lot it disturbs the older sibling and the older sibling may be so curious that he/she actually disturbs the newborn by investigating the younger sibling. Once the newborn has a better sleep schedule and the older sibling has adjusted to having a younger brother or sister, it should be fine to introduce them into the same bedroom.
- 03-06-2009, 12:55 PM #12Registered User
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MLWB have a similar arrangement to your friends....using a rolling bassinet. She falls asleep in our then is moved out into the hallway, just outside the door. For the moment it works great for everyone.
Carang your comments made me rethink what we will do when we go home in a couple of months, I had never considered rooming them together at home as we have a third room, but I think its a great idea! Our 3rd room is so tiny and the second room so large now I am considering putting them in together, (he is 4.5 and she 8 weeks) and that would mean a spare room for visitors, yay.
I would love any advice or tips on the best way to introduce the space sharing to my son. Are there any problems that we might encounter that I could foresee and therefore avoid?
- 03-06-2009, 01:12 PM #13
we use the "extra" room as a playroom for their toys. there is also a sofa-bed in it. i LOVE it. it means their bedroom stays tidy, they bring the toys into the living room to play sometimes, but all of the toys have a place to call home in the playroom.
i will consider when they get older to put them into their own rooms and make the large room that they currently share into a playroom/study.
- 03-09-2009, 09:58 PM #14Registered User
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Thank you everyone for your comments - very helpful! I guess I will have my 2nd baby sleep with us until he/she is 6 months and then move him/her into my 1st child's room.
Does anyone know where I can get a nice child's bed for a 2 year old?
- 03-09-2009, 10:30 PM #15Registered User
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- Hong Kong
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Depends on what you mean by "nice." :)
IKEA has them (and they even have those that "grow" with the child --i.e., extendable) or you can also get them custom-made at Jade Rattan. For really nice ones (read: more expensive), Art Deco, Honey B, Indigo, etc.
I suggest that you might as well get a full-sized bed for your child, so that you won't have to change beds again after s/he outgrows the child's bed.
- 03-14-2009, 10:30 PM #16Registered User
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Thanks for your suggestions Buckeroo!
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