Need help: how to get 2 boys to share room?

[Wondermom]

I know tons of you have kids sharing rooms, and I need advice on how to plan/make the move for my sons. My younger son is 15 months. My older son will be 4 in August. I'm afraid the baby will lose a lot of sleep if we make the move (and so we will lose sleep), but I hear it can be done.

Right now, the baby's very good with a routine--bath, bottle, cuddles, bed--sound asleep for the next 11 hours. The older son is a boisterous ball of energy who takes at least an hour to wind down. We read books with just the bed-side lamp on, and then lights out, but he's often awake and singing, talking for a long time, and will usually get up out of bed at least once (if not several times) using the potty as an excuse. It's not unusual for his little brother to have been asleep for an hour before the older one finally falls alseep. Then he's usually up and awake at least 30 minutes (to an hour) earlier in the morning--usually to potty, so I don't blame him, but he's never able to go back to sleep afterwards. With their sleep habits so different, how can I make this work? Or should I just hold off on moving them in together and go longer without a spare bedroom for guests?

Also, logistially, do I train baby to sleep in a big boy bed first in his own room? Should I use the twin bed that he WOULD be sleeping in if and when he moves in with big brother? Or train him in the full-sized guest bed that's currently in the nursery with his crib?

Thanks in advance!

[chozen]

if your youngest is still in a crib i would leave him in his crib as long as possible. he is a good sleeper now and there is a chance that could change if you move him into a larger bed to soon. some do it without any problems but many don't. our dd is alittle over 3 and she is still in her crib and at this point she would'nt be sleeping as well as she does if i moved her to a bigger bed, i guess it depends on the child.

[bisous]

You might try it and see how it works! My oldest has Type 1 Diabetes and we have to turn the light on in the hall and check his blood sugar twice a night. I was really concerned when DS2 moved into his room that his excellent sleeping habits would be interrupted during these night checks but they weren't at all! He moved in with big bro when he was less than a year and spent about 2 more years in a crib. At about age 3 he moved to a trundle under DS1's bed which we kept low to the ground. It was a perfect transition! Now the boys go to sleep at the same time and get up at roughly the same time. They almost "need" each other to fall asleep. I'm a fan of sharing for sure!

[Wondermom]

Hmm... crib in big brother's room. We had never considered that before. That way he's transitioning to the room first, before moving into a big boy bed. I'll have to give that some thought. He loves to wander into big brother's room and lay down on one of the beds we've got in there (un-bunked twin beds). That's why I thought it might be time to think about a transition, but I'm so worried about their VERY different sleep patterns.

[carolinamama]

Ask me in a few weeks since we are making the real transition very, very soon. We need the nursery for DD who is due in early July. I do think we will be putting the kids to bed in separate bedrooms - DS1 to sleep in our room and DS2 in the shared bedroom. DS1 can also take lots of time to fall asleep and be restless in the process. He's a rock when he falls asleep though. DS2 goes to sleep quickly but is a much lighter sleeper. We'll see. It will work somehow. In your shoes, I would either keep your DS2 in his current room/crib or use the crib in the new room. But I need my sleep and try to rock the boat as little as possible.

[hillview]

DS1 WANTED DS2 in his room with him so we put DS2's big boy bed (BBB) into DS1's room and DS2 was in a crib in his own room. Once DS2 wanted to go into his BBB then he moved into DS1's room.

It has worked very well for us -- there is a bed in DS2's room for whenever it stops working ...
/hillary

[ahisma]

We put DS2 in DS1's room in a crib. He's 2y8m and still in there in a crib. It works great for us. They had to adjust to the sleep schedules, but they just did it. We do the bedtime routines together and they go to bed at the same time. Then, we're done! Love it!

[Wondermom]

But I need my sleep and try to rock the boat as little as possible.

I'd agree with you there, so good luck on your own transition.

They had to adjust to the sleep schedules, but they just did it. We do the bedtime routines together and they go to bed at the same time. Then, we're done! Love it!

So how long of a transition was this? I dread doing it, and probably wouldn't worry about it for another year except for the fact that I have some relatives from the other side of world planning to come for a 2-week visit in the fall. I'd hate to put them on the fold-out couch in the livingroom for 2 weeks while my 2 young children each enjoy the privacy of their own rooms--rooms with extra beds in them, no less.

As far as logistics, whenever I work up the courage to try this, I'm now thinking that maybe I can put my bigger boy into the full-sized bed that's currently in the nursery with the baby so they can adjust to sleeping in one room, and then move them both over to the other room with two twin beds later. This would keep me from having to take apart/put together any beds--none of them, not even the crib, will fit through unless apart.

[ahisma]

Originally Posted by Wondermom

So how long of a transition was this?

About 2 weeks. It really wasn't bad. Personally though, I usually go for the "rip off the bandaid" approach and just do it all at once. Transitioning through multiple steps would send me over the edge. That may be because I'm lazy though

We may have just gotten lucky, but it worked great. Sure, they chatter once in a while (well, nightly lately), but the fact that we put them both to bed together and then move on is great. When we first moved DS2 in, DS1 used to sing him to sleep. Totally unprompted.

[Wondermom]

DS1 used to sing him to sleep.

What?! Love that. Someone else told me the transition will take 2 weeks. I don't think there's every a good time in our lives to plan for 2 weeks of interrupted sleep, but maybe you're right about the bandaid approach. I can only pray for a good response like you got. Right now, my DS1 will say things like, "awe, he's soooooo cute!" but only as an excuse to poke, squish or generally manhandle his little brother.