Moving baby into toddler's bedroom

[ShanaMama]

I am ready to move DD2 (3 months) out of my room but the only choice is moving her into DD1's bedroom. Somehow when I pictured them sharing a room I neglected to think about this part of it.
How do I keep DD2 safe? I am concerned that DD1 will climb into her crib to 'play' with her or try to pull her arms through the slats of the crib. I do not leave them alone for a second because DD1 is so unpredictable. She can turn from gentle play to very rough in an instant, and she doesn't always know her strength or proper boundaries even when she's trying to be gentle.
Has anyone made such a move successfully? Is there any product that can toddler-proof a crib? I would get a video monitor if need be but am too nervous to rely on it.

[ahrimie]

i haven't experienced this yet... but i've seen mesh tents you put on cribs before. i know not all parents like those.. but i'd look around and see if you can read some reviews. i don't know if it's toddler-safe though :P

[lizajane]

i can help!!!

my sons shared a room when dylan was an infant. schuyler loved nothing more than to climb into the crib with him to play. knowing this would be the case, i used the crib tent to keep schuyler OUT, not to keep dylan in!!! schuyler was 22 months when dylan was born. but he had the climbing ability of a much older child, LOL! by the time schuyler learned the open the zipper of the crib tent, dylan was old enough that it was ok for schuyler to get in there and play with him. (it was awesome! i got more sleep because schuyler entertained the baby!!!)

later, when dylan started to climb out, we used the tent to keep him in. the construction is pretty lame, and it does have a tendancy to tear. but even that said, it was totally worth the money for my peace of mind (and for keeping dylan in the crib a little longer! we only made it to 19 months with schuyler, but we made it until just after 2 years with dylan because of the tent.)

a sweet note on sharing rooms- when dylan moved into a bed, we had a twin and a full in their room because that i just what we had. the first night, we tucked dylan into the twin, we came back in an hour later and found him in the full with his brother. the next night, the same thing. the next night, he REFUSED to get into the twin and just started out in the full with schuyler. finally, on the 4th night, we took the twin out of the room to make more room to play and let them share a bed for about a year! when schuyler asked for his own bed, we split them up and now they have bunk beds. what could be more precious that two boys snuggled up in one big bed???

[kijip]

Is there any other place to park the crib for now until the baby is a bit older? Like a living room corner or a cranny in the hall?

[maestramommy]

I think I've written on a recent post about reading somewhere that you should hold off sharing rooms until the younger sib is at least one and more mobile. However, YMMV depending on the child. I think the crib tent is a good idea. We moved Arwyn in with Dora when she was almost 11 months because Dora wasn't overly disturbed when I had to go in for nighttime feedings. The one thing I didn't anticipate was that they would party for an hour or more before settling down. Luckily it eventually got old. But there are nights when one or both are not sleepy yet and will play their (respective) aquariums and jabber for a while. We never worried about Dora getting into Arwyn's crib, although she can do it, because she doesn't climb out of her own crib, although she can do that too. Just psychological I guess.

However, we have recently separated them again for afternoon naps, because Dora has become very intolerant of Arwyn when she complains, whines or cries. It really frustrates her. We've found that having them nap separately results in better sleep for both. At night it doesn't seem to make much difference.

[ShanaMama]

i can help!!!

my sons shared a room when dylan was an infant. schuyler loved nothing more than to climb into the crib with him to play. knowing this would be the case, i used the crib tent to keep schuyler OUT, not to keep dylan in!!! schuyler was 22 months when dylan was born. but he had the climbing ability of a much older child, LOL! by the time schuyler learned the open the zipper of the crib tent, dylan was old enough that it was ok for schuyler to get in there and play with him. (it was awesome! i got more sleep because schuyler entertained the baby!!!)

later, when dylan started to climb out, we used the tent to keep him in. the construction is pretty lame, and it does have a tendancy to tear. but even that said, it was totally worth the money for my peace of mind (and for keeping dylan in the crib a little longer! we only made it to 19 months with schuyler, but we made it until just after 2 years with dylan because of the tent.)

a sweet note on sharing rooms- when dylan moved into a bed, we had a twin and a full in their room because that i just what we had. the first night, we tucked dylan into the twin, we came back in an hour later and found him in the full with his brother. the next night, the same thing. the next night, he REFUSED to get into the twin and just started out in the full with schuyler. finally, on the 4th night, we took the twin out of the room to make more room to play and let them share a bed for about a year! when schuyler asked for his own bed, we split them up and now they have bunk beds. what could be more precious that two boys snuggled up in one big bed???

I googled crib tent & got a bunch. Did you use Tots in Mind or a different brand? Several of the reviews specifically said that pets climbed all over it but couldn't get in, so that should be pretty toddler proof. Thanks for the advice!

[ShanaMama]

Is there any other place to park the crib for now until the baby is a bit older? Like a living room corner or a cranny in the hall?

Not an extra cranny in the house! I can keep her in my room longer, but she's starting to outgrow the bassinet. So it would mean moving her to the PnP, which I'd rather not have in my bedroom (pretty small master bedroom).
The plan when buying this tiny house was to do a major addition/ renovation when we outgrow it. We did not anticipate that time coming so soon as we are definitely not ready for the addition!

[elephantmeg]

my 2 share but DS is still in his crib and hasn't tried to climb out. I know. He can climb a 6 foot ladder but not out of his crib, lol. They are so sweet in their room together!