Can They Share a Room and How?

Hi S.,
The answer to your question is yes. This has been done for generations.
When I was 7, my sister was born. My parents kept her in the bassinet in their room the first few months. When she was old enough for the crib, in she came to my room.

When my son 2nd child was born, I transitioned him into his brothers room. Not a 5 yr old but a 3 yr old got the crib set up in his room and a roomie. They are now teens and still share a room.

Don't stress too much about it. Your 5 yr old will get used to his roommate pretty quick.

Good luck

We had a small house before we moved to NH, and we kept my son in my bedroom until he was almost 18 mo, first in a bassinett, then small crib. We had almost no room to even in our master, but felt it was more fair to our older one (4 1.2 at the time of his birth) to have her own space at least until he slept all night. Then we got bunk beds for the kids and moved them in together. I'd say if you have an easy quiet baby, then room share, but if you have a light sleeping 5 year old, i'd think about other options. Good luck!

So I have not done this myself, but I have had it done to me. I shared a room with my brother who is four years older than me until I was in elementay school (10yo boys and 6yo girls don't mesh too well in a small room so we parted ways once the attic was remodeled).But early on it worked and once I was out of the crib we got bunkbeds and I was on the bottom. When we seperated so did the bunkbeds.

I hope that helps!

Hi S. -

We did it. My daughter was just over 4 when our son was born. He slept in our room until he was about 6 months old then we transferred him into the 'kids room' (formerly his sister's room). It was a little tough at first as my daughter would sometimes wake at night when the baby woke up to eat but she was a good sport about it (most of the time). They still share a room she is now 5.75 and my son is about 18 months. Thankfully both sleep through the night. He goes to bed about 30mis before she does. We read books with her in our bed (it's special time with us alone for her in a special place) and then we 'sneak' into the kids room and she gets into bed. kind of a 'perk' for being the older sibling.

There are occasional issues - like when one is sick but we manage to work through them. Naptime for the baby can also be a problem when my daughter wants something from the room - we try to give her an opportunity to get toys or books she might want before he goes down for a nap.

Keep in mind - kids alseep usually stay asleep. I am amazed at what my daughter has been able to sleep through - including a wailing baby!

good luck!

Can you fit the crib in the office? Or in a hallway? Your room? Just temporarily. I would really, really, hesitate to put an infant and a child in the same room at first. The baby will be waking all night and disrupting your other child's sleep. Or, you could use a bassinet in your own room for the infant in the early months, and have them share a room once the baby is waking up less at night.
My friend has children spaced like yours, and kept the youngest in a crib in her own room for several months. The baby started (mostly) sleeping through at around 5 months, and that's when they started sharing a room. THat has worked really well for them.

You could consider using the 3rd room as a nursery and keeping your husband's clothes in there - an infant doesn't have a lot of clothing needs. How much space do you need for an office? Could the desk go in another room such as a corner of your room or even the kitchen? There are some new compact desk units that kind of fold up like a cabinet or an armoire when not in use, and you just open them up while you are working. Do the dogs need their own room? If they are used to being confined and being together, you could consider crating them - my friends have good sized dogs (40 pounds) and they enjoy their crates which are stacked on top of each other in a laundry/pantry area. They have a comfortable mat inside, a toy, and they get a treat every time they go in. The more athletic dog jumps into her crate on top with no coaxing. Dogs are instinctively happy in a confined den so this is not cruel at all. It will also give them a place to be protected from a little one who starts grabbing tails and poking at eyes, so it might help you in the long run! Maybe there is a corner in your kitchen or other room if you don't have a laundry area in the heated part of the house. Just another option to think about.

We had our son when our daughter was 4.5.
The baby slept in a cradle in our room for the first few months, but we put a crib into our daughter's room as soon as the little one was sleeping more than a few hours at a stretch.
It works beautifully!
The baby wakes pretty early, but our pre-schooler sleeps right through his wake up.
And she loves having a roommate.
Good luck!

Hi S.,

Yes, they certainly can share a room if you would like for them too. Even if it is temporarily or for good. Our 6 and now 2 year old started out sharing a room for our youngest almost 2 years of life. We moved last Oct. to a 4 bedroom home so we no longer have them sharing, however they didn't like being apart at first. They've fully transiitoned and now enjoy "their" rooms. They did wonderful togehter when they were sharing a room though. The oldest adjusted to the little one waking in the night if she did and vice versa. We put the little on in the older ones room at about 4-5 months so she was pretty much already sleeping through the night. Best of luck :)

My boys share a room and they are 5 years apart. Actually my oldest asked the day I came home w/ Evan if they could share a room of course Evan slept in our room in a cradle then a crib for almost a year because he woke a lot to nurse and was just easier but they are now in the same room and have been for a little over a year and they love it. We just moved and offered Aaron his own room but he said he didn't want his own room. Its much easier then you think. evan still wakes during the night and it never bothers Aaron he sleeps right through it. Evan goes to bed first while Aaron is in the shower I read and tuck him in then I can help Aaron w/ his teeth and read to him and tuck him in it works good.

We did it successfully as well. At first my baby slept with us until she was about 8 months. Then we switched rooms - the kids got the slightly bigger bedroom, and us parents moved into the smaller bedroom. They loved sharing. We moved to a bigger home when my daughter was 3.5 and I really felt it was time to give my son his own space (he was almost 9).

There are a couple of issues that arose in our family due to the larger age gap: individual level of tidyness and the incredible amount of toys from infant/toddler toys up to board games/legos for my school aged kid. We had dolls and batman stuff alike. I always thought it would have been easier if we had two boys.