I am in the planning stages of having a third baby. Currently, I have my 4-year-old daughter in the upstairs bedroom that is the entire length of the house with slanted ceilings. My 10-month old son in a decent sized bedroom on the main floor. My husband and I have our bedroom in a finished room in the basement. (Don't worry, I have monitors to both rooms). When I have a third baby, I don't know whether to make the baby share a room with one of the other children or to convert my tiny dining room into a nursey until the baby is old enough to not bother the other kids. My husband and I really want a third baby, but we are so limited on space and have no money to buy a bigger house. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
By the way, I can't keep the baby in my room. I tried that with the other 2 and it did not work.
Can the large room in the upstairs be converted into two? We used to live in a cape with an unfinished room- and it made two bedrooms upstairs fairly easily. My husband did the work himself and it wasn't too pricey.
-S.
Hi K.,
You've had two kids so I'm not telling you anything you don't know. Newborns nap alot, nurse alot and generally require total care. It makes sense to have the babies close to you so I would suppose the main floor makes the most sense if you can't have the newborn with you. I wouldn't worry about too much noise, the babies will adapt. I would think you would not want to have the children spread all over the house while they are still so dependant. If your four year old is ok sleeping upstairs alone. Great. At this time, I would keep the babies together just for logistics. At this early age sex is irrelevant. As the newborn grows you can rearrange sleeping arrangements keeping the two of same sex in the larger attic bedroom.
J. L.
I think it would make sense to move your daughter and son into one room and put the newborn in the other so that the children aren't woken up by the baby. Then, as they get older, you can move the children around depending on if it is two boys or two girls. You can always get bunk beds and that shouldn't take up too much room and it a lot cheaper than buying a new house.
I just moved out of a 2 bedroom apt with my 3 kids and they all shared a room, 1 boy and 2 girls. Now we are in a 3 bedroom house and the girls share a room and my son is in his own we are expecting our 4th child and that one will share a which ever room when it comes along. I've never had any problems with the baby keeping the other child up or vice sersa it happens more now as they are older and can play with each other. So to avoid that my 3 year old daughter goes to bed first and as soon as she is asleep the 14 month old goes to bed with no issues. We are thinking of building an addition and when we do the kids will still share a room we feel it brings them closer.
If your daughter's room is large maybe you could make that into two bedrooms and move your room to the main floor use the dining room as a nursery until your baby is old enough to sleep in the room with one of your other children and you can use your finished basement as a playroom.
hello K.
space are very limited in your house..you mentioned that your son have the decent bedroom. If the 3rd baby is a boy you can have him share room with his big brother..if its a girl you need to manage to keep the baby close to you when she gets a little older she can share space with the older sister
best regards
p.s if the 3rd baby happens to be either boy name him Cody if its a girl Zaria good luck
girl Zaria
Our daughter is in our old living room. We have yet to put bifold doors on it and add a closet but she is only 16 months and does not care. We moved our living room downstairs. The way we have our house set up- the kitchen is upstairs where we sleep. It used to be 2 apartments stacked.
I have a feeling her attic situation does not lend itself to breaking it up and adding walls depending on air flow, windows, and maybe the width of the room and placement of the stairs?
If you don't use your formal dining room a lot it might be the best situation. I think babies are better off on the same floor, less stumbling on stairs in the night.
We are 5 people living in a 2 bedroom apartment. My daughter was 15 months old when her sister was born and they shared a room. They bonded quite well. I, actually, had the baby sleep in the living room in her swing until she slept through the night. Now that i have my third (21 months after the second baby) she will be sharing with both girls.... but now sleeps in the living room in the swing until she is sleeping through the night. I tried having all three share a room but the baby woke the other two.. and that was NOT fun!
I'm not quite sure what else to do. 3 bedroom apartments are just so much more expensive I'm not sure we can afford one at this point -- and forget about a house. With what we could afford in a mortgage we would only be able to buy a shack.
hi kim, this was my question on here last year!! i had a 3 year old and was having my second and debating to have them share. anyway, they do share and always have almost from the first month on. i was very nervous about my older one being woken up byt a crying baby...NEVER HAPPENS. it's amazing she sleeps through my 9 month old wailing!!!
the only problem i have, which you may not have..is that my older one is going through the fight at bedtime routine. needs a bear, a drink of water..etc. she used to go to bed sooo easily. so when she keeps pushing it and then it turns into crying..my little one wakes up. but we push through. otherwise i am happy they are sharing.
since you are in the basement i would at least have the baby on the main floor. even though you have moniters, middle of the night trips up there are going to be brutal for you! but good luck in whatever you do. the kids will overcome and adapt.
Hi K.,
Why not just stay with the two sweet kids until you know that the economy and your earnings will allow you to support three children? I know what you mean about "baby mode," since you're probably still high from having your son. But each child costs more and requires more attention. If one of your children needs more financial or personal attention (due to medical concerns or personality type), you may break the bank and become frustrated and exhausted.
Hi K.,
We also once lived in a cape with a large upstairs bedroom that we split into two rooms. My husband and father-in-law did it for very little cost. It was great to be able to split our two babies.
If that's not an option, I would agree with the suggestion to put the older two kids together for 6 months or so, until the baby is sleeping well. We always moved kids around when we had a newborn and then re-did things after they were sleeping well. Right now we have our three little girls sharing one room, and my 1-year-old son has his own room. The older kids have no trouble sharing a room, but we waited until the babies were good sleepers before we put kids together.
Good luck!
Hi Kim! I have two daughters, ages 41/2 and 2 1/2. they have been sharing a room ever since the youngest left our bedroom as an infant. Surprisingly it works very well. Like you, we have limited space in our house, so this was the only option. We have had no issues with their sleeping or waking each other up. Somehow they just figure it out. Now when I mention to them about having separate rooms someday, they say NO!! we like sharing a room. Don't worry, it will work! Good Luck! K.:)
Hi K.,
Have you considered converting your 4-year old's bedroom into a 2-bedroom room? You should be able to find a contractor that can build a wall for less than $1,000.
Good luck,
R.
Hi K.,
I loved and our kids loved sharing a room when they were younger. I would move the 10 month old up with his sister, it sounds like a fun room. I think it is natural for kids to be near each other when they sleep. Do not worry about the size of your house for your family, it sounds like a fun house to grow up in!
Peace,
C. W
Supplemental Income for Stay at Home Moms
www.WorkAtHomeUnited.com/Arizona
