• Jul. 28, 2006
Sleeping Arrangements
It's one of those quandaries that you dwell on as you fall asleep at night. Where is the next baby going to sleep? Especially if you live in a small house and already have four children.
We currently live in a three bedroom house, but room #3 is not a sleeping room: it holds my sewing area, clothing storage (no garage, attic or usable basement in our 1914 home), diaper changing table/supplies and the dressers for the two youngest children. Very very crowded. So the three olders share room #2, the oldest 2 girls in a bunk bed and our only son in a twin. Our current baby sleeps in a crib next to our bed. When she was a newborn, we had the side rail off to make night nursing easier, but once she was mobile, we put it back on for safety during naps.
So, my thoughts went like this: where should baby #5 sleep? Some of the issues surrounding the decision included the fact that #4 is a light sleeper and having her in the same room with the olders may be a problem, since she goes to bed first...when the rest come to bed, will they wake her or will she learn to sleep through it? Will having to be quiet help the olders go to sleep easier?
One option we considered was keeping her in our room, in the crib, but moving it to the other side of our room and getting a bassinet or some other sleeping place for the baby. But what about nap time? Will one wake the other? A crying baby in the next room is not as loud as a crying baby in the same room.
This quandary occupied my thoughts on and off for several weeks, but I'm glad to say we have decided on a solution!
Beginning the first of September or so, after we come back from our beach vacation, baby #4 will start napping in the "kids" room. The tricky part will be getting her to stay put as she falls asleep, but that is a training issue, which I've dealt with before. She is already quite confident in getting off beds and going up and down stairs, so when she is done with her nap, she can simply get up and come down, without having to be fetched. :)
After a week or two, when nap time is going well, we'll move her in there at night, too. At first, she will have to share a bed with her big brother, but it's a twin and he often sleeps on the floor anyway. (why? who knows?) The twin is wedged into a corner and the bunk bed butts up against the other side, so with the mesh side rail thingie, she won't be able to roll out while she is sleeping.
When we get our tax refund in early spring, we'll buy another set of bunk beds and then everyone will have their own bed.
Yeah! Quandary solved! Now if I can only get my 3 1/4 yo boy potty trained before the new baby comes, my life will be wonderful! Two in diapers is do-able, three gives me the shivers. :)
Comments
• Aug. 11, 2006
We had
Posted by mumof5
sleeping issues when #4 was on the way. We have a small two storey house. Upstairs there are 2 1/2 bedrooms. The 1/2 bedroom is big enough for a crib or toddler bed and a dresser - that's it - so I call it the half room. We ended up moving my two oldest (6 and 8 at the time) down to the basement. I didn't like it much, but it worked. It's a small basement and the main 'play area' turned into their bedroom (they don't have a separate room with a door, etc). There is only one bathroom in our house (on the top floor) so that has been a pain. When this baby comes we might add on - but if not, then baby will have the 1/2 room, 1 yr old will move in with 4 yr old brother. No room for wasted space in this house!
