New Room for New Baby??

Keep the new baby stuff in the guest room for now, so there's no confusion as to who owns what on your 18 month old's point of view. When the new baby is 5 mo. and your older baby is over the "mine", and "just be with ME" stage (usually between 20-38 months, but only lasts about 4-6mo. long), it'll be a pleasure to the older one to have the younger one in the same room, especially if you tell him NOW and anytime the subject comes up, that the room he's in now will be for both children when number 2 is 5 mo. old (no matter what).

I have a 20-month old daughter and gave birth to twins 4 weeks ago. I keep the twins in a pack and play in our bedroom, as well - and we have no issues with jealousy. She's convinced they are "her" babies!
The real question you need to ask yourself is how deeply does your son sleep? If you need an extra blanket or change of clothes - or extra wipes in the middle of the night or early in the morning, will your son sleep through it? Or will you have to rise earlier than expected when your son decides the day has started 2 hours earlier than normal - and you're already exhausted?! Once your newborn sleeps through the night, the same room will work fine...

Mine are 19 months apart and we faced this as well. I kept the baby in our room for about 3 months along with her all her pjs and some diapers. That way I didn't have to go into her brother's room and risk waking him up. But I did keep the rest of her clothes in their same room. We tried putting her in their room at 3 months, but she was so loud (and still is) when she woke up at night. So we separated them until closer till her birthday. They LOVED moving in together and it has worked out really well. I think it would have worked out a lot sooner if the baby wasn't so loud.

You'll probably have a few bumps in the road to figure out based on the personalities and schedules, but it's such a great gift the kids will love. Be prepared that it may not work until they are on a similar schedule or if one of them is loud. We got a white noise machine that helps tremendously so they don't hear all the noises of the other while sleeping. Good luck! We're planning on keeping them in the same room until the 'baby' is about 7 and so far so good.

Our boys are about 16 months apart in age. When the second was due to arrive, we engaged the first in (visual) changes to his room--the addition of the extra crib and a few toy changes. We talked about the new baby constantly and read little books together. He threw a few toys up into the big new crib for his brother, and at about 1.5 years that is equivalent to being a party to the process :)

When the baby arrived, he slept for the first few months in a bassinet in either our room or a guestroom due to frequent night waking, but after the new baby slept from about 10/12pm-6am, we placed him in my other son's room. Both seemed to enjoy the interaction and togetherness for years, until about ages 6-7 when very different sleep patterns and personalities indicated it was time for separation. A little earlier than we had hoped, and if they had been more similar in nature, they could have roomed together until college, as some of our friend's sons did!! At least give it a try when they are young and see what happens. It can make naps, bedtime story reading and their sleep and comfort with each other alot of fun.

We're also dealing with this... my new baby is 6 weeks old and my son 21 months. I have found it easiest to have the baby sleep in our room and keep her stuff in the extra bedroom. I didn't want to wake my older son up when I needed to change the baby in the middle of the night or since I tend to get her ready for bed after he is already asleep. He has not been jealous per se of the new baby but did go through two nights of not wanting to sleep in his room when he discovered she was sleeping in our room with us. We'll eventually have them share a room as well but I plan on waiting until the baby is consistently sleeping through the night to move them in together. Best wishes!

my girls are 21 months apart, and theyve ALWAYS shared a room. for the first 3 months when my 2nd was a baby, she pretty much slept in a cradly in my room bc it was easier for me to nurse at night since i didnt have to go far... i feel like that gave my older daughter time to get used to the new baby. the crib was set up in my older daughters room BEFORE the new baby even came, so she new it was for baby. it worked out SO well for me... now, my 'baby' is turning 4 in a few weeks, and the girls have never spent a night apart. they even sneak into each other beds for comfort during thunderstorms and stuff. i hadnt thought of any of this beforehand, but it couldnt have worked out better. now, with baby number 3 on the way, they want the baby in their room... but fortunately we've got more room than we did and have the space for a small nursery. good luck!!

Just keep in mind it may disrupt your toddler's sleep as baby number 2 wakes and fusses. You may want to wait until baby is sleeping through the night before making them roommates. You don't want two crying babies in the middle of the night if you can avoid it.

I am almost in the same boat as you - in terms of baby ages and questions!!! We also are expecting soon (end of sept) and have a 21 months old toddler. We also feel that room sharing could be a good way for both boys to bond. Some of my friends told me that it is possible to do, that it makes it easier for nap time and evening time (everybody in bed at the same hour - no shifts in schedules). I am a little concerned (my older one was never a great sleeper through the night) but my husband and I want to try it out. At worst we will convert the extra room that we have, but for now we will try it out. My concern is more about how to transition from our bedroom to his new shared room without my toddler making a bit deal out of it (I was just reading an ealier post from another mom who is having sleep issues from one to another kid, both sharing the same room). Anyway, let me know how it goes!
Isa

I did not read the other responses that u recieved. However our boys are 1 yr and 2 weeks apart, and they ended up sharing a room. We did put the baby stuff in his room. They each had thier own dressers and own cirbs (since #1 wasn't ready for a big bed). The baby stayed in our room (in his crib) until he was sleeping through the night, as not to wake the other. We had no problems with jealousy at all ( I am proud to say). As long as we included our oldest in caring for the younger (help with diapers, playing, bottles, you know easy things). Our oldest would even get on the floor and try to show our youngest how to crawl and even walking (when that came into play). It was too cute. I hope this helps u out in some way. Congrats on your soon-to-be little one and good luck with everything u do.

My two boys are 19 months apart as well. I thought about them sharing a room, but am putting it off until they are older. With the baby being up at all hours of the night, I thought that at least my oldest will still get some sleep. At first, I had all of their clothes in my oldest sons closet because it was neat and organized and had plenty of room. The spare bedroom's closet (now the nursery) was filled with junk. I found that I was constantly needing to get things for the baby when my toddler was napping, so we bit the bullet and bought another changer and dresser for baby. I hope to eventually get them into the same room, but will definitely wait until both are sleeping soundly through the night in toddler beds.

Good luck!!

Also...we had our baby in our room for about 5 months as well. Definitely set up a changing station in your bedroom it will help a lot.

Hi C.! Congrats on your due-any-day baby! My kids are 2-1/2 years apart--the baby just had her first birthday, and my little boy is 3-1/2. We had planned on them starting to share a room once the baby was out of the bassinet in our room, but our first few attempts didn't work very well--our older child was already in a big boy bed and didn't really understand that he couldn't get up and put things in the crib to comfort his sister. Also, she wasn't really sleeping through the night at first, and they'd wake each other up. So I couldn't stop worrying and they couldn't stop crying! (I assume your 18-month old is still in a crib, so this might be easier for you.)

We abandoned the plan temporarily, and the baby slept in the pack and play in our room until about a week before her first birthday, and then we moved her into the room with big brother. They've now been sharing a room BEAUTIFULLY for almost a month, and I'm not worried about her safety because she's a 1-year-old and my preschooler is a bit more grown up and doesn't try to put things in the crib. We still move the baby to the pack and play in our room for afternoon naps, so they can each have their own space because my son doesn't always sleep anymore, and I want to make sure the baby does.

We live in a 2-bedroom house, so we never had the option of a temporary room just for the baby, but when she wasn't quite sleeping through the night, I often wished we had one for sleep training. Those days are past, and everything worked out fine after all. I recommend trying out room sharing when you feel ready, but be prepared for it to take a couple of attempts before it feels right. Good luck, and best wishes with your new baby!