I need some help from all you moms(or dads)out there who have tried the room-sharing thing with your kidlets. How do you make that transition from seperate bedrooms into one?
The background:
Maggie has been sleeping in our room since she was born. I, being the incredibly light sleeper that I am, am desperate to get her into Ella's room so I can sleep a little more soundly. At about 3 months Maggie started sleeping through the night for about a week's period of time--bless her little heart. I decided it was time to make the move and put her in Ella's room. Here's the problem: at this point Ella decided to start waking up and crying out to me multiple times a night. What?? How frustrating is that? Of course, this began waking Maggie up too. And in the middle of the night when I want to go back to sleep, the quickest way to get Maggie back to sleep is to feed her. So, no surprises here, that is just what I did. After about 2 weeks of getting up 4-5 times a night between children trying to get them to fall back asleep, I gave up. I moved Maggie back in our room and now she is back to waking up once a night to eat (but that's better than twice a night like it was when she was in Ella's room).
What to do, what to do? I would SO love for Maggie and Ella to start sharing a room again, and I realize the only way they will get used to it is by just letting them do it. But where and when do I start? Is Maggie too young? Do I need to wait it out a little longer until she is older? How old--6 months, 1 year? I'm just not sure where to begin. TO be honest, I'm really not worried about Maggie waking Ella up at all. Ella does sleep pretty soundly, plus I feel if Maggie wakes her up Ella is old enough to just tell her to go back to sleep. But Maggie is a different story. If Ella wakes her up, then what do I do? I obviously don't want to feed her every time she wakes up and start having her expect that all of the time. Can I just put them in the same room, give them a couple of nights to themselves, let them wake each other up and then they will just be used to it? I'm just thinking out loud here. . .
I'm really not sure. I would love any tips, tricks, or advice from those of you who have been down this road before--or even if you know someone who has. Please educate me--share your knowledge!
7 comments:
It's so tough to make that transition, but I can totally relate with the lack of sleep from listening to baby. I think letting them get used to each other for a few days, as tough as it sounds for everyone involved, seems like the best--and quickest way to do it.
I would let them cry it out for a couple of nights - I know that sounds harsh but it's the fastest way to get them used to each other. I totally get where your coming from though, we have nights where all three kids are up at different times...ugh!
It's really tough. My boys are sharing a room now and for the first two months I thought I was going to kill over from sleep deprivation. They both woke each other up all the time. They are a little more use to each other now. But the hard thing is I can't ever let Brayden cry it out when he wakes up in the middle of the night. I guess Brayden just ends up in bed with me once a week. They get more use to each other but my kids were also a lot older than yours. Good luck.
As you well know I am in no position to give sleep advice so all I have is well wishes...Good Luck!
Here's what I do - turn on a fan in your room, so Maggie's noises won't wake you up. Or put one in the girls room with both of them, so they won't wake each other up. The white noise really helps!
Sounds like your friends have a lot of good advice. All I can say is not to worry too much about it now, whatever you do, as you will soon be traveling and everyone will be in different places!!! Good luck, Mom
I think that the less you stress about it the easier it will be. At 2-3 months we put Xander in with Kiyah. She does fine, and so does he. I have always made a point of making noise when the kids are sleeping so that they will be good sleepers. As for the feeding thing...try doing just water or just a binki if she will take it and rock her back to sleep. It might take a while but then you won't have to feed her.
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