Sharing rooms or separating?!

[ElodieS]

Can mums and dads share experiences of room sharing or separating please?

DTs (girls) are 4 and have always shared a room and it's worked out pretty well so far. We live in a 4 bedroom house and we're expecting DC3 in December. At the moment DH and I are in a bedroom on 1st floor with family bathroom and DTs bedroom off the same landing. On 2nd floor are currently two spare bedrooms, one of which has an en suite.

We'll want the new baby in a room next to ours at some point, although he/she will be in with us at first of course. So, do we:

1. Move upstairs and put new DC in bedroom next door to us, leave DTs where they are and make our current room a guest room
   
2. Move upstairs and put new DC in bedroom next door to us, and separate DTs in to the two rooms on 1st floor
   
3. Move DTs upstairs into separate or shared room, stay where we are and put new DC in DT's current room
   

The options are bending my poor pregnant brain a bit, so appreciate any help or experiences!

[HerdsOfWilderbeest]

1. Separate them. Do it sooner so it's not like they are being turfed out for baby.

[ElodieS]

Thanks Wilderbeest, we were thinking of doing it this month, since they start school in September and we can bill it as part of them being 'big girls' and getting their own rooms etc...

[NoCapes]

3 definitely

[AnnieOnnieMouse]

I'd say to keep your room where it is, and turn the twins' room into baby's room. Keeping your room the same for now will be easier.
Move the twins to the top floor.
They have a choice - a room each - but how on earth do you choose who has the ensuite, unless the one who has the ensuite has to move out when you have guests.
Or they share the larger of the two rooms - give them the choice. They may like to have the top floor room with ensuite - make them feel a bit grown up. My kids shared at about that age, through choice.
Have a reshuffle again, maybe when baby is old enough to be more independent.

[PotteringAlong]

Why are you seperating your dt's if they've always shared? Do they want their own rooms?

[lalalalyra]

My twins are 13 and still share. They had the choice of having their own rooms, but chose to share. What do they think of their own room?

In your shoes I'd move upstairs to give yourself the en-suite, put the new baby in the room next to you and leave the twins in their room. Then your old room could become a playroom come guestroom and it's there if they ever want to split rooms in the future.

[ElodieS]

I think that's my favourite option lala, partly because there'll be no fighting over who gets the en suite later and I get to have a nice adult bathroom that isn't littered with bath toys and steps!

DTs are very happy sharing at the moment and have the biggest bedroom in the house, but I'm just aware they might want their own space at some point as they get older and this could be a good point to separate since we're doing a reshuffle anyway.

My other consideration is the stairs - the first staircase up to the first floor is wide with a big banister and normal steps, which they've managed fine for a good while now. The second staircase is a bit steeper and narrower.

[AnnieOnnieMouse]

lala, that does sound good, as long as OP doesn't mind all those stairs!
longs for a bungalow

[FayaMAMA]

Ask them? They're 4. If they want to keep sharing a room, they'll say. If they're desperate for their own space, they'll say. If you've got a spare room anyway, you can always leave the option to move into their own rooms open.

I have 3.5 y/o DDs myself and a spare bedroom that neither want to move into yet. I assume they'll choose to when they are older but for now they're perfectly content (and happiest) sleeping in the same room