daughter's bedroom downstairs?

[Ahzrei]

My dd and I need to move house quickly as my landlady wants to move back into this property (really annoying as we I only moved here 6 months ago, but that's another story).

I went to see another house nearby today. It has two bedrooms, but only one of them is upstairs, which means that my dd's room would be downstairs whilst I was above her. She's only 2 months old at the moment so will still be in with me for a little while yet, but I'm worried that when she gets to toddler stage I won't hear her if she wakes up, and she won't be able to wander into my room at night if she wants / needs to.

On the other hand, if we don't take the house we're likely to have to move out of the area which I really DON'T want to do.

Does anyone have any experience of this sort of set-up? How did it work for you?

Use a stairgate in the doorway.

I lived in a 3 storey 2 bed house when oldest dc was 2. He had to sleep on the middle floor while we were in the top. Stairgate at the door and told to shout at the gate when he needed something. Worked well, even after he turned 4 and could open the gate he still called out...lazy sod still does it and he's 12 now . Go for it, it's not that bad really!!

You could always ue a baby monitor as well as the stairgate.

baby monitor?

I was brought up in a tall thin house, 4 storeys. The set up - basement -DSis and I had a bedroom each, but actually shared 1; ground floor, no bedrooms; 1st floor, boys's room; Top/2nd floor - parents's room. So, from DSis being 3 and me 7, we were 3 floors below DPs. No baby monitors, no traumas that I remember.

"but I'm worried that when she gets to toddler stage I won't hear her if she wakes up"

Thats what baby monitors are for surely?

On the plus side she would presumably be on the same floor as you when she first goes to bed until you go to bed which might be easier if she takes a while to settle???

MeDented, that had occured to me as a plus point, although whether that means that she won't settle as easily remains to be seen!

I guess that is what baby monitors are for, but having gotten used to having her in my room over the last few months, am not looking forward to her moving on to her own room. Baby monitors seem too impersonal somehow.

Oh dear, she's going to end up horribly spoiled, isn't she?!

you could just keep her in with you for quite a while yet, if your uncomfy with her on a seperate level as a toddler then if u can fit a small toddler bed in ur room u could even consider that, and keep the downstairs one as a playroom?
we have a downstairs bedroom in our house, although its an extra one cos 2 dses share, so we use it as a playroom and its more convenient than keeping the toys upstairs in their rooms where they will never want to go up and play, yet it keeps your living room a bit more free from being taken over by toys. so i think there is a big positive side to having a downstairs bedroom, whether u sleep her in it or not. once shes a bit bigger im sure she would be fine to sleep there though with the stair gate on and a baby monitor

Yes I agree, theres no rush in moving her out.

DS was in with us until he was around 13 months iirc.

We only moved him (literally 6 steps away) because we were disturbing him, if we so much as moved or whispered he would be awake and stood up in his cot wanting to get out and play.

ooh I like the idea of a playroom! And it's nice to know that I don't have to move her out as soon as she sleeps through the night, which is what all the books seem to suggest.

Sounds like it could work after all then. Thanks guys!

Fuck the books and fuck people who tell you what they did is the best/only way.

Your baby, do what you want as long as youre both happy