how do you deal with 2 children in 1 bedroom?

[cuppateaandasliceofcake]

My nerves are shredded, just started to put ds2 in the same bedroom as ds1 and its a nightmare. They both keep waking each other up. If you've got a 3 year old and a 5 month old baby in the same room can you please please please give me some tip's on how to settle them both at bedtime. They both go to bed around 7ish. Thanks

I have a 4 year old and 2 year old who have been sharing a room for over a year now. I suggest staggering bed time a bit. Which of them falls asleep the quickest? Put that one down first. Faff around/ read book with the other. Then when the first is asleep put the second down. I always find that about 10 mins after going to sleep, they are in a really deep sleep and don't wake up even if there is noise.

Keep going. It does get easier.

Thanks for the reply, we staggered bedtime's last night and it seemed to work, fingers crossed it works tonight

It took me a year but got there in the end. I think you are expecting a lot if you've got a 5 month old in the equation! I now have a 5 year old and a 2 year old very happily sharing and going to sleep at the same time but it took a long time. They have to get used to each other's sleeping habits and then they can start to ignore them.

My sons are 7 and 6 and have shared a large room since ds2 was 6 months old.

yes they chatter and mess about but when we asked them about dividing the room up into two, they were very adamant that they wanted to share.

They just go to bed at the same time, if one is on a growth spurt or tired, they will go to sleep earlier, the other might sit up in bed a while reading or playing with toys.

I find it much easier in terms of toys, because everything is in the same room and shared. Its also better for us to have them in one large room as they can put out scalextric or set up train tracks etc and have plenty of room for it.

and on a weekend they stay upstairs a lot longer as they just come down to use the loo (their bedroom is the loft conversion in what used to be a 1 bed house) and then go back upstairs pottering about and playing with each other. does help that they are close in age though and play with the same things.

I have a 6 and a 3 year old sharing, they've shared since the youngest was 15 months old. Staggered bed times are definitely the way forward.

Is the 5 month old sleepign through? If not, I'd stick him back in your room until he is.

I would say putting 5 month old back in your room as well.

We would have kept him im our room longer but he is a bit big for his Moses basket, we cant fit the cot in our room so we've had no option but to put him in with his brother. Last night was ok, we're still staggering bedtimes and it seems to be working well, that's for all the advice.

Just a quick post. My DDs are 4 and 5, sharing since DD2 was around 5 months. Just to say that if your little one is not yet sleeping through and too big for Moses, could you fit a travel cot in your room? We did this with DD2 as she grew out of her moses basket by 4 months, so for about 5/6 weeks she slept in our room in the travel cot. May be an option if baby is not yet sleeping through.
I also staggered bed time, usually with baby going up after DD1 as DD1 was so excited having her little sister in her room that she couldn't sleep knowing she was so close by. There are only 16 months between my eldest 2. DD3 is now 9 months and they want her sleeping in with them now too, but she has her own room