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Parenting

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Original poster

Small 2 Beds House with 2 Young children?

29 replies

Life2012 · 03/05/2014 22:36

Hello ladies first post so hope I get some replies.

My husband and I bought a newish 2 up 2 down end terraced house and so far it has served us well. My son's room is very small , only can fit a single bed and wardrobe whereas the master bedroom is quite spacious.

We want to start trying for baby number 2 in the winter however the current house set up is making me very nervous. With the second bedroom being so small I don't feel comfortable having two young kids sharing it and equally I don't find fair for future baby number 2 to have to share a corner in our bedroom for the foreseeable future.

We have been through and considered several options such as moving the bathroom and the latest idea is to segregate our room (with a room divider) to create the illusion of two separate rooms (though my husband is not thrilled at the idea). We thought about moving but with the prospect of a second maternity leave and two young kids a higher mortgage scares us.

If we went ahead and conceived baby number 2 in the winter my son will be almost 3 when the new baby will arrive. As we cannot find a solution my husband is happy to simply have the new baby in our room but I really cannot come round the idea.

Have any of you ladies lived (or are living) with 2+ kids being short of a bedroom? Would you make the kids share a small single bedroom (which would mean bunk beds potentially (once the youngest reaches an appropriate age)? How about simply keeping new baby in your room?

I'm so confused and sad because currently our plans to extend our family are on hold. I have always dreamt for my children to be close in age as me and my brother are over 6 years apart with little in common! I really want to give my son a sibling but will it be too much of a squeeze? Thanks in advance everyone

X C

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Parietal · 03/05/2014 22:39

friends of ours had 3 children in a 2 bed flat in London. the older two shared a small room and the youngest had a cot in the parents room. So it can work. Just keep the baby with you for the first year, and then do bunk beds - the kids will love it.

PourquoiTuGachesTaVie · 03/05/2014 22:41

I would keep the baby in our room until old enough for bunk beds.

A room each is a luxury IMO, not a necessity.

I'm pregnant with dc2 and also live in a small 2 bed house, if it were my 3rd I'd probably be looking for a larger house but not for the 2nd.

fanoftheinvisibleman · 03/05/2014 22:43

I'm not in that position but was the child. My parents had the small 2nd bedroom and split their bedroom with a plywood dividing wall and my brother and I shared that. We stayed in that house until I left home so it can't have been that bad!

Sounds like you couldn't have the little bedroom but I would consider putting two in together and seeing how it goes knowing that you could split your room of you have to. When I was growing up loads of my friends shared rooms.

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SqutterNutBaush · 03/05/2014 22:44

I have a 6 year gap with my two.

DD is 14 months and still sleeps in our room, purely because she still wakes every 2 hours and that isn't fair on DS.

We are quite lucky in that DS' bedroom is large enough for two but it's an awkward shape so our plan was to have a high sleeper for DS with DD's cot underneath from 12 months but obviously it hasn't worked out that way. It is still our longterm plan though.

MoreSnowPlease · 03/05/2014 22:47

This reply has been withdrawn

Withdrawn at poster's request

MaitreKarlsson · 03/05/2014 22:48

Some friends of mine brought up three children in a two bed flat. The two dds were together in one bedroom and the DS slept in the sitting room on a pull out bed every night - not perfect but they all managed fine for years. Could you and your DH maybe sleep in the living room?

YussMinister · 03/05/2014 22:51

What age will dc2 be when you'd be in a better position to move somewhere bigger, do you think? We had our pfb in our room until 12mo as we lived in a small flat, we moved her to her own room when we moved house.

DontstepontheMomeRaths · 03/05/2014 22:53

I have a 5 & 6 yr old in bunk beds. I live in a 2 bed flat. I will end up sleeping in the lounge when they get bigger I suspect. As they're a boy and girl and will need their own rooms eventually. It's fine. The baby slept in with us for ages before moving in with his sister too. All will be fine.

Vijac · 03/05/2014 23:03

Sounds like the only options are baby in your room for first year or so then into some kind of bunk in your child's room. They would just sleep there and then play around the whole flat so should be no problem. Or, after first six month/year move number two into sitting room with fold away futon that you take out every night. Japanese style. Then just save to upgrade to bigger place once they are a bit older and need it more.

ThatBloodyWoman · 03/05/2014 23:06

Mine are in bunks in a single room.

But.....I am not sure how this is going to work once they enter their teens.And you can't swing a cat in our room.

It works now, and I try not to worry too much beyond that.

You'll be ok for quite some time yet op, so it'll give you time to really consider your options.

ThatBloodyWoman · 03/05/2014 23:10

I think if a double bed will just fit in the little room, when they are older the bigger room could be theirs and you could tuck your clothes wherever there's room.

Or you could sleep on a bed settee in front room, both dc's in master bedroom with a divider, and all clothes in little room.

Or you in front room, room each for dc's, and all clothes in master.....

jasminemai · 04/05/2014 08:29

We will have 3 soon in a 2 bed flat. We have a triple bunk (double on bottom, single on top) Once dc3 is 18 months they will share the bottom bunk with dc2 with dc1 on top

Original poster

Life2012 · 04/05/2014 09:10

Guys, all of these replies are great and so helpful!! It's reassuring to hear plenty of people have similar set up and I'm feeling better with the prospect of them sharing a room once baby number 2 is old enough.

I love the suggestion of us sleeping in the living room - that was something we considered and could be a solution if the bunk beds aren't an option for the kids.

We are looking to move to a larger house once we have bulk of childcare away so it will only be temporary (4 years tops).

Thanks everyone who contributed so far xx

OP posts:

Chipandspuds · 04/05/2014 09:17

I think we have the same problem, I'm pregnant with DC2 and we only have a 2 bedroom flat. We can't afford to move at the moment, so they will have to share a room for the next couple of years I think. If dc2 is a girl then I think we would be in more of a hurry to move as dc1 is a boy! I think that if DS gets to say age 5 or 6 then we will start looking at cheaper areas to buy a 3 bed house.

jasminemai · 04/05/2014 09:20

My eldest is 6 but I dont think it matters different genders sharing for ages yet. I think people worry so much for no reason about this

Chipandspuds · 04/05/2014 09:24

I think I was 7 and my step brother was 6 when we stopped sharing a bedroom at the weekends he was visiting so I think for me it would be around the age I'd want a boy & girl to have their own rooms. I think it's nice to share as young children, but I think older children/teenagers do need their own space ideally

Clarabum · 04/05/2014 09:25

I have a 2 up 2 down terrace house and 3 dc all under 6. The baby will be in with you for a while. I'd give yourselves the big room while the baby is small then swap over and give the kids the big room for all their toys shit
Ikea storage is your friend. My three all go to bed at the same time on a school night and the eldest ds gets to stay up late (8.30) at the weekend.

We can't afford to move so the plan is when dd goes into a big bed this year, DP is going to build a triple bunk bed to free up the floor space.

It's a bit of a squish but it can be done and I am far more organised now that space is compromised.

The more space, the more junk you have. It does take a good 30-40 minutes for the kids to settle down and go to sleep but they like all being in together.

Clarabum · 04/05/2014 09:27

Get used to people making cats bum faces when you tell people that your kids share a room. For some obscure reason the general public seems to think that I should have a 4 bed minimum for my three dc. It genuinely baffles me. Fair enough if I had 3 teenagers but they are only small and don't need an awful lot of space.

jasminemai · 04/05/2014 09:27

I think it only matters 12 onwards and even then you can just move one in to the living room.

mychildrenarebarmy · 04/05/2014 09:31

We have DD, 11 and DS, 7. They share a room, using bunk beds. We are very lucky that despite the age gap they are very close and get on very well. It doesn't bother either of them as much as it bothers us. We really want to be able to give them their own bedrooms now though as DD gets older. I have no idea how long it will be before we are able to do that. Ours is the same as yours, 2 up 2 down terrace, I have found that as long as we keep on top of clutter it's not too bad but every so often I start to feel that we really are crammed in now they are getting older.

mychildrenarebarmy · 04/05/2014 09:33

And Clarabum is right. You will get negative reactions from a lot of people but as long as it works for you and your family it doesn't matter.

TiredFeet · 04/05/2014 09:43

We stretched ourselves a bit to buy a 3 bed house as no2 was on the way... Now she's here its quite clear that she and ds are going to want to share for a bit, or at least would be very happy to! There's a 3 year age gap but they love being together. I think it will be fine, you could have baby in your room for first year or so and then bunk beds. If your room is large then that gives you lots of space for some good storage as well

MiaowTheCat · 04/05/2014 18:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

hotcrosshunny · 04/05/2014 19:41

My two DC share a room (boy and girl) and will for a few years yet. They like sharing! So I wouldn't worry about it.

mrscog · 04/05/2014 19:49

Is doing a loft conversion feasible?

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