Where does the third kid go?

[Dreamingofthree]

I have 2 and I’d love another but here’s the issue, space.

on the surface of the matter would seem fine as we have a 4 bed house but we need one of the rooms as an office as our jobs are predominantly wfh.

bedrooms are 2 doubles and 2 singles atm the kids have the singles, we have one double and the other is an office/ spare. But say we had 3 what would we do then? I’d look to get pregnant this time next year and mortgages as are they are moving and upsizing isn’t viable right now, neither is additional borrowing for an extension, maybe a conservatory that we could use as an office but still not until rates calm down.

current dcs are girl then boy. We’d keep baby in with us until about 9 months and then we find they sleep better in their own space.

would you put the boy and girl together for a time in the double room and then have the baby alone til they sleep better and then move them in with a sibling of the same sex til we can get a conservatory built? Seems a lot of moving about for a child, and would a girl who’s 7 want to share with a 2 year old (if the baby was a girl)

anyone done a summer house office?

i know it’s a bit cart before the horse but I like to think things through

Are you asking right now why the office is the double?

that’s because we also used it as a spare, so it has one of those ikea pullout day beds in there, our other wardrobe and chest of drawers. Truthfully the room needs a declutter.

but that was my point, boy and girl will be around 6 and 4 if we had a third, is that too old for opposite sex kids to share? And then move baby in with kid of same sex when sleeping through? But then would an 8 year old want to share with a 2 year old? Is it fair that they do etc - I’m thinking out loud here.
if they get a room each- 2 would be stuck with singles and then one a double, would that be fair? Dh thinks get a bed with one of the other beds that pull out from underneath and pop up (can’t remember the name) so the kid in the bigger room shares with Nan if she comes to visit - not sure that seems fair either

thinking out loud really- seeing what others have done

A garden office is also a bit of a selling point these days! I think if you do do that, you'll really appreciate the work/home separation.

We’re currently in a 3 bed with 4 children.. it’s a squeeze but it works. We have the 3 boys in one room - bunk beds and a cot (it’s a double room so plenty enough space)
then DD has the smaller room and we have the 3rd room. we co-slept with the baby at the start.

We have an area in our living/dining room where we have the computer set up which is where I work.

Moving isn’t an option for us at the moment so we’ve made it work, but if I could I’d go for the garden office idea that others have mentioned, or extend onto the back and create a small office room.

Also I don’t think 6 and 4 is too old for opposite sex kids to share.. I think it’s when the oldest gets to 9/10 that they’d potentially hate it. But really it depends how much time they spend in their rooms - ours only sleep in there, very rarely play in there. And depends on the relationship between your DC’s. Do they get on, or would it be constant fighting?

Interesting post, I know so many families in 3 bedroom or 2 bedroom houses with over four kids. I think fitting three in a four bed will be easy.
Bunk beds are brilliant

Is there a little nook somewhere that could become a desk space? My husband works from a 33inch wide "desk" in the hallway into our bedroom when he works in the house. Or is there space in the attic to create an office in? Garage?

A garden building will set you back at least 15k if it's going to have power and insulation.

Or if that's really not an option the 2 older kids share the double initially (once baby moves out of your room into a single), as baby will wake them up. Make a single an office.

Kids love bunk beds, they'll probably be excited about it 😁