What do you do with your child in a one-bedroomed flat ??

[Munchkinsugarpie]

OK, so I didn't mean to have a family here! The flat's gorgeous, but yeah, it's one bedroomed and due to loads of boring circumstances (mainly complete lack of money !) we're gonna be stuck here for a few years to come...

So, it's like this.... son is 2yrs 5mths and cot is in parents bedroom. Dad gets up so early for work that he now sleeps in lounge on sofa to get a peaceful night sleep.

When I go to bed now, son wakes up (anytime between 11 & midnight) and 'demands' to come in the big bed with mum. I used to ignore his screamings but he persisted for up to an hour, hence dad couldn't sleep and neighbours disturbed (very thin walls), so I brought him into bed with me.

That was 6 months ago and now it's a habit. Son goes to sleep in cot - dad goes to sleep on sofa in lounge, mum wanders around aimlessly for a few hours and then goes to bed whereupon little offspring jumps up with juice and teddy in hand awaiting transfer to daddy's side of the bed.

Should I mind? Is this wrong? God knows what I'm going to do about getting him a bed because I haven't got enough room in my bedroom to fit it in.

Has anyone else been in a similarly ridiculous situation and dealt with it? Or any bright ideas? I'd love to hear from you........

Oh blimey!!

How about turning it round, so that bedroom becomes sons bedroom/toys/play etc and your drawers and clothing, and you and hubby have sofabed in lounge, and make it more 'your' space.

You and hubby can spend time together in the evenings, not worrying about disturbing little one when you want to go to bed, and then you and hubby can sleep together!! Which is more important for relationships and family harmony than you sleeping with son?

It may be a hard habit to break, son is used to jumping up and jumping in, but after a few nights it should be OK, IKEA or Argos do good sofa beds, you could look for a single bed for son in Free Ads or something and then buy a new mattress from Argos (they deliver).

Hope this helps!

The sofabed idea is a good one. A friend of mine lives in a house so small that their bedroom has to double up as the living room. The two kids have the smaller bedroom, and she and her husband sleep on a sofabed in the bigger room. I don't know what they do if one wants to go to bed before the other - sit in the kitchen or have a long bath I guess. I reckon that getting your husband back in bed with you is probably pretty important for marital harmony (although at least this way there's probably no danger of you adding another baby to the problem...!).

Ems - thanks for your message.... good thought, 'cept, we'd already considered that one !Ironically, we had to buy a new sofa last year, so we debated about sofabed or just sofa..... ( monster child hadn't been waking up then to come into big parental bed....)

So... getting it all wrong... we decided on sofa. Not sofabed. Looks like we made the wrong decision for that one then...

Yeah, Azzie - you've got it right. My other half has been going to bed about 9pm to get up so early.... so thank goodness for the internet (which believe it or not is in the kitchen!) so that's what I do until I'm ready to go to bed with young offspring........ I think I'll just give up..... don't even get me started about potty training!...........

Why not get rid of the double bed for a while and buy a single divan and a smaller junior bed for your child? Sometimes using screens can also create the feeling of an extra room - could you divide an area off just big enough for your son's bed? With a few bits of wood, some screws, hinges and stapling some fabric to the frame you could probably make your own screens for a fraction of the price.

We thought we were going to be in the same situation - negative equity on our one-bedroom flat etc. But we spoke to our building society and were able to arrange a 120% mortgage with a discounted rate which enabled us to move. A chat with your bank manager or building society costs nothing and might actually make moving seem more affordable.

Things don't stay the same for long, so who knows what's around the corner. As long as the situation isn't getting you down then things have a way of working themselves out.

What about one of those bunk beds which is double underneath and single on top? This worked well for a friend in a similar situation, although her son was a bit older. Argos have them, and they are quite reasonable. They would make a fantastic den for playing in too, with curtains ...

Could your husband start off the night in the double bed with your little boy? Sleeping with kids can be really nice, especially as they start talking - having a cuddle and chatting together at the end of the day makes for a really special time together

i'd look at a loft bed with space underneath to make max space available.

I'm guessing that as the child in the OP is now going to be in his 20s, this isn't an issue anymore @catpoppet