Siblings Sharing a Room: How to Help Each of Your Children Get the Best Sleep Possible

Bringing another baby home is THE most exciting time for everyone in the family! While bringing home a new baby to older siblings is just as special, there are a few different obstacles that may present themselves. 

 

Enter: siblings sharing a room.

 

Room sharing is most likely going to bring about some sleep challenges for the older sibling, the new baby, and Mama as well. 

 

In this blog, I’ll go over…

 

Introducing a New Baby to Your Toddler’s Sleep Space

 

What To Do When Both Siblings Nap at the Same Time

 

Siblings Sharing a Room With a Bigger Age Gap

 

Moving a Toddler in With Older Kids

 

Remember that all babies and family systems are different, which means this transition may not go 100% according to plan all the time. But these tips and tricks should give you some good ideas to start with and ultimately help along the way! 

 

 

 

 

Introducing a New Baby to Your Toddler’s Sleep Space

 

It’s an exciting time when your new baby is ready to sleep in their own crib and not in the same room as you. For many families, this also often means moving your new baby into a room with their older sibling. 

 

Before you make the big move, check for any possible way for your baby to have their own sleep space. Keeping your little ones’ sleep spaces separate for as long as possible is the best option if possible. That way, they don’t have any chance of disrupting each other’s sleep.

 

A well-ventilated space like an extra bathroom or even a cleared-out walk-in closet can do the trick! Anything to give each of your little ones their own, independent sleep space.

 

If no other options are available, having siblings sharing a room can still work!

 

When it comes to sleep learning, I’ve got good news. Most of the sleep learning process takes place during the day (naptimes) and at bedtime. Because of this, it hopefully won’t negatively impact your toddler’s day-to-day too much.

 

If your baby is ready for sleep learning, you’re in luck! Having little ones that can initiate sleep on their own is going to make this SO much easier for all of you.

 

Click here to check out all of our different sleep learning resources including four different sleep learning approaches. Each is meant to be tailored to YOUR baby’s individual sleep needs, which means both of your room sharers can get the best sleep possible!

 

The best part about having your baby and toddler sharing a room is that with their age difference, they should also have different sleep schedules. The optimal bedtime for your baby is around 6:30-7:30 pm while it’s 7:30-8:30 pm for your toddler. 

 

Getting both your baby and toddler to bed is easiest when you can focus on them individually. Aim to have your baby to bed and asleep about an hour before their older sibling.

 

Sneaking your toddler into their room with their sleeping sibling can feel overwhelming and stressful…but more on that later!

 

 

What To Do When Both Siblings Nap at the Same Time

 

If any of your baby’s and your toddler’s naps overlap with each other (if your toddler is still napping), try having them nap in separate sleep spaces. 

 

*If you’re wondering when it’s time for your toddler to stop napping, check out this Instagram post for more information.

 

 

Click here to check out more information about when it’s time for toddlers to stop napping on Instagram.

 

The good news is, this can be made easy with toddlers if we get them to buy in. Toddlers love going against the grain and ideas that feel different and exciting. Your job here is to sell to your toddler the idea that sleeping in their own fun and unique space for naptime is the coolest thing ever.

 

For example, my girls LOVED when I would make a “nest” for them. Basically, their “nest” was a pile of pillows and blankets on the floor. It can be comfy, keep them from waking up their baby sibling, and will ultimately get the job done.

 

Your toddler WILL be excited if you ARE excited!

 

*Or at least…acting like it! They usually can be 100% down for any cool ideas mom is excited about.

 

But this is all for naptime…bedtime in the same room is where it can get a little bit more tricky.  As I mentioned earlier, one of the most stressful parts of this is keeping your toddler from waking up your baby when they’re headed to bed. 

 

My biggest piece of advice is to do as much of your toddler’s bedtime routine outside of the bedroom as you can. Then, you can make somewhat of a game out of tip-toeing soooo sneaky and quietly to their bed without making any noise that’ll wake up their baby sibling.

 

Again, this is about getting them to buy in! You can get creative here and make it exciting for them.

 

 

 

 

Siblings Sharing a Room With a Bigger Age Gap

 

This scenario is mostly likely going to be easier on you. This is because you might not have to reinforce an older child to be quieter and not wake up their little sibling.

 

One piece of advice: be aware of your older child taking on parenting roles at night time. While this is super kind of them and can even seem cute, taking care of their sibling in the middle of the night is not their job.

 

Occasionally helping the baby with the pacifier or providing an “it’s ok baby” is totally fine. However, we don’t want our kids to wake up in the night fully to take care of their little sibling. This is for safety reasons, and to make sure our older children are getting the best sleep they can as well!

 

Keep your baby monitor close so that you can hear and cater to your baby’s needs. Make sure your older child understands just how grateful you are for their help, but that mama can take care of their baby sibling.

 

 

 

 

Moving a Toddler in With Older Kids

 

So, what if you’re moving a toddler into an older child’s room? Hopefully, by this time, each of the children should be sleeping through the night.

 

The biggest challenge you might have here is toddler FOMO. I mean, how exciting is it that you’re a big kid now? And big kids stay up “late”. Right?!

 

When moving a toddler into an older sibling’s room, I find that most toddlers stay awake way longer than usual…wayyyyy longer than usual, before finally going to bed.

 

The best thing to do in this situation is to ride it out. Redirect them to their bed and remember just how helpful incentives can be. 

 

One thing I LOVE to use for toddlers to help them buy into a routine is sticker charts. I love this Toddler Bedtime Visual Schedule. It’s 100% customizable to their bedtime routine.

 

 

 

 

Recap on Siblings Sharing a Room

 

While having siblings sharing a room comes with its own set of unique challenges, it’s totally possible. In a perfect world, I’m sure we would LOVE to have a private and separate sleep space for each of our children…it’s just not always the reality. 

 

The main takeaway is that while it’ll be an adjustment for everyone for the first little bit, siblings sharing rooms can actually become so much fun for them, and even great for their relationship.

 

If you feel like you need more personal troubleshooting with your room sharers, grab a consultation! I have the most amazing team of certified sleep consultants who can help you get the sleep you and ALL of your little ones deserve.