Moving Toddler to a Different Bed Upstairs Before New Baby Comes

I think it would be hard for a 21 month old to understand why he had to give up his room. I would keep them together for a while and maybe offer to move him if he seems to be bothered by sharing his room. Very small children can't figure out the logic of moving them around, only that this new baby is somehow more important than they are because everything seems to revolve around the baby.

personally, i would leave the toddler in the same room with the newborn. its amazing how they can tune out a babies crying most of the time. (i know this from experience!) the toddler is too young to be on another floor of the house alone.

I don't think your son is too young to be in a bedroom upstairs. As with anything, you just need to make sure that you take all the necessary precautions. Make sure his new room is toddler-proofed since he might get out of bed to explore. Check latches on dressers and cabinets, cords, outlets, etc. and make sure you can either securely close his door or put up a gate in the doorway, as well as the stairs if you haven't already. Twin bed is fine, but I'd start with the mattress on the floor and/or check into the rails made to prevent him from rolling out. Put the monitor in his room and you're all set.

Also, I feel strongly that these sorts of transitions are helped immensely by positive spin. Let your son help pick a paint color or something special for his new room. Talk about his new big boy bed and room and how exciting it is. Don't underestimate the power of doing things like a "big boy" and being more independent at this age. It can work in your favor. Remember to explain what is happening and your expectations so he won't be scared. If you move him soon enough he probably won't even connect the move to the baby.

Hi T.,
I understand your hesitency and also found myself in your situation over 5 years ago. I had twins who where 20 months old when my daughter was born. We moved them from cribs to toddler beds. We were on the same level and had a baby monitor in their room which helped a lot. We also closed their door and the door at the top of our stairs. We also put safety knobs on our doors so they couldn't open them. I was always afraid of one of them falling down the stairs.

I think we made the right choice of moving them out of the cribs before the baby was born. We made a huge deal about getting them new beds and took pictures and everything. They were extremely excited. But KEEPING them in their toddler beds was a huge challenge! Just staying consistant about putting them back in bed did work - but took a while. They never missed the cribs or asked to sleep in them.

Congratulations on the new one!

Hi T.,
We are currently going through a similar situation. We have decided that our toddler is moving upstairs. He is transitioning from a toddler bed to a twin bed, so we made it fun by letting him help pick out the bedding. We moved most of his toys and comfort items into his "big boy" room, but left a few in his "old room."

On the weekends (the only time my husband and I are home during the day) we have our son nap in his big boy bed (he has been comfortable with this so far). Every night we ask if he wants to sleep in his big boy room. Sometimes he wants to and sometimes he doesn't. Since we've been doing this he has been wanting to spend more and more time in his "big boy" room. We play in there almost every day, also, to help him feel more comfortable with the room.

For my comfort, we put a baby gate on his door (even though he's pretty good with stairs) to ensure he doesn't go wandering in the night. We also set up a baby monitor in his room, so I can hear him if he wakes.

Once he's sleeping 4+ nights per week in his room, we plan to remove the toddler bed from his "old room" so that we remove the temptation. We are also planning on letting him help us pick out some things to go in the baby's room, to help him feel like he is part of the decision.

I hope this helps. Congrats on baby #2!

Why do the children need separate bedrooms?

My daughter was almost 2 when my son was born. WE have a similar situation (2 bedrooms upstairs....) The thought of my daughter being on another level when she was so young made me very uncomfortable.

The baby slept in our room until he slept through the night (just to not have to disrupt her so often). They have been in the same room since he was 6-7 weeks old (he is now 2). They have bonded even more being in the same room and have found comfort knowing each other is there. (Amazing how they sleep through each other's crying but won't sleep until they know the other is there.)

Good luck!

We moved all of our kids out of a crib and into a bed between the ages of 13-16 months. We have 4 kids within 5 years of each other (ages 6, 5, 3, and 22 months). We have a traditional 2 story home, master bedroom on the first floor and the other bedrooms on the second floor. While each child was in a crib, he/she was down stairs in a spare room used as a nursery and now being remodeled into an office. The transition from crib to bed went great. We would start with naps and than once that was smooth, we included nights. The bed, was typically a full-size mattress set on the floor (no box spring or frame). We did this until they got use to the bed idea. Then we would add the boxspring and finally once they could climb into a bed on a frame we would add the frame; usually by 2 years old. The only other thing we would do is put a wooden infant gate in the bedroom doorway. This was great for transition so they couldn't just come down stairs when they didn't feel like going to sleep right away, but even better to comfort us that if they did wake up they wouldn't fall down the stairs in the dark in the middle of the night.

Don't hesitate, our kids are great sleepers and nappers! They aren't scared of the dark (we don't use night lights either) or sleeping somewhere other than their beds.

A little about me: just turned 32 have an awesome husband of 12 years and 4 very active kids. We first had two girls 16 months apart and two years later had 2 boys 16 months apart. I work 2 days week outside of the house and the other 5 days as a MOM! Being Mom is much more stressful.

First and foremost,

This shouldn't even be an issue. These two children should share a room. At this age, there is NOT a problem of anyway. You need to think of safety issues first. Why not put the baby in your room and leave the other child in his room on the same level.
If there was a fire and you have u and your baby on the main floor and your almost 2 year old upstairs do you think you're going to be able to rescue him in time? Because, you know at 6 years old much less not even 2 he isn't able to know how to protect himself or what he should do.
I do not feel that children of these ages should be on a different level of a house then you are.

My friends 6 year old started a fire in her townhouse and he was on main floor and she was upstairs and the fire got to bad to go downstairs so luckly, he went upstairs before the fire spread so she had to throw her 6 year old out the window to save him and then jump.
Reason, I'm telling you this is for you to think really hard b4 you stick ur 2 year old on a different level.
No matter how safe you think your house is things happen.
Not tryin' to be mean or sound harsh. I just want you to think of all reasons not just convience.

My oldest was 18 months when his sister was born. We moved him into a twin bed (matresses on the floor) when he was 15 months. The transition was seamless for us. He never climbed out of bed at nap or bed time, just when he was done sleeping. At the time we had 2 bedrooms up and one down. So, we put the crib/nursery on the main level with everything else and kept a basinet in our room for those early months and nightly nursings. We moved her down to the crib during the day when she napped and once she started sleeping 6+ hours at night (around 6 weeks).

Good luck. I can see doing it other ways as well. I think you just need to do what works for you. But, I would suggest if you are not going to buy another crib, move your son during your last trimester for the exact reason you stated.

A.

PS - I should add that since then, we have moved and there in one bedroom on the main floor and two upstairs (including the master bedroom). My DH and I sleep on the main floor and the kids all share rooms upstairs.

I don't have an answer for you because I'm in the same situtation! My daughter will be 27 months old when baby 2 is born. My husband and I know for sure we are going to switch her to a toddler bed before the baby arrives but beyond that we are arguing about the room situation. I feel my daughter is too young to be downstairs by herself but my husband doesn't want the kids sharing a room, especially if #2 is a boy. I'm curious to know how other people answer your question too!!!

HI T.-

Here's my suggestion, take from it what you will. I started by letting my then 18 month old take naps in his "big boy bed" and once he was doing well with that we moved him there at night. I made it " his room" so he felt ownership...but I started all this and had him moved over completely about 3 months before my 2nd was born that way he didn't feel pushed out. I don't think he's too young to be upstairs...you can always put a gate across his door so that he has to let you know when he wants out. My 18 month old came down the stairs a lot the first few day and we just kept putting him back up there in his room, and it gradually lessened. ONce he knew he had to stay in there, that's when we did nights. Hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions! Good Luck!

Hey T.,
This may sound wrong for some women, but, could you make both bedrooms upstairs for both of your kids? You could paint both rooms and decorate with your son's imput and set up the nursery in the other... He could have a choice for a while of where to sleep and then eventually move him up there. (since you will probably have the baby with you for a while???)
I hope all the ideas spur one that will work for you and your family!

Hi T.
Do you feel comfortable haveing your toddler upstairs? If you are ok with it than he will be fine. If you are not sure than I would let him share a room with the baby until they get a little older.:)T.

Hello,
I know that my mom and some of my friends and myself have opted to have the kids share a bedroom. It seemed to work really well. I was a heavy sleeper but no one was "alone" when we got older then we just transistioned and I had a little brother at that. Hope that helps.

Hi T., I always had our newborns in a bassinet in our room for the first few months. I don't think you need to move your toddler out of their room just yet if at all. When my babies started sleeping more they went into the nursery in a larger crib. Our toddlers were always left in the same room either in a toddler bed or a twin size bed. Worked out well for us. The toddler gets used to sleeping through the noise of the baby peeping in the night. Moving your toddler upstairs is going to be making more work for you. Getting them dressed, checking on them, nap time, ect. Remember sharing a room with your sibling is fun. Good luck with your growing family. Mother of 4, ages 21,18,16 and 7.

Hi T.-we had a similar situation. Our house is a cape-cod with 2 bedrooms downstairs and one up. We decided to keep our oldest in her bedroom (next to ours) and put the baby with her. The first two nights she woke when the baby woke and said "oh no" a couple of times...then she never woke again. I always heard the baby before she was really screaming anyway. My kids are all girls so I know that may be a difference for you but I just couldn't bear to have one of mine so far from me...especially when potting training came in to play (our bathroom is also downstairs). When our 3rd came along I agonized over what to do. Our 2nd wasn't quite 2 and didn't do so well on stairs so we kept all 3 in the same room for 6months until our second was 2 1/2 and could do the stairs. Then we moved the older two upstairs and kept the baby down. Hope this helps...I know it's a frustrating decision especially when you're trying to get ready for a new baby. :)

We had the EXACT situation as you, except we were upstairs and had to decide whether to move our 21 month old downstairs! Here's what we did: We put a toddler bed in her existing room immediately upon finding out we were pregnant. We insisted she try to take a nap in there once a day and at night time let her pick whether she wanted to sleep in the 'big girl bed' or the crib. After a while of choosing, we just put the crib away for a while. She had no choice then and just slept in a toddler bed. When we had our baby she stayed in a bassinnete in our room for a while. Then one day we brought in the crib back into the room and tried having them share. HOwever, my 2 year old has major sleep issues. (she doesn't sleep!) and so we had to move her out so we could allll sleep. We moved her bed out in front of her and then went "looking" for her room. We had set up her new room weeks in advance and had spent time playing in there everyday for several days so she had an idea of where we took her special bed. For how emotional a child we have, her transition went well without a flaw. I have a monitor for her room as well as baby's room, and am very pleased with how the transition went. We also went shopping for a brand new pillow for her new bed to make it special for her new room. Good luck!

You don't have to move your older child to a new room, he could share with the baby if it is important to have him right next to you. Children adapt to noises and sleep through almost anything. You could play a white noise cd or run a fan in the room to cancel out some of the baby noises. Our children all share rooms and the baby is sleeping in a cosleeper in our room.
If you are going to move him, do it soon so that he has time to adjust to his new room and doesn't feel "pushed out" by the new baby. Give him some time (and you too!) to get used to the new sleeping situation before the hecticness of the baby comes into the house. Let him help choose a cool bedspread for his new bed and talk up him being a big boy.
Whatever you choose, it will all work out fine.
Good luck!

Have you thought about them sharing a room? It may work to have the baby in your room for the first few months and then move her into your son's room. At those ages it is still better to have the kids on the same level of the house as you. My girls have shared a room since 2 years and 6 months old and I wouldn't have it any other way. At times it is hard but it really works out in the end...at least it has so far!

Our solution was a bit different than others you've gotten so far. We have two bedrooms on the main level and two down. My husband took up temporary residency in one downstairs bedroom and my 3 year old moved into the other downstairs bedroom. My husband was able to sleep and go to work refreshed despite a new baby and my three year old thought it was grand to have dad all to himself downstairs. Gradually readjusting dads room back upstairs went smoothly.