My husband and I have two daughters five years apart. Our goal is to dormer upstairs but that probably won't happen unless I go back to work. Currently, my oldest is in her own room upstairs and the "master" is upstairs. We put the baby (now one) downstairs because I thought it was easier to feed her with the kitchen closely and not wake her sister.
The baby's room is very small and if we can get our Queen bed in there, there won't be room for a dresser. My husband and I have no privacy upstairs as the two rooms are connected (Jack & Jill rooms.) would you move baby upstairs with older child to keep kids together?
The other idea is to move baby upstairs in older child's room and move oldest downstairs. The advantage to that is she would have a closet and a ceiling fan. It would be great when she has friends over that her friends are not walking through our bedroom too. Maybe we could get her a desk too for her arts and crafts supplies that always end up in living room/dining area table.
Oldest hates being upstairs alone for some reason but concerned she won't like being downstairs either. No easy solution until we can dormer. Moving is really not an option as we will not net any funds for a new house (we were informed from realtor.)
Thank you! Guess I wrote too much to ask about laundry issue too!
Thanks for the responses! It is not an easy decision either way. Since my oldest never plays in her room without a friend, I guess her sister could share a room but I'm not sure the crib would fit. I feel a bit guilty about the sharing part b/c my oldest was an only child for so long . I always had my own room myself and I liked it that way. Oldest has had a difficult time adjusting to a sibling.
As for the Jack and Jill rooms, they are only two rooms connected. There is only one bathroom in this house (another issue) on the main floor. The whole upstairs are attic bedrooms. It is what it is and we bought this house for the yard (we have a nice size with a pool), the school district and ease of railroad in walking distance. Thanks again for the ideas!
If you want more privacy, I would put both kids downstairs in the one bedroom. I would NOT give up my bedroom and move downstairs to a room that barely fits a queen bed. If this doesn't work, I would put the baby upstairs in the room next to me and move the older child downstairs. Nobody really needs privacy from a baby.
Me personally would never put a young child downstairs and have myself upstairs, *I* would not be comfortable with that. It sounds like the ideal situation for you would be to have the girls share a room. I shared with my younger sister for YEARS, she is 6 years younger than me.
the 5 year age gap isn't big right now, I would put them in the same bedroom for a while and have a play room downstairs. that way you could set up a desk area for homework/art. maybe even have a couch or some seating area with a tv so when your daughters start to have friends over they aren't allowed in the bedrooms and have a room to play in.
I do not know what dormer means, so please excuse me on that point.
Where is the Master technically located? Master bedrooms are typically a stand alone room with a bathroom. I've never heard of a Master being connected with a jack and jill.
My thoughts would be to have the 2 girls upstairs and share the jack and jill and you/hubby take the bedroom downstairs.
You and hubby need and deserve your privacy and it would not be ok with me to have play dates having access to my bed/bathroom.
When we built our home, our master is downstairs on the back side of the house and our daughter's bedroom was upstairs in the most furtherest area of the front side of the house. In the beginning (age 5) she was not too thrilled with being upstairs alone but she quickly adjusted and realized that she had the entire upstairs to herself and this was a perfect situation for her and when her friends were over.
Children can adapt to change and the must learn to do so because they will be required to adapt to change all their lives.
I would have the 2 girls share a room for sleeping, and use the small downstairs room as a playroom. So all the toys move out of the bedroom and into the playroom.
As for privacy - lock on the door that joins the rooms, with the locking mechanism on your side only.
I don't know what a dormer is either. My kids have been in their own rooms since day one. I don't think it matters if your oldest is downstairs by herself but if you are a sound sleeper, maybe put a baby monitor in there so you can hear her if she needs you at night. If it were me, that's what I would do. Good luck.
Sounds like you are thinking creatively!
I guess I'd move the older child downstairs to keep her friends out of your more private living quarters and closer to your supervision. You and your husband will keep the master bedroom with more space. Your younger child will be close to you at night, and you can use a standard baby monitor when she naps during the day. Your older daughter will have a room with all the other "public" rooms, close to the kitchen and so on. When she goes to bed, you'll still be up so she shouldn't feel lonely or afraid. If she doesn't have a closet where she is now, maybe you can invest a small amount in some sort of closet organizer for her stuff, and she can help pick it our for color or style. (Or something else for room decor besides just moving her current stuff downstairs.)That might sweeten the pot a little. And since she hates being upstairs, you're being responsive to that by moving her. Hopefully that will end the complaining. Kids don't always like transition and change, but that doesn't mean they don't have to undergo it!
Good luck!
I know my 7 yr old would be afraid to be alone on a floor, even if we told her she would have it all to herself. If you can, i would put both girls in the one room and turn the downstairs room into a playroom, maybe with a place to nap so the baby can be downstairs when she naps. A little couch would fit both scenarios. This might work until you can get the dormer done. Some of the bungalows in my area have jack and jill rooms and the "master" is just the bigger room. Does not necessarily have its own bath.
For those wondering, a dormer is an opening up of the roof. When you have a pitched roof, it lifts it up so that you have more room space though not necessarily floor space--but lets you use more of the room.
Definitely put your daughter downstairs. That gives you several years before you have the privacy issue again. Just make sure that when she is out of the crib that you do not allow her to come in your bedroom. Have the bathroom door locked and put up a baby gate on her bedroom door. You can leave your own bedroom door open in the middle of the night so that you can hear her.
If the older daughter is ok with being on main floor, I would switch her bedroom to yours. Sounds kind of ideal ... you can keep an eye/ear out for her and her friends playing on the main floor, closet, space, fan .. so long as she is ok with it (just play it up so she would be) I would do that.
We did that in our old house and just for the first little bit, I put a baby monitor in my child's room (to old to need one) but that way they knew if they needed us (above) ever - we would come immediately. It was enough to transition and it wasn't an issue. Actually it was more for me than them I think :)
I like the idea of the baby and master rooms upstairs. I think the fact that they are connected makes sense.
Good luck :) the dormer idea sounds great too. I know all about making it work in the meantime ... been there (still are there!).
I'd put the girls upstairs. Be sure you have a good, sturdy gate so little one doesn't take a tumble.
Regarding the laundry issue...perhaps you could remove it from the title and do a separate post?
I would put both kids upstairs and have them share a sleeping room and use the other as a play/hangout area and move your room down stairs.
Once they are older you should be able to add the dormer and get that extra space you need.
I would absolutely have the kids together. I do NOT like a split floor plan at all. I like being able to hear the kids during the night and know what's going on.
I'd be more likely to put both kids upstairs and move me downstairs.
What do you mean by "dormer"?
What you might consider is keeping a dresser in a closet or keeping some clothing in the larger room since a baby won't care as much as an older child. How are the rooms connected? Is there a door between them but no entrance to the hallway for the second one? I would ask a handyman how hard it would be to change the access for the rooms so you can have privacy and a larger room long-term.
You do not say how old the oldest is. If she is comfortable with being downstairs and you have no concerns about her safety, then it sounds like a good idea to move her.
What is your laundry question?
That actually sounds like a good plan. I would implement it immediately. =)
i'd put them together downstairs until you build the dormer. we had a tiny house when we had littles, and they did just fine together (4 year gap.)
i've only ever had ranchers, but having the kids on another floor wouldn't faze me a bit. if your house locks securely, it would be a non-issue for me.
khairete
S.
Option 1 - Get a set of bunk beds and put the older kids down stairs.
Option 2 - Use a full sized bed for you and your husband.
As I stated in your other post about going back to work? Why not get an appraiser out to your home to find out if you have any equity and use that to make the house the way you need/want it to be. This isn't about selling - it's about making it the house you need.
I don't like kids being separated from parents by floors so I would find a
way to have everybody on the same floor.
How old is the oldest you want to put downstairs?
Again, I would find a nook/walk in closet to turn into a temp room etc.
Think outside the box.
Can you do any minor, cheap renovations like cutting out a wall etc?
