Preparing My Toddler To Share A Room With A Baby

From the moment that our baby girl got here, we knew that our toddler would share her room with her baby sister.

If you all have been following along on the blog then you know that made a nursery nook in our bedroom for our baby when she first arrived.

And you also know that we bedshare with our baby and we still currently do.

All that is left in our room for our baby girl is just a playpen in the corner that we can put her in when we are needed to keep confined and safe while we are doing things that wouldn’t allow us to properly supervise here.

Over the past couple of months, we have been trying to transition our 9-month-old to her room that she will share with her older sister who is 3.

But as we have learned, this transition has been a lot harder than we imagined.

We are still currently in the process of trying to transition our baby from bedsharing to her crib and once we finally do, I will share more of that process here on the blog.

For now, we have just been trying to get girls used to sharing a space.

After all, it has been my older daughter’s room for the past 3 years and now she is learning to share that space with her baby sister.

There have been a few things that we have been doing with her to prepare her for this transition from having her own room to sharing a room.

And I want to share what we have been doing with you all on how we have been preparing our 3-year-old toddler to share a room with a 9-month-old baby.

Here is how we have been preparing my toddler to share a room with a baby.

*This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission for purchases made through links in this post. Please check out our Disclaimer Policy for more details.

What Are The Benefits Of Siblings Sharing A Room?

Before I get into what we have been doing to prepare my older daughter to share a room with her baby sister, let’s talk about the benefits of siblings sharing a room.

Should you consider your kids sharing a room?

As I started looking into some tips on siblings sharing a room, I came across some benefits that show how beneficial it is for siblings to share a room.

The very first benefit is the bonding that will likely occur.

It has been shown that siblings who share a space tend to be closer, because of the time spent together.

And the earlier and younger they are, the better.

By being in the same space, they develop a close relationship with one another that they can continue to work on as they get older.

Another benefit of siblings sharing a room is that they will learn to share other things due to sharing a space.

Most of the toys in our home are toys that both of the girls can play with the exception of the smaller toys that our baby girl cannot play with.

And since both of the girls will be sharing a room, they will have to learn to share toys.

Starting with my older 3-year-old.

Sharing and taking turns is a valuable life lesson that all kids should learn and when siblings are sharing a room, they will be learning this lesson at home.

The last benefit of room sharing that I want to share is here is from Mommy Nearest.

The writers over there state by siblings sharing a room, it can potentially free up another room within your home for other uses.

Which is very true.

We currently live in a 3 bedroom so our girls really could have their own separate rooms, but we still decided to have them share a room.

Why do you ask?

Well by having them share a room, we are able to make the 3rd bedroom in our house a guest room.

We often have family coming to visit so having a guest room comes in handy for us.

Eventually when the girls get older or if we decide to have a third baby, then we will likely make that third bedroom into one of the kids’ rooms.

But for now, having a guest room suits our home and family.

Now let’s get into how I have been preparing my toddler to share a room with a baby.

Preparing My Toddler To Share A Room With A Baby

Tell Your Toddler Early On

So the first thing we did was tell my older daughter very early on.

We actually told her very early on that she was sharing a room with her baby sister.

If you all read my post on how we prepared her for a baby sibling as well as how we helped her adjust once the baby got here, then you already know that I’m big on talking to my toddler about what is happening.

Even though she is only 3, she understands what is happening most of the time.

So by telling her what is happening or will be happening, it won’t come as much as a shock to her.

To go from her room being just her room to sharing it with her baby sister is a big change and she deserves to know before we start trying to transition our baby girl in there.

Have Your Toddler Help Set Up Baby’s Bed

The next thing we did was set the crib in their room in which we had my older daughter help with that process.

The crib has always been in their room because my older daughter was sleeping in it before we transitioned her to a toddler bed.

But we had also converted the crib to a toddler bed so we needed to convert it back to the crib.

My husband and I pulled the rail out that was originally on the crib and placed it back on.

I had my daughter help with the fitted sheet that I placed on the mattress and she also add a small doll to her crib.

I also would ask her “Do you think baby sister will like this if we put this in there?”

And “Are you ready for baby sister to sleep in your room?”

I just wanted her to feel included and make it something that she would look forward to once it started happening regularly.

Start Out With Them Playing In Their Shared Room

As we have started this transition, one of the things that have helped was having them in the same space playing with one another.

I mentioned above that most of the toys in the house can be played with by both kids.

We do keep a few of the toys in their room so the option to play in their room is always there.

At some point every day, we will go to their room so that they can play and our baby girl also gets used to the room.

By doing this, they are both getting used to sharing a room and ultimately a space that they will both sleep in.

Create A Shared Bedtime Routine

While on the topic of sleep, we have slowly been getting into a bedtime routine that involves both of the girls.

As many of you know, my 3-year-old has a bedtime routine that we have been following for a while.

Now that we have added a baby to the mix, we have been including her within that bedtime routine in order to start getting her used to knowing that bedtime is near.

Their bedtime routine typically starts after dinner when they both get in the bathtub to start their bathtime routine.

Our baby girl is currently 9 months old and can sit unassisted so we have been putting them both in the bathtub together.

Once they both have gotten a bath, they are lotioned and their pajamas are put on.

My older daughter will have an evening snack followed by her teeth getting brushed.

After all that has been done, we will all sit in their room together so we can read a book or two and then put our toddler down to sleep first.

I will take our baby out of the room to nurse her to sleep before attempting to take her back into the room to sleep.

This leads me to my last tip.

Gradually Introduce Shared Nigthtime Sleeping

The last thing we did to prepare my toddler to share a room with a baby was gradually introducing them to sleeping in the same room.

As I was saying above, I will take the baby out of the room to nurse to sleep before going back into the room.

A great tip that I got from North Shore Mama is to stagger bedtimes when a baby and a toddler are sharing a room.

My toddler is a good sleeper and can sleep through quite a bit of noise so we put her down first.

After about 30 minutes or so and we know that our older daughter is in a deeper sleep, I will sneak the baby into the crib.

At this time, our baby is not sleeping through the night and still wakes up a couple of times at night.

Most of the time, I will bring the baby back to the bed when she wakes up to bedshare so that my older daughter can continue to sleep without being disturbed.

I know once our baby girl gets older and starts sleeping through the night, we will be able to put them both down at the same time.

But for now, we are easing into the process and our older daughter is looking forward to sharing her room with her baby sister.

Your Turn

Well, that is what we have been doing to prepare our toddler to share a room with a baby. I want to hear from you all now. What are some tips that you have for a baby and toddler sharing a room? Let me know in the comments and while you are still here, check out my previous post below. Until next time!

• Read More: Floor Activites To Do With A 8-Month-Old Baby

Love,

Just Jass