Sleep training & room sharing

Liz_84 · #1 (**permalink**) 05-17-2007, 03:56 PM

Hi ladies. I need a little help with this one... My husband and I have pretty much decided to start CIO with our 7 month old. She's waking 3 times a night (between 10pm-7am) and none of us are sleeping well with this. When she wakes up she's back asleep in minutes if I nurse her, but she will just scream for a long time if I try to soothe her any other way. Right now she's still sleeping in her pack n play in our room, but we are going to be moving her into the crib in her room. We're ready to do it, but we have one snag holding us back: she will be sharing the room with our 3 year old. Have any of you tried sleep training when the baby is sharing a room with an older sibling?

PJ's Mom · #2 (**permalink**) 06-05-2007, 06:49 AM

We have the exact same problem. Our daughter is 7 1/2 months old and her brother is going to be 3 in July. I have been reluctant to move her into his room because I think she is going to wake him up when she cries and then I'll have TWO crying kids instead of one. I wish I knew the answer. I have heard some people say that the older one learns to sleep through the other one's crying but I find that hard to believe. I also worry about our son getting into the crib with her - he constantly tries to comfort her when she cries but he isn't always gentle. Let me know if you hear any good suggestions. Good luck!

Liz_84 · #3 (**permalink**) 06-06-2007, 07:53 AM

Thanks Elizabeth.

It's nice to know there's somebody in the same boat. We started putting Karen in the crib about 2 weeks ago now and I've been shocked at how easy it's been! We decided to move Jordan out of the room for a while until Karen had at least established a routine, so she slept on her little travel cot in the living room some nights and in our room some nights. The first night was bad, Karen was up 5 times. Then the second night she was only up 3, then the third and fourth she only woke up once. And then on the fifth night she slept through, and has been ever since (except when she was sick, but that's to be expected). We moved Jordan back into the room almost a week ago now and things have been great. Jordan goes to bed around 8:30, she usually plays for a little while and then falls asleep, and then Karen goes down around 9:30. Karen will wake up about 6:30 or 7 to nurse, and then go back to sleep. Then they're both up for the day at 8:30 (don't know who's waking up who there, but they're happy so I don't really care). It's actually pretty neat in the mornings, Jordan will go over to the crib and talk to the baby and play with her. She's got some of those toys you hang on the side of the crib and they'll play with those together, and keep eachother entertained for a while. We decided to wait on putting Karen to sleep awake, so she either nurses to sleep, or if she's already tired I just rock her.

As for all the advice I got, the best was to move the older child out of the room at least during the beginning of the sleep training. Oh, and Jordan actually does usually sleep through when Karen wakes up, as long as I get there before Karen really starts howling. They're both pretty light sleepers, so I'm really surprised that they sleep through eachother squirming and fussing during the night. Most shocking was a few days ago when Jordan woke up with a nightmare and Karen slept through the whole thing. That was impressive.

Can PJ actually climb into the crib? That would kinda bother me too, Jordan climbs on the side and looks over the top, but she can't actually get into it. Is your daughter sleeping through the night already?

linpach1 · #4 (**permalink**) 06-22-2007, 09:12 AM

Hi, I am new here, but wanted to share my experience. My almost 8 month old, and my 2 year old share a room. The baby has been sleeping through the night since she was 5 weeks old, and they have been in the same room since she was 3 months old, and for the occasional wake up, my 2 year old sleeps right through it. Sophia (2 year old) wakes from nightmares occasionally too, and Julia (the baby) sleeps right through it, it is quite facinating. Sophia is still in a crib (since she just turned 2), but is is so funny to hear them through the baby monitor in the morning "chatting" away, ok, Sophia is doing most of the chatting, but she makes Julia laugh and coo, lol. It is so great to see them being best friends already!

Liz_84 · #5 (**permalink**) 06-28-2007, 12:04 PM

Linda, that is so cute that they like to talk to eachother from their cribs.

It really is so strange that the sound of the dog's nails on the floor will wake both of them up, and yet they sleep through eachother waking up at night. I guess maybe they're just that exhausted!

Elizabeth, how are your little ones doing?

PJ's Mom · #6 (**permalink**) 07-01-2007, 09:48 AM

Well, we are chicken. Kaitlin is still in our room. We are probably going to rearrange the house so they both have their own room. I am glad to hear your tranisition went so well. I never thought of moving PJ out for a while. That is such good advice. This board is great.