Room Sharing: How We Survived (and Eventually Thrived) When Our Kids Moved Into One Room

Ten days ago, the inevitable happened. Our youngest and our middle child officially started sharing a room.

Our baby girl had been in our room since birth. First in a bedside bassinet, then in a Pack ’n Play. We had a beautiful nursery waiting for her, but she only napped there occasionally. The reason was simple: her two-year-old brother was already in that room, and he is the lightest sleeper on the planet. The kind of sleeper where a single floorboard creak means the whole nap is over.

We weren’t rushing to move her out. She still had a few early mornings here and there, and I genuinely loved having her next to me. There is a certain peace that comes from hearing your baby breathe at night, and I wasn’t ready to give that up.

But two weeks ago she turned one, and shortly after that she moved into the one-year-old classroom at school. They needed her Pack ’n Play for naps, which meant we had officially run out of time. We had to make the switch, ready or not.

Room sharing with a baby and a toddler is not for the faint of heart.

The First Days of Room Sharing

Night one was surprisingly fine. Both kids slept through the night. The morning, however, was rough. Daylight savings had just ended, nobody was adjusted, and by 5 AM we had two wide-awake toddlers.

Night two was good until 4:40 AM. Our daughter stood at the end of her crib and started happily babbling to her brother. Naturally, he woke up, panicked, and we ended up with a toddler in our bed.

Night three looked exactly the same.

By the fourth or fifth night, our toddler was requesting “Mama’s bed” like he was checking into a resort. Bedtime had turned into chaos. We were about one early wake-up away from dragging the crib back into our room and calling it quits.

But then something shifted. This morning, both babies woke up crying around 4:45. I waited, ready to intervene, and then they both stopped and settled back to sleep. At 6:45, I watched the sweetest scene unfold on the monitor. Our daughter stood at the end of her crib, giggling at her big brother. He yelled “Z, wake up!” and they laughed together for a full ten minutes. After days of frustration, that moment made everything worth it.

What We Learned About Room Sharing a Baby and a Toddler

Here is what genuinely helped us during the transition.

1. Stagger Bedtimes

Put the deeper sleeper down first.
For us, that was our one-year-old. She goes down around 6:45 PM. Our toddler reads on the couch and goes to bed around 7:00 or 7:15. This gives each child the space to settle without overstimulation.

2. Use a Sound Machine (or Two)

We placed one sound machine between the cribs. Many sleep consultants recommend one machine under each bed, which I think is a great idea. We only had one and stuck with it, but it helped a lot. White noise does wonders to block out tiny movements and noises.

3. Keep Routines the Same

Sharing a room is already a big change. Try to keep everything else familiar. Keep snuggle time, keep the usual bedtime steps, and keep things predictable and comforting.

4. Don’t Rush In at the First Cry

This is the hardest part.
Give them a minute to work it out. Each day, give them a little more time before going in. Sometimes they surprise you, just like ours eventually did.

5. Decide Which Child Stays in the Room

If one child is learning a new schedule or needs the consistency of the room, prioritize keeping that child in their bed. For us, that meant keeping Z in her crib so she could adjust to the new room and schedule.

6. Expect a Few Hard Days

Lower your expectations.
Room sharing takes time. Expect regressions. Expect early mornings. Expect some tears. And also expect moments of sweetness, like giggles between cribs, that remind you why you are sticking with it.

The Bottom Line

Room sharing a baby and a toddler is messy, exhausting, and sometimes discouraging, but it really does get better. Kids adapt faster than we think, and the bond they build makes the tough nights worth it.

If you are in the middle of transitioning siblings into one room, keep going. Give it time, stay consistent, and celebrate the small wins. One day you might glance at the monitor and see something that makes the whole process feel magical.