Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase through these links. I only recommend products I genuinely love and believe will be helpful. Thank you for supporting this blog!
Some families choose to have a shared room with baby for the first few months and then move the baby into another room.
Sharing a room with my twins for the first year and a half of their life has been one of the most rewarding experiences of new motherhood.
We are welcoming our third child soon, and I am looking forward to doing the same with him.
When you first find out that you’re pregnant, it is so easy to get excited about the prospect of putting together a nursery.
But what we find out is that a lot of the time the nursery hardly ever gets used and the baby ends up sleeping in your room anyway.
At the end of the day, it’s important to do what is best for you and your family.
My experience is that room sharing with my twins for the last 18 months has been nothing short of beneficial.
Not only is it a joy to wake up in the morning and see my babies’ faces, but it has also been very practical for the round-the-clock care that babies require.
So, not only is it practical, it’s also recommended and emotionally rewarding.
It may seem like you might get less sleep because the baby isn’t in a different room. In my experience, I got more sleep.
Any anxiety I may have felt about being able to check on them was reduced because of how close they were. I was able to check their breathing, listen for any weird sounds, reduce the risk of SIDS, and enjoy being near them.
1. Know the Benefits of Room-Sharing
One of the benefits that I experienced of room sharing was the practicality of it, especially as new parents.
We decided to have the bassinet, the changing table, and all the other items for the baby in our small room.
This made things so much easier, especially in the middle of the night.
Getting up at 3am to feed, change and tend to the twins was much quicker because we didn’t have to go back and forth to another room.
That may seem trivial but those few minutes at any time of day adds up over time, and if anything seemed wrong I could get to them quickly.
The American Academy of Pediatrics also advises that there is evidence that sleeping in the parent’s room, but on a separate surface, decreases the risks of SIDS by as much as 50%. The ability to respond quickly to your baby can’t be understated.
2. Choose the Right Sleep Space for Baby
Choosing the best sleeping situation for you and your family will depend on what’s most comfortable for you guys and also the amount of space that you have.
Ideally, it should be the most comfortable sleeping experience for everyone.
Choosing a baby-safe bassinet, crib, mini crib, or pack and play could all work, depending on the age of the baby as well as the size of your shared space.
We went with a bedside twin bassinet to begin with, along with having a bedside table, and then later transitioned to pack and plays side-by-side in the bedroom.
The benefit of having a bedside bassinet is that you don’t have to get out of bed to reach your newborn baby.
We also engaged in safe co-sleeping until around 8 months, when the twins transitioned back to their own sleep space.
I believe that the transition from cosleeping to their own bed was smooth because they were still in the room and could still see that I was right there.
If you need a recommendation for a twin bedside bassinet, the link for the one we used is here.
3. Create a Nursery Nook
Another option is that you can create a nursery nook. If you have the space, you can use a certain wall section, wall or corner of the room and create that special space for your baby. It can include the changing table, a nursing chair or anything else that you might need.
Having different lighting options is crucial, especially for those middle-of-the-night feedings and diaper changes.
A white noise machine is a great way to create a calm, relaxing environment for your baby.
We ended up using the Hatch which doubled as a white noise and low lighting. I kept the red light on so that I could see my babies throughout the night without having to turn lights on and off.
4. Maximize Small Spaces With Smart Storage
Since we are sharing a room, and therefore a closet with our babies we keep organization minimal and inexpensive. For their clothing we use 2, 3 tiered plastic drawers from Walmart to put their clothes in.
When they were younger, I rotated the clothing based on the size they were in. In the top drawer, I kept their most current size they were in, followed by the 2 next sizes in the drawers below.
Once they grew out of a size, I would move the correct size up to the top drawer and add another size down at the bottom.
Now that they’re a bit older and in a size for a longer time, I use the top drawer for tops, the middle for pants, and the bottom for miscellaneous items.
In the bathroom I used a smaller 3 tiered plastic drawer to house their bath time essentials and other items.
This system allowed me to see everything and keep them organized.
Our changing table also has drawers and a couple shelves. These house the burp clothes, changing table liners, blankets, diapers and other items.
Maintaining a simple, organized space allows what you need to be easily accessible and saves a lot of headaches in the long term.
5. Set a Room-Sharing Rhythm
Getting into a rhythm can take a little bit of time, and you’ll make adjustments along the way. The most important aspect I suggest starting with is the bedtime routine.
When preparing for bed I would turn on the Hatch and maintain the same sound and lighting. Then I would change their diapers, get them into their sleep sacks and feed them.
Once they were done, they would fall asleep and be down until the next feeding/change.
How you maneuver with your baby during the depends on your schedule and where you spend the majority of your time in your home.
This can change over time depending on the baby’s age and needs. I rearranged the furniture in my bedroom a few times during the first few months as our needs changed and to improve the flow of the space.
Over time, you’ll recognize where traffic is being held up or where you need more space, and you can adjust accordingly.
6. Let Go of Comparison and Outside Pressure
It’s easy to compare your situation to others, especially in the age of social media.
At the end of the day, it’s about your family’s needs.
Even as a new parent, it’s still up to you to decide what is best for you and your child.
Sometimes, it’s easier said than done, but don’t let the outside pressures of people‘s opinions make you waiver on what you believe is best for you and your baby.
And if you try one thing and it doesn’t work out, you can always pivot. Very few things are permanent.
There can be a lot of pressure for the Pinterest-perfect nursery. All of that is very exciting, and if you have the means and the time to do so, go for it!
But don’t feel the pressure to do it just because you think that you should.
We used the space that we had and created an intimate environment that ended up being perfect for our family.
I love room-sharing with our twins and look forward to doing the same with our newborn in the next few weeks.
Conclusion: Your Room, Your Rules
Room-sharing with a baby is beautiful. There are hard times like any other part of parenting when you hear the crying and you’re waking you’re woken up from your deep deep sleep that you absolutely needed.
But it’s completely doable and very practical.
I plan on room-sharing with my twins until they’re about two and then transitioning them into their room, and I plan on room-sharing with our newest until he is about 2 and then transitioning him out later as well.
As their mom, trust your instincts and trust that you know what’s best for you and your family.
Leave a Reply