Sleeping FAQ: 6-9 Months – Other

Is my 7mth daughter old enough to share a room with her 2.5yr old brother?

We live in a two bedroom flat. My son of 2.5yrs sleeps from 7.30pm to 7.30am. My 7mth daughter goes to bed by 7pm. I wake her at 10pm for a feed and she wakes at 6.30am. Both of then are in separate rooms while my husband and I sleep in the living room. Is there any way fro a baby and toddler to share a room together so we can have our room back? My son is still sleeping in a cot.

My daughter was weaned at 6mths 2weeks and takes a breast feed at 6.30am. She takes formula at 11am 170mls, 2pm 140mls, 5.30pm 170mls and 10pm 170mls. She takes water and three teaspoons of baby oats mixed with milk at breakfast. Lunch is 2 cubes of carrot and potato puree and 3tspps baby rice mixed with 20mls milk. At tea she takes 3 cubes of pear puree and 3-4tsp of baby rice mixed with 20mls milk.

My daughter naps at 9-9.45am, 12-1.45pm and 4-4.30pm.

It may be sensible to delay putting your children into the same room until you have dropped your daughter’s 10pm feed. As she was weaned after 6 months, you may need to speed up the weaning process a little regarding both the quantities and variety of food she is given. Take a look at Gina’s article on Weaning Guidelines which explains that if weaning is delayed until beyond 6 months you need to introduce some iron rich foods early on, as a baby’s stores of iron laid down at birth will be running low by this age. Once your daughter is taking enough solid food in the day, she will begin to cut back on the 10pm feed. Once she has dropped to 60mls at this feed you can let her cut it out completely.

Once this feed has been dropped then by all means put both your children into one room providing you accept that, if your daughter wakes at 6.30am for a feed, your son may well begin to wake earlier than he does now. You may need to adjust his bedtime to a little earlier to allow for this. You could begin to have both children sharing one bedtime story and then settling your daughter in her cot at 7pm. If your son is not too tired he may enjoy another story on his own in a room other than their bedroom before being settled for the night. This will help him feel that he is a “big” brother who goes to bed just slightly later than his baby sister. As both children are in cots, sharing a room should not bring about any safety issues such as your son climbing into his sister’s cot or dropping toys on her should he wake first in the morning.