Thinking of baby #3 and scared

[CrazyEight]

You sound just like I was!

We have a 3 br towhouse, with a basement playroom, and have 3 kids. When my youngest daughter was born, my oldest daughter was 4 and my son was 3.

We planned to put the baby in with my daughter no matter the gender, because my son was a terrible sleeper up until he turned about 4. My oldest is very protective of her "things" so we gave her a shelf above her bed with baskets for all of her little things so her sister couldn't get at them. She adapted pretty well, and considering how possessive she can be, I wasn't sure that she would. She's also a VERY sound sleeper though, so she's never been disturbed by the little one at night.

We kept the baby in her crib in our room until she was almost a year. I had originally thought 6 months, but it took her quite a while to start sleeping well, so we waited until then to move her. The kids' rooms aren't large, but most of their toys are downstairs in the daycare playroom. If they don't want to share them with the daycare kids, they each have a big bin under their beds to store them. We are wanting to get my son a loft bed soon, so his train table can come back up from the playroom to his room and fit comfortably.

There's not a ton of space, but it's completely doable. We're actually considering #4 atm, (well, me a bit more than my husband, but I'll get him there, lol) and I don't plan on moving if we do end up with a fourth. We're literally next door to my kids' school, and our mortgage payment is very reasonable, allowing me to have a bit more flexibility in case I lose a dck unexpectedly or go down to only a couple after a new baby is born.

I have also considered putting all the kids in our room, moving us to one of their rooms, and having the third one be either a nursery or an office. We go back and forth on the idea. There would certainly be the space, but I don't know how well they'd all sleep if we threw my son into the mix!

I don't think kids all need their own rooms or a huge space, frankly. They use their rooms for clothes, books, and special toys, and everything else is downstairs. They get more use out of it that way anyway!

My suggestion: there will never be the perfect time to have another one, but if you truly want another, and you can afford to feed and clothe them, go for it!

On a side note: my son was an extremely difficult baby, and is still a very challenging almost-5-year-old, but he has always absolutely loved his baby sister. She has also been my easiest, happiest, most fun baby yet, so you may get another difficult one, but you may not!

Good luck with your decision!

[AmandaKDT]

My two daughters share a bedroom and they both love it and sleep BETTER at night as opposed to before when they were separate. My younger slept in our bedroom until around a year old, then we put the girls together in one bedroom. Their room is quite small, we ended up getting bunk beds, but the room is pretty much just meant for sleeping and their clothes.

I have no intentions on having a third child, but there really is no perfect time. You know there will be an adjustment period no matter what.