Jess, maybe a temporary visual separation would help? I would try putting up a screen in front of her crib so she can't see her brother- maybe she will be less likely to call out to him if she can't see him? When we travel and all have to be in the same hotel room, we tried to situate the kids so the little one can't see his older sister. This seems to work much better than when they can see each other. And we tell our older daughter to ignore him. It sounds mean, but if you teach your older son not to engage with his sister at night, this might help as well. In any case, this too shall pass. I think she'll stop eventually, but you might have to go through a few more rough nights. Good luck.

Do NOT, do NOT, do NOT bring your son back to your room. We had the almost same problem (bedtime was the worse when Chatty Lucy would let her brother fall asleep). We had him sleep in our room (which, in our case, also means our bed). Now, a year later, my 5-year old is afraid to sleep anywhere but our bed, stuck to us. As we are 2 fairly large people (and I am now pregnant with #3), sharing a queen bed with a 5-year old, you can imagine how comfortable our nights are! Separate them visually, and hang in there. You'll get over this soon and all will be well....

I agree with Tanya! Do not bring the toddler to your room. I love the idea of a visual separation to baby "feels" alone and learns to self sooth. When the toddler is large enough, consider a bunk bed. I have a 5 and 3 year old sharing and it works because they can't actually SEE each other!

I agree with everyone: Do NOT move the toddler back into your room! We currently have our 2 year old and 1 year old sharing a room and what we did was situate their beds so that the 1 year old cannot see the 2 year old. This was easy to do because their bed/crib are arranged in an "L" shape. The 1 year old's crib has a solid covering at the head and foot of her crib, so, she is unable to see the 2 year old. This has really worked for us. We found that when they could see each other, it was a disaster and both girls stayed up "talking" with each other. Things have been so much better once we switched their bed/crib around.

A few ideas.

1) Try to visually separate the kids in the room so the baby can't see the toddler.
2) Try background noise machines, or a small fan if it's hot. The added noise while sleeping can help them both sleep soundly, AND not wake as much when there are added sounds.
3) Crying it out. can be painful, but eventually it generally works.
4) If your toddler insists on coming into your room, you may find that setting up a small mattress on the floor in your room would be a better option than being IN your bed. Make sure they have to go to bed in THEIR room and only end up on your floor in real bad emergency nights.
5) Make sure your little one is swaddled tight- they'll sleep a lot better through the night.
6) window darkening shades and curtains. Kids sleep a LOT better when there's no light coming in from outside.
7) different bed-times. Put the toddler down first. Let them fall asleep first. Then put down the baby... or vice-versa if the situation works better. Sometimes the act of simply thinking you have your own room is enough to not wake as much. We had to try this with multiple kids who would not go down at the same time together- but separate bedtimes actually helped us in the long run to get to sleep quicker.

Good luck- feel free to ignore or use any of the advice. Hope some combination here helps.

-Jdad.

Holy crap. We live where 2 bedroom homes cost half a million, and 3 bedrooms, if you can find them, cost $650+. I think I just decided to only have one kid.

I agree with the visual separation but a sound machine goes a long way as well. We use one whenever we travel and all sleep in one room or the kids share. That way ambient noise or the occasional trip to the bathroom goes unregistered.

Hang a curtain between the beds. I like this curtain wire from ikea minimal hardware. If it falls or gets tugged on no big screen or curtain rod will crash down.

http://m.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/art/60075295/

Well said, Red.

Wow Darrenic what a super helpful and supportive post....are you serious?? Why do you think she's asking for help? Maybe because she is thinking of her child's needs? We clearly have opposing ideas on sleep training so I'm not even going to bother arguing with you but suffice it to say that not only do I completely disagree with you, your post is condescending, judgemental and well, sucky. Jess - ignore it. I totally sympathize with you because my 22 month old and soon to be born daughter will also be sharing a room - glad you posted this.

Geez I don't think he meant it to be rude (ok maybe a little), but I can't say I disagree with him. If you go in and comfort the baby for a bit will she fall back asleep?
I also agree with not letting them see eachother, I have a 1 and a 3 year old and when the 1 year old is out of the crib I plan on moving them in together. We are looking at the LOFT bunk bed from Room & Board. You can buy them separately, i.e.; just buy the upper "loft" and put the crib underneath if it will fit. Take a look, it's lovely but also very practical. Good luck!

A noise machine does work great. I have a homedics one from Walmart that my daughter has had in her room from when she was a baby. I also agree with the other folks. A screen to obstruct her sight line might work. Good luck!

Our boys are 25 months apart, now almost 3 and almost 5. They have been sharing a room since the second was a few months old. The oldest is deep sleeper and could sleep through the cries. The few times it got bad we brought him (oldest) into our room until the youngest went back to sleep. We're more worried the oldest quality of sleep. Now they're in toddler size bunk beds and occasionally talk to each other at night but it's never been an issue keeping them from sleeping.
Having your 3 year old ignore the youngest and put up some kind of visual divider are good ideas whether a curtain hanging down or rearranging the beds. Hopefully your youngest will realize the oldest is sleeping and not going to play. Good luck!

@limetulips ~ this seems like a great idea, but unfortunately, it's not. We had long flowy sheers in our infants bedroom. The windows were a good three feet away from any corner of her crib. The baby was ten months old when I walked into her room after her nap and found her COMPLETELY wrapped in the window coverings. She was nearly mummified. Thank God the fabric was so light that she could breathe through it. I still can not imagine how in the world she got hold of that fabric and dragged it into her bed. A light screen sounds like a much better idea, at least from here!

Had the same problem with my two. We would just pull the crib into the hallway if the baby was disturbing the toddler, then let her figure it out. If you're in a small space the screen may just add too much daytime clutter and I agree a curtain could be a hazard. Good luck

We also have a 1 and 3 year old sharing. They moved into the same bedroom just a few weeks ago so we're still learning, but have found that a visual screen helps (I put up a temporary curtain) and separate bedtimes is a must. We are teaching the older one to go to bed quietly and ignore his sister if she starts talking or crying. It was rough for a couple of weeks but I think it will be worth it in the end!

When I had two girls sharing a room, I bought a grid-style display screen. They can be three or four feet wide and about six feet tall. You can add feet so it stands, and it becomes like a movable wall. Display stores sell them and they aren't too expensive.

I secured a cotton shower curtain to one side and it worked really well. You could buy wide ribbon and weave it through the grid for more safety than a loose curtain, and by making patterns it could look really nice. You could also weave a double ribbon (i.e., pink on her side, blue on his or whatever).

We always use a sound machine and it helps our two that share a room (22 months apart) 1 1/2 and 3 1/2ish a TON!

Um, is this question "right" for this forum? I mean this site is about decorating, right?

Millions of children around the world share rooms with their siblings. Yes there will be crying. Yes it will go away. (cite: parenting books). You don't need a sound machine, an addition bed room, a curtain or anything really.

Dirkish, this site isn't just about decorating in the narrow sense; it's about making living spaces work -- so this does fit. It's also relevant to those of us who are wondering how to handle the housing logistics of two little ones (for future reference). No section of this site is relevant to everyone -- just skip the irrelevant parts and you'll be happier.

Why not try moving the toddler bed into your room until your baby becomes a better sleeper? We did this, and, after one year, have successfully moved the toddler bed back into the nursery. Having the toddler bed in our room was not bad, either. He stayed in his bed almost all the time.