We are moving to a bigger house to get ready for LO #2 and our favorite house has 2 bedrooms upstairs and 2 downstairs. We are thinking that LO#1 would go downstairs when baby is ready to move to his own room. She would be closer to 4 by then.
Anyone have experience with this? Are we crazy to consider this? We adore everything else about this home.
pomelo / 5628 posts
Our house is this way, with the master upstairs. With a really good video monitor, it's been fine, no issues.
grapefruit / 4321 posts
That would be a deal breaker for me. I'm a total worst case scenario person and I would be really concerned about an intruder coming into the house and my child being alone downstairs.
pomegranate / 3779 posts
Our master is downstairs and the rest of the bedrooms are upstairs. We have a video monitor that we can use if needed, but honestly unless we are in our bedroom we can hear her if she cries. LO has been in her own room since she was 5.5 months. Other than having to climb the stairs for the MOTN wake ups the first few months, it's been great.
grapefruit / 4584 posts
I'm like @truth bombs: I know it's peasimistic and possibly illogical but in the event of a fire, intruder, or weather disaster, a floor away is too far for me.
More practically speaking, my not quite three year old just fell down the stairs at my parents' house when she was overtired. (I let her run up/down between floors at home to get things all the time.) I wouldn't want her doing stairs half asleep at night to get to me if she was scared or sick.
papaya / 10343 posts
Our LO is on another floor. It's not really a big deal. I have a video monitor and we also have an audio monitor we leave plugged in because our video monitor is flukey and we can't hear her bedroom from ours. We also have a baby gate at the top of the stairs up there that we'll leave up for a long time, pretty much until I'm very confident she is old enough to do stairs in the middle of the night without falling even if she was really tired.
grapefruit / 4085 posts
Our bedroom is on it's own floor so M is a flight down from us and she's on the second floor. I don't see it as a problem - I'm just slightly worried when we switch her to a bed, I don't want her wandering and tripping on stairs but I guess that's what any gates are for.
cherry / 248 posts
My kids have been in their own rooms on the 1st floor since they were 6 months old. Our bedroom is on the second floor. I had a video monitor for my boys (twins) but switched it to the baby's room when I had her. Once she turned two I stopped using it. They do wake during the night and come upstairs but they were always good climbers so the stairs weren't a big worry.
cantaloupe / 6059 posts
We actually had the opposite situation (master ground level and kids' rooms upstairs) at our old house and I thought it wouldn't bother me but it ended up being really annoying and was one of the main reasons we ended up selling that home.
honeydew / 7811 posts
My oldest LO is currently 2 floors away while our youngest is in our room. We do not have a video monitor either. Going up and down the stairs gets a little exhausting sometimes, but it's fine.
persimmon / 1427 posts
Our master is downstairs and our kids are upstairs (very common in our area). Its not a big deal at all. We have a video monitor in both rooms. LO1 stays in her bed until we get her in the morning and LO2 is in a crib. We have a baby gate at the top of the stairs, but we don't shut it at night, but could if our kids were prone to getting out of their rooms at night.
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
When we bought our forever home, we purposely bought a house where we could all sleep on the same floor.
I think if it's not an option you can make it work, but it wouldn't be my first choice.
pomelo / 5093 posts
I specifically would not like to be on the same level as my children. I need privacy. I've kept using the audio monitor for that reason - since I'm out of earshot. But she just comes upstairs at night. I've never worried about it.
pomegranate / 3595 posts
thanks for the feedback, everyone! This location is really amazing and I am pretty sure the pluses of that will outweigh the layout. I also think it may end up with LOs sharing the other upstairs room for a while once the baby gets bigger so it would not be forever.
@Bluebonnet: How old are your LOs? We had an audio monitor last time that we stopped using when LO was 2. She is in a bed now but maybe a double video monitor would be worth it for peace of mind.
persimmon / 1427 posts
@MamaCate: 1 and 3. We've always had a video monitor and added a second camera when LO2 was born. The video monitor scans between their rooms.
Honestly, we can hear them scream without the monitor, but the monitor is nice to have so we can see what is going on. (So I can see if LO is fighting sleep or is she needs attention).
nectarine / 2217 posts
I think i'd be ok with it -- and yes, as you mentioned, sharing a room for a while (or a long while!) is always an option too! my boys share a room and LOVE it.
pomegranate / 3863 posts
We looked at houses like that and although it was a concern, it was never a deal breaker. I think if the house and location are perfect, then you can definitely make it work! That's what monitors are for, right?!
grapefruit / 4066 posts
We bought a house with 2 bedrooms on one level and 2 bedrooms on another level. i would never ever have my LO on a lower level than me though- I would be way too worried about intruders/worse case type stuff. It wouldn't bother me to have LO above me on another level though.
grapefruit / 4056 posts
I like having my kids close when they are babies, but my son moved downstairs when he was 2 1/2 and it has actually been great. We use our video monitor to keep tabs on him, but I don't feel any less secure with him on another level, though I thought I would in theory.
kiwi / 706 posts
we have 2 BR up and 2 down. When LO 2 arrives he/she will sleep downstairs. I want my toddler to be on the same level as me because I worry more about him trying to get to me via stairs [once he is out of the crib..who knows when that will be]. I'd pretty much have to go right by LO2's downstairs room to escape a fire so that part doesn't worry me. the success of this plan pretty much depends on:
-video monitors for both kids
-we are installing a motion light outside near LO2's room to deter someone who tried to break in [but we are in a super safe area].
-installing a security system with windows / doors / etc. all covered.
-I'm counting on LO2 being as good of a sleeper as LO1!! [STTN @ 3 months]. If that doesn't happen then this could get pretty old pretty quick. 
its not ideal but we LOVE our house and area otherwise and it is just not a great idea to move right now. there is nothing on the market. I definitely think we can make it work. There's also a sofa bed in LO2's nursery so I can just stay down there when we are in the multiple times a night stage if I don't want to go back upstairs. we will see!!
pomegranate / 3595 posts
@charlotte: Yeah I am going back and forth on who is up and who is down (first we have to get the house--putting in an offer today) as we are currently in a 1 story and my 3 y.o. is right across the hall from us. In some ways it is tempting to keep her nearby while the baby is in with us at the beginning. She is finally getting to be a good sleeper but I was up with her at least 1x a night until 13 months or so, and I am afraid of setting myself up for disaster if LO2 sleeps like her. Plus I think having the baby upstairs would be better for noise reduction and an earlier bedtime. So many things to consider!
I will definitely add a video monitor to the list if this is the route we go and make sure our security system is stable enough for me to feel safe with LOs on a different floor.
pomegranate / 3595 posts
@petunia354: @NovBaby1112: @MsMini: Thanks for the feedback ladies! We are putting our offer in today so fingers crossed that this is our problem to solve in the near future!
pomegranate / 3565 posts
I think you won't know how you really feel until you are in it. We bought our house when I was pregnant with our 1st - master downstairs with the rest of the bedrooms upstairs. Well once DS1 arrived I realized there was no way he'd go upstairs until he was much older. I like to have my babies close!
kiwi / 541 posts
We are on another floor from the other rooms. I was a wreck over moving LO#1 to his own room upstairs and on the opposite side of the house. I was still nursing so I moved upstairs to the guest room. This made middle of the night feedings etc so much easier. I stayed up there until he was about 1 .5 old. My DH and I take turns some nights sleeping up there when LO is sick so that we can be closer. I have baby gates at the top of the stairs so that if he wakes at night he doesn't come down the stairs and fall. We still have a video/voice monitor. He is now 27 months and knows that he can talk to us through the monitor and we can respond back. He has been really good about staying in his bed until we come upstairs to get him. When LO#2 arrives I'm thankful to have our room downstairs. This will ensure that LO#2 won't wake LO#1 and vice versa. I will keep this baby with me downstairs until 3 months old. Then we will all move upstairs until this mommy feels like I can go back to my room. Just take everyone's tips and ideas and find what works for you.
cantaloupe / 6885 posts
This will be our reality in a few months . We have a 2 up, 2 down format and dd will be moving upstairs. At first I was apprehensive about it, but I absolutely LOVE our house and neighbourhood so I'm just going to suck it up. We will put a video monitor in and she currently STTN fine so hopefully that continues !
grapefruit / 4988 posts
We live in a skinny house with three floors, so LO's room is on the second and ours is on the third. We moved her there when she was about 5 months. It is annoying to have to go downstairs to tend to her in the night if we have to, but otherwise it's fine. If she was on the first floor, it might worry me, but I feel like she is ok being on the 2nd floor. We use a video monitor and it works for us.
When we were first looking at houses, I really wanted to all be on the same floor, but now I sort of like having our own "master bedroom floor".
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