Baby brother sleeps in our room but the walls are thin and he's up twice a night. She has unit tests and says she can't sleep. Fair enough. Her solution is the small room I use as my office on WFH days. Sofa-cum-bed, a door that shuts, far from the baby. My solution is... I don't have one. I do my demos from that room. Anyone done a room shuffle with a big age gap between the kids?
Could you swap for a few months and see? Babies don't wake twice a night forever, and your demo setup might fit in a corner of the bedroom more easily than her sleep fits anywhere else.
We did the reverse. My study became our daughter's room a couple of years ago, and I've worked from the dining table since. I still miss the door, but she sleeps and studies in there and that settled it. Try earplugs for her for a week first though. Cheap test.
Earplugs first is sensible. If she is still waking after a week, it may be worth asking whether it's the baby or the tests keeping her up. At that age it is often both, and a new room solves only one of them.
With two teenagers we've tried every arrangement. What I'd weigh is this: if you give her the room, your work loses a quiet space for maybe six months. If you don't, her sleep loses out for the same six months. I would give her the room and take it back once the baby sleeps through. Tell her that upfront so it isn't a permanent handover.
Late to this, but curious what you decided. We gave our son the quieter room for his class 8 exams and never got it back ❤️
Keep going
More from the parents who were here.