Sleeping baby on different level?

We are considering purchasing a home where the master bedroom is on the upper floor, but the room that would eventually be a baby's room is on the ground level, near the house's main entranceway.

If we were to purchase this house and eventually have a baby, we would obviously child-proof stairs and doorways, etc. and have a baby monitor in our room once it begins sleeping in this other room downstairs.

Should we be concerned about this distance between the rooms at night when we are both asleep? Or am I just being paranoid? Is it really much different than being in your living room downstairs from a napping baby?

It's no more than a 10-15 second run between the rooms. Is a baby monitor sufficient safeguard or are there other options?

Any experience with this sort of situation would help me tremendously....I'm a pretty conflicted on this one. we have only until tomorrow (tues.) to seal the deal.

thanks!

von wrote:

We are considering purchasing a home where the master bedroom is on the
upper floor, but the room that would eventually be a baby's room is on
the ground level, near the house's main entranceway.

If we were to purchase this house and eventually have a baby, we would
obviously child-proof stairs and doorways, etc. and have a baby monitor
in our room once it begins sleeping in this other room downstairs.

Should we be concerned about this distance between the rooms at night
when we are both asleep? Or am I just being paranoid? Is it really much
different than being in your living room downstairs from a napping baby?

It's no more than a 10-15 second run between the rooms. Is a baby
monitor sufficient safeguard or are there other options?

Any experience with this sort of situation would help me
tremendously....I'm a pretty conflicted on this one. we have only until
tomorrow (tues.) to seal the deal.

thanks!


Isn't there another room on the same level as the master bedroom? I
would sooner use that room than one on the main floor near the main
entrance. I know kidnappings are very very rare events, but I'm
suitably paranoid that I wouldn't put a baby's room there.

Also, it's amazing how many times one gets up in the middle of the
night. I find it hard enough to walk down the hallway to my son's room
I can't imagine having to walk downstairs. Actually, after the second
wakening, I usually just go to the guest room with DS and sleep with him
there - so I know having the baby's bedroom on a different floor
wouldn't work for me.

Jeanne

Just MHO, but I wouldn't do it, for several reasons:

* When your baby's really little (e.g., too young to sleep through the
night), you may not want to be running up and down the stairs every time
s/he needs to be fed at 3 am.
* Don't forget that any kids you have will probably, at least for
several years, go to bed *way* before the adults in the house. My own
DD's always been an excellent sleeper, and DH and I have never made any
special effort to keep the house absolutely silent when she's asleep --
but I also enjoy being able to entertain friends, listen to music, watch
a movie, etc. after she's in bed without worrying that the noise that
results will wake her. If the baby's room happens to be right next to
the living room or dining area, this could be a problem. (Obviously,
folks who live in one-story homes or apartments may not have the same
living area downstairs, bedrooms upstairs setup as we do, but even most
apartments I've seen and lived in have a bit of space between the living
and sleeping areas.)
* A baby monitor will certainly help a lot in keeping track of a pre-
mobile baby -- but once your child is old enough to get out of bed on
his own and *not* necessarily come and wake you up, you'll probably want
to make sure s/he's not able to just get up and go outside to play
without your knowing about it. (You can probably install some sort of
lock or alarm system to guard against this, but it's something to keep
in mind.)
* Given that you don't even have kids yet, this is WAY down the road --
but if you expect to be in this house for a while, a setup like this
would make it way too easy for a teenager to sneak out or in without Mom
& Dad knowing about it. (My DD's only 4, but when DH & I talk about
building a multi-story deck on our house, we *know* the direct outdoor
access to the second floor will be through our bedroom and not DD's.)

HTH.

-HB

In article
outparenting.com,
says...
We are considering purchasing a home where the master bedroom is on the upper floor,
but the room that would eventually be a baby's room is on the ground level, near the
house's main entranceway.

If we were to purchase this house and eventually have a baby, we would obviously
child-proof stairs and doorways, etc. and have a baby monitor in our room once it
begins sleeping in this other room downstairs.

Should we be concerned about this distance between the rooms at night when we are both
asleep? Or am I just being paranoid? Is it really much different than being in your
living room downstairs from a napping baby?

It's no more than a 10-15 second run between the rooms. Is a baby monitor sufficient
safeguard or are there other options?

Any experience with this sort of situation would help me tremendously....I'm a pretty
conflicted on this one. we have only until tomorrow (tues.) to seal the deal.

"Bruce and Jeanne" wrote
Isn't there another room on the same level as the master bedroom? I
would sooner use that room than one on the main floor near the main
entrance. I know kidnappings are very very rare events, but I'm
suitably paranoid that I wouldn't put a baby's room there.

There are fewer than 100 stranger kidnappings in the US each year. IOW, the
reason the Smart case got such big news was because it was so rare. There
are many reasons for and against having a baby's room on a different level,
but please don't spend one iota of time worrying about kidnapping by a
stranger because it's so unlikely. You're more likely to have all sorts of
accidents, struck by lightening, etc. than losing your child to a stranger
kidnapping.
--
Melissa (in Los Angeles)
Mum to Elizabeth 4/13/03

In article OXUMb.44519$I06.279273@attbi_s01,
"Melissa" wrote:

"Bruce and Jeanne" wrote
Isn't there another room on the same level as the master bedroom? I
would sooner use that room than one on the main floor near the main
entrance. I know kidnappings are very very rare events, but I'm
suitably paranoid that I wouldn't put a baby's room there.

There are fewer than 100 stranger kidnappings in the US each year. IOW, the
reason the Smart case got such big news was because it was so rare. There
are many reasons for and against having a baby's room on a different level,
but please don't spend one iota of time worrying about kidnapping by a
stranger because it's so unlikely. You're more likely to have all sorts of
accidents, struck by lightening, etc. than losing your child to a stranger
kidnapping.
--
Melissa (in Los Angeles)
Mum to Elizabeth 4/13/03





well said -- and kidnappings from homes are even rarer -- more like half
a dozen in the past 10 years

I personally don't like to have the kids sleep on the ground floor and us
upstairs. We have four bedrooms (one is an office) two up and two down. Even
though the bedrooms upstairs are much larger than the ones downstairs, I am
just totally not comfortable with them on the ground floor. So we are on the
ground floor and the girls are upstairs. Personally, I wouldn't buy the
house and look for something a little more family friendly.

--
Sue (mom to three girls)
I'm Just a Raggedy Ann in a Barbie Doll World...

von wrote in message
lkaboutparenting.com...
We are considering purchasing a home where the master bedroom is on the
upper floor, but the room that would eventually be a baby's room is on the
ground level, near the house's main entranceway.

If we were to purchase this house and eventually have a baby, we would
obviously child-proof stairs and doorways, etc. and have a baby monitor in
our room once it begins sleeping in this other room downstairs.

Should we be concerned about this distance between the rooms at night when
we are both asleep? Or am I just being paranoid? Is it really much different
than being in your living room downstairs from a napping baby?

It's no more than a 10-15 second run between the rooms. Is a baby monitor
sufficient safeguard or are there other options?

Any experience with this sort of situation would help me
tremendously....I'm a pretty conflicted on this one. we have only until
tomorrow (tues.) to seal the deal.

thanks!

Piggybacking as I missed the original post.

Is there any reason why the baby's room cannot be the upstairs
one and the downstairs one can't be the adult bedroom once you
do have a baby?

Is this only a two bedroom home? If not, why not use one of
the other bedrooms that are on the same level as the master
bedroom as the baby's room?

Is there any reason why you would not have a bassinet or
crib in the master bedroom or cosleep with your infant
for at least early infancy? My kids slept in a bassinet right
next to our bed until they were around 6 months old and
co-sleeping with the baby in your bed is more common now
than it was when mine were born.

Will you stay in this house forever? If it is a starter house,
you may want to upgrade once you have children anyway.



On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 11:13:30 -0500, wrote:

In article
boutparenting.com,
says...
We are considering purchasing a home where the master bedroom is on the upper floor,
but the room that would eventually be a baby's room is on the ground level, near the
house's main entranceway.

If we were to purchase this house and eventually have a baby, we would obviously
child-proof stairs and doorways, etc. and have a baby monitor in our room once it
begins sleeping in this other room downstairs.

Should we be concerned about this distance between the rooms at night when we are both
asleep? Or am I just being paranoid? Is it really much different than being in your
living room downstairs from a napping baby?

It's no more than a 10-15 second run between the rooms. Is a baby monitor sufficient
safeguard or are there other options?

Any experience with this sort of situation would help me tremendously....I'm a pretty
conflicted on this one. we have only until tomorrow (tues.) to seal the deal.


--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

Melissa wrote:

"Bruce and Jeanne" wrote
Isn't there another room on the same level as the master bedroom? I
would sooner use that room than one on the main floor near the main
entrance. I know kidnappings are very very rare events, but I'm
suitably paranoid that I wouldn't put a baby's room there.

There are fewer than 100 stranger kidnappings in the US each year. IOW, the
reason the Smart case got such big news was because it was so rare. There
are many reasons for and against having a baby's room on a different level,
but please don't spend one iota of time worrying about kidnapping by a
stranger because it's so unlikely. You're more likely to have all sorts of
accidents, struck by lightening, etc. than losing your child to a stranger
kidnapping.


I KNOW that. But like I said, I'm suitably paranoid that having a
child's bedroom close to the main entrance would bother *me* - not that
it's a rational explanation.

I also wouldn't have a teenage child's bedroom next to the main entrance
for even more obvious reasons.

Jeanne

On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 13:14:57 -0500, Bruce and Jeanne
wrote:

I also wouldn't have a teenage child's bedroom next to the main entrance
for even more obvious reasons.

No kidding.. g

Of course even it the bedroom is upstairs in that case, if a teen
wants to roam when s/he should be in bed, there are ways to
get out and do so.


--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

In article ,
Bruce and Jeanne wrote:

Melissa wrote:

"Bruce and Jeanne" wrote
Isn't there another room on the same level as the master bedroom? I
would sooner use that room than one on the main floor near the main
entrance. I know kidnappings are very very rare events, but I'm
suitably paranoid that I wouldn't put a baby's room there.

There are fewer than 100 stranger kidnappings in the US each year. IOW, the
reason the Smart case got such big news was because it was so rare. There
are many reasons for and against having a baby's room on a different level,
but please don't spend one iota of time worrying about kidnapping by a
stranger because it's so unlikely. You're more likely to have all sorts of
accidents, struck by lightening, etc. than losing your child to a stranger
kidnapping.


I KNOW that. But like I said, I'm suitably paranoid that having a
child's bedroom close to the main entrance would bother *me* - not that
it's a rational explanation.

I also wouldn't have a teenage child's bedroom next to the main entrance
for even more obvious reasons.

Jeanne

Most of the time, all of our bedrooms have been on the same floor, and
I've preferred it that way. I just would not have been comfortable
sleeping on a different floor from my kids. The exception was a couple
of years where the house we rented had one bedroom on the lower level
and three on the upper level. My oldest -- who was in high school at
the time -- got the lower level room. I wasn't crazy about it, but I
told myself that at that age, if she wanted to sneak out, she'd do it
whether we were sleeping on the same floor or not! (As far as I know,
she did not; however, her younger sister did.)

meh
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care