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How do you feel about white noise? I wasn't bothered by baby #2's sleeping noises while she shared a room with us for the first couple months, but a sound machine on low volume would probably cancel out any bothersome noises for both you and your baby.

FWIW, after a couple months we moved baby #2 into her own room - kid #1 sleeps in the next room over, and they both have sound machines ($15 each at Target - no need for the $100 version from Brookstone). Kid #1 wakes up wailing a few nights a week with night terrors (not as scary as it sounds) and baby #2 still wakes up crying to be nursed 2-3x a night. They never wake each other up.

I haven't shared a room with a baby, but I think that you might be better off with some sort of sound machine. Something like the Marpac SleepMate Sound Conditioner. It's white noise that should help muffle other sounds. I just don't see a divider providing that much sound proofing. Another thought is industrial felt like the doors shown here http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/how-to/how-to-build-felt-sliding-doors-016848

Good luck

i agree -- our 5 month old's crib is at the foot of our bed, and since it's winter, we've had the humidifier going since day 1. i'm careful to be all ninja-like when in the room to not wake up the baby, but DH is, ahem, noisier, but the baby sleeps soundly.

I am in a similar boat as Nell. We have a one bedroom and B sleeps in a crib in the room. B is 20 months old and still nurses and he went through a period of waking up frequently and wanting to nurse. We wondered if part of the reason he was waking up was because he could hear or smell or see us. So I moved to the pull-out couch in the living room and that is where I have been for nearly two months. I'm not going to lie to you - it's not terribly comfortable. But instead of waking up every 1.5 hours, B now sleeps from about 8 to 4 every night, nurses a little and goes back to sleep.

We have been thinking about putting up a divider in the bedroom as well to create a space just for B. It would be for noise as well as sight. A word of warning - if the kid wakes up and sees you, he or she is probably more likely to want you. This is just from my experience with an admittedly lousy sleeper, so you may have one of those awesome babies that sleeps several hours in a row. In which case, ignore most of what I said.

Oh ick, room dividers don't do much at all, and they take up space. White noise is a great idea. I use an air purifier set on 1-2 for nighttime noise. Some people like fans or sound machines. White noise can eliminate the need for earplugs.

The other idea, which may not be practical for some folks, is to convert your closet into a mini-bedroom for the baby. You can replace the door or doors with something more palatable.

May I suggest that you try putting them in the same room? We have a 21 month old and a 6 month old and we moved the baby into the toddler's room last week. The cribs are on opposite ends of the room and a sound machine is between them on a window sill.

It has only been a week so far and they are getting more and more used to each other. At first they woke each other up more, but now they mostly sleep through each others' cries. It's painful in the beginning but the end result (a good nights' sleep) is well worth it. Plus I think the toddler is really enjoying the company.

Our kids' rooms share a wall. Their cries used to wake each other up, but after we got the sound machines, it's no longer an issue!!!
Sound machines are perfect even if you're in the same room. It muffles out noises and provide a constant but not annoying sound. It's a bit like the noise inside an airplane while it's in flight.

I'm currently in a similar situation and have hesitated to use a sound machine. My concern is that my children will become dependent on it and not be able to sleep without one. We already have enough "stuff" to cart around when traveling, I really don't want to add anything to that list. Has this ever been an issue for any of you using the sound machines?

We use an air purifier set to high. It provides white noise and clean air at the same time. We are more concerned with blocking city noise out and it works well. The absence of the noise doesn't seem to bother him when we travel.

"My concern is that my children will become dependent on it and not be able to sleep without one. We already have enough "stuff" to cart around when traveling, I really don't want to add anything to that list."

They're not heavy at all.

Anyway, I don't think the dependency issue is an issue. If you fear dependency, you can wean kids from a white noise machine just like you weaned them from the boob, from the pacifier, from the bottle, from swaddling, etc. Once the kid reaches a certain age and sleep issues are gone, then you can try night without white noise.

Some kids are light sleepers anyway and need the white noise to fall back asleep. I'd rather do that than have a tot come into my bed several times a night because he needs me to soothe him back to sleep.

Thank you, everyone. I'm such a light sleeper that we already have an air purifier and humidifier running, AND I wear earplugs and put a buckwheat pillow over my head! I forgot to mention that we really want a sight blocker as well. We want to be able to read in bed with some light. I agree that if the baby can see you when older, they want you. Also, the bathroom is through the bedroom and I hate creeping through when baby's asleep. I really want her to have her own "room" for a little while before moving in with sibling. Will investigate above options--thank you!

Someone posted this blog post at a Residential Room Dividers discussion forum talking about this same subject, dividing space for a shared bedroom.

I thought you might want to add Screenflex Room Dividers to your list. They make a more commercial room divider on casters that might be good for people looking for a semi-permanent room divider.

Screenflex also makes a room divider that is wall-mountable which gives you the ability to do some room dividing similar to a hotel or conference room without the large construction costs of installing tracks and building the room divider to size.

Just some other options to take a look at. Love the blog by the way. I added you to my feeds to watch.