New baby with 2 1/2 twins-will he get any sleep?

Quick question for those of you blessed (!) with a third baby and your twins are still toddlers. My two will be not quite 2 1/2 years old when baby arrives. Currently, we tend to play/eat/hang out
on the main floor of our home, which also leads to our porch and backyard. So with the newborn, I'm not so comfortable with feeding him and leaving him upstairs in our bedroom to sleep, which is where things are set up and he will sleep at night when we are all upstairs. In the first few weeks I'd like to be able to hear any little noises that come from him!
My Mom's not-so-helpful advice is: he'll learn to sleep on the main floor, and my rebuttal is-how will he sleep and have some peace with two curious and very loud and rambunctious girls playing/yelling/fighting/singing all the time? She's suggesting just parking a playpen in the middle of the living room.
So I'm thinking of putting a small bassinette in our laundry room on the main floor, right by the kitchen, which is quiet and peaceful and has a window, so I can have him a little closer to me especially after feeds, etc. I thought if I just leave the door slightly open I can hear him and he can hear us but he won't be exposed to 20 little fingers poking at him nonstop.
Would love to hear your experiences with this type of thing-did the third one adapt well? Any tips?
Thanks Mamas.

 

My baby sleeps better around noise. Even if I have him in his room I have to put a noise machine in there with him; he can't sleep in silence. He sleeps best with his big sisters screaming all around him. That doesn't bother him at all. I agree with your mom, put a PNP in the middle of where you'll be with the twins.

 

Thanks Aimee! So he wouldn't wake up with them playing around him, the phone, all that stuff???
We were so regimented with the twins when they came home from NICU that I have no idea how a regular old newborn adapts!

 

I second that - she falls asleep best (and stays asleep) with all the noise around her. All the little wiggly fingers in her face delight her and haven't kept her from falling asleep. It's funny, with the boys, we were always hush-hush in total darkness, very much aware of all the noise. With her, I sing her goodnight song among all the chattering and playing and then put her to bed while it's still bright most nights. That being said, we live in an apartment and she usually sleeps in her own room with the door ajar.
The laundry room idea seems like a really good idea to me! That way, you'll have an ear out but can still be there within seconds without having to take everyone upstairs with you to check on him (also something to consider, maybe...).
Best of luck!

 

Hannah napped in a bouncy seat/glider chair on our kitchen table or floor for the first 4 months The noise did her good but she is still a lighter sleeper than her brothers which is weird given all the noise they make!? Either the laundry room or PNP in middle of room seems like a good idea to me Good luck!

 

Our twins were 21 months when our third arrived. She slept fine with all the noise. A PNP would work. Depending on how big your baby is a bassinet won't fit for very long or at all as in our case. You might be surprised at how the other kids react. They might not bother the baby as much as you think. Babies get used to a noisy environment. When we brought the twins home from the NICU they were kind of fussy and then I realized that they were used to being in a noisy room with beeping and talking and even vacuuming. So I would vacuum, leave the phone on, etc when they were like that and would fall asleep really quickly.
Congratulations by the way.

 

We did keep a swing in a gated off area that worked when he was in the sleepy newborn phase. But I quickly learned that he needs white noise and a dark room to sleep well. He was and still is very easily stimulated. He slept in his crib during the day almost from the start, with a baby monitor of course. Also, my twins were all over him when he was born... we tried but a PNP in an open room didn't work for us. Like anything, try it and see what works!!

 

I also have a little one that falls asleep in the middle of all the craziness. I'm sure she got used to all the rukus while in my tummy and just adjusted to it once home. She can even sleep through the loud barking of our yellow lab. I think keeping the babe by you and around your other LO's is a good idea. It'll be a teaching experience for your girls and the baby will stay used to all the noise! Good luck!

 

Thanks everyone! I've decided on smaller bassinette so he can live with us (and the ruckus) on the main but I can still tuck him into the laundry area nook if need be.
Of course babies are flexible little beings, I just never learned to be with my post NICU twins, so this will be a lovely change

 

I was going to suggest something like this. I have a dining room where I kept the PNP set up. It has doors I can shut so it gets quiet but not too quiet. Just enough.

 

I just wanted to second the swing idea. We tried the PNP at first, but I found the baby slept better in the swing with the noise. She was waking up more in the PNP, and the boys sometimes would throw toys in there. They were 16 months, so you probably won't have that issue. We fenced off the dining room and put a swing in there. Then, when she was 6-8 weeks, we moved her to a crib with a monitor. HSHHC suggests that around 6-8 weeks they start to get more alert, so I wanted her to have the chance to sleep better at that point.

Congrats and good luck! You will be amazed at how easy a singleton is, after having twins!

 

Thank you!

 

My twins were 16 months when my LO was born so maybe a little different but still LOUD. LOL I put a bassinet (PNP) in the living room and he slept great with all the noise. He would also sleep in the swing and I ended up putting the swing inside of a super play yard so the twins couldn't bother him. It was more them poking him and trying to move the PNP that would wake him up rather than the noise LOL so I just looked for ways to keep him away from tugging hands. LOL He sleeps with lullabies on in his room now because he sleeps better with noise. Those first few months are an adjustment period but just go with the flow and you'll be ok. The laundry room idea doesn't sound bad though! Good luck and I'm sure all will go well!