A divorced couple co-parenting two young children have let the kids have the family home whilst the parents take turns coming to stay.

Devin Justine, 33, and her ex-husband, Brendan Cleary, 33, are co-parenting their two children, aged two and three, by 'nesting'.

Nesting co-parenting is where the children reside in the family home, and parents take turns living there, rotating in and out of the home.

After officially separating in March 2023, Devin and Brendan knew they wanted to prioritise the children's stability, so they found a system that works.

The family home is now referred to as the 'kids' house', in the hope that this consistency will help them with the change.

Devin, a photography business owner based near Snohomish, Washington, said: "Even though it was difficult, we were able to put our personal issues to the side because we both wanted the best for our kids."

"I was raised in a broken family where I was going from house to house and I really hated it."

"If I was able to find a way around that for my kids, I wanted to."

Brendan told Devin he wanted a divorce in December 2024 after six years of marriage, three months before their second child was due to be born.

The pair decided to not take any significant action until their daughter was born in March 2023, at which point they tried cohabitation, but realised it was too painful.

Devin then took the kids to her family in Kansas and spent six months grieving her marriage.

Devin said: "It was very difficult at the start."

"I remember being freshly postpartum and just not being able to wrap my head around it."

"I would call Brendan and tell him I hated him for doing this."

"That I hated him for breaking up our family and hurting me in this way."

"And he took it, knowing it was deserved."

"Of course I don't hate him now, but those initial feelings were very raw."

"I think getting those feelings our and feeling heard was really important for being able to move forward and make the best decisions for our children."

Devin returned to Washington and moved into a nearby apartment owned by her father, in which he installed a kitchenette so she could live there.

The pair began working on co-parenting from different homes, but it became clear it was easier for Devin to come to the family home whilst Brendan was at work.

As Brendan is a firefighter, his shifts can keep him at the station for 12 to 24 hours, where there are also sleeping facilities for him to use.

These long shifts mean there's ample opportunity for Devin to spend mornings, afternoons and bed times with the children.

She said: "We kind of fell into it working like this."

"I just knew I would prefer to spend time with the kids at their house, so I started doing that when Brendan was at work."

"Soon, it became clear that the system worked."

"We had discussions about bouncing the kids between different rentals and tried cohabitating, but that just didn't work for us."

"All roads seemed like they came to the same issue; the kid would end up disrupted."

"That's why when this started working it felt like a good solution."

Devin still resides at the apartment her dad owns, however the property is a bit too far away to make the nesting as efficient as it could be.

So, Devin and Brendan are planning to make their garage in their back yard an apartment so she's more easily available to the kids.

The pair had ton ensure it would be feasible living so close in proximity to one another given the marriage is over.

After a discussion where both parties laid out their boundaries to one another, they now feel comfortable moving ahead and plan to begin renovations in a month.

Devin said: "My current apartment is about a 45 minute drive from the kids' house, so being able to walk over from the back yard would make a big difference."

"This matters especially for when Brendan's shift starts at 7:00 am and I have to get the kids ready for school."

"Brendan and I made a point to lay out all our boundaries around this situation."

"Of course I was worried about how we'd function being so physically close but no longer married."

"I thought about how either of us would feel when we begin dating other people."

"However, we were able to accept and respect all of each other's boundaries, so we plan to break ground on the garage apartment next month."

"It's always been our goal to have combined holidays and grounded kids for as long as possible, so that's the plan and we're taking it day by day."