No nursery, am I crazy?

[Fizzy13]

We live in a rented house and are planning on moving when dc is 6 months is.
We have a spare room and a study but weren't planning on converting one of these into a nursery.
All the talk of nursery furniture etc from others is making me worry.
Is it realistic to think that the baby can be in with us for ~6 months? Am I nuts not to give it its own room when we have the space (it's just being used)?

[ChunkyPickle]

Nahh - none of ours had anything other than a pack and play (for daytime naps downstairs) until they were at least 6 months. It was fine.

The only possible thing is to whack a mattress in the spare room so someone can get some kip away from the baby if they really need to.

[tindel]

We're supposed to be doing work on our house that includes turning the office into a nursery. Haven't actually got anything booked in yet, so we're planning to do exactly the same and keep baby in with us. Am just hoping the work will be done by the time they are 6 months old.

[museumum]

No. We had ds with us for the first six months and a spare bed in the other room - we had periods of one or other of us using the spare room/bed for part of the night. Much more useful than a "nursery".

[BlacknWhitePanda]

Ds is 5 months atm, and in honesty hes never been in his room yet except when I'm getting how clothes.

Advice atm is to have them sleeping in your room until their 6 months anyway, and depending how well your lo sleeps they might stay in with you much longer!
I wouldn't worry about making a nursery until you want to start thinking about moving them in there

[Allstoppedup]

We lovingly decorated DS's nursery, I hand painted the furniture including a wall mural and little detailing around the light switch/furniture handles.

DS has never slept in there. Ever. He hated his cot and we ended up co-sleeping. He's 18 months now and it makes me giggle when I offhandedly say "go to your bedroom" (we do his nappy changes in there) he always heads straight to DP and I's bedroom!

I think your plan to see how you go and change it as and when you need to is fine. You can always get it done at a later date- although decorating with a toddler brings a new set of challenges!

[jubles]

We have never had a nursery, and I'm due to have number 4 in a few weeks. They tend to be in with us longer than six months (it has varied from 9 months to over a year depending on the child) and then in a different room after that. But the room wasn't specially decorated as a nursery.

[sianihedgehog]

I'm doing exactly the same sort of thing. No need for a nursery at all as the baby will be in my room for months anyways. I'll do a bedroom when we're in a new house.

[vvviola]

We were in the exact same situation with DD2.

We borrowed a crib from a friend, so never even put DD1's old cot together. The crib was beside our bed for night time sleep and she slept in the pram downstairs during the day. There was an old desk in the spare bedroom that I used as a changing table (although frankly, most of the time I just put a changing mat on the couch - I only brought her upstairs for really dramatically bad nappies).

She slept in with us until she was about 8 months old, when I moved her into her sister's room. It was only when we moved house when she was 15 months old that she had her "own" room - although it was the spare room when we had visitors, and her cot would be moved in with us again.

Actually, thinking back on it, we did the same with DD1 - cot in our room, changing table in spare room, and then moved when she was about 6months and she had her own room them.

I occasionally feel a teeny bit hard done by when I think I didn't get to do up a nursery - but I certainly didn't need one!

[Elllimam]

We have a nursery for DS2, he won't sleep anywhere but on me and has never used it (11 months)

[IAmAPaleontologist]

I've got 3 and never had a nursery.

1 born in rented, in with us for 6 months then went into another room which we never really got round to sorted as a proper bedroom for him. Moved house a couple of times. Still no proper room.

2 born in rented. In with us then shoehorned into room full of random crap we'd not unpacked as was hideous sleeper and didn't want to put her in with her brother yet.

3 in our own home. In with us for way longer than 6 months until ready to go share bedroom with a sibling. Who did by now actually have proper bedrooms!

[pinkie87]

Fortunately we are lucky enough to have two spare rooms. We are converting the smaller room into a nursery but the baby will be in with us until he is 6 months old anyway, so I don't think it matters at all.

[sweetkitty]

I've had four and never had a nursery either
No1, we were in a flat and moving very shortly after she was born, actually took 15 months but that's another thread, she moved into her own bedroom at 16 months

No2 coslept for 15 months then went to her own bedroom
No3 coslept for 15-16 months then went into no2s room and no 1&2 shared for a bit

Poor no 4 was in with us for 2 1/2 years whilst we had an extension built and they all eventually got their own rooms.

[milliemanzi]

Well if it makes you feel better we'll be living in a pokey 1 bed until the baby is 6 months!

[Rikalaily]

I'm expecting no.5 and have never had a nursery. They have been in our room for 1y, 2.5y, 2.5y & nearly 5y. This one will stay in with us until they are in school too and then we will switch rooms with the girls and move her in with her sisters. I wouldn't dream of having a baby in their own room, I'd panic and not sleep, lol.

[Acer77]

This is all reassuring! I think we will be in our 2 bed flat until baby is 6 months so I want to keep a bed in our spare room for grandparents to stay when i need help or DH to get sleep if he is working long hours...
Part of me really wants to decorate a nursery though so I might do that anyway! But I'm only going to get a chest of drawers for the baby and then the crib / cot will be in our room until we move out...

[MustBeLoopy390]

We've never had a nursery, our kids stayed in with us until they were ready to transfer into their own rooms, dd was 3 and ds was 2 and 9 months xx

[Thanksforthat]

Did you have a nursery when you were a baby? I doubt it. I'm from a family of nine( yup I'm Irish) and there were no nurseries.
I don't have a nursery for my babies and expected baby won't have one either. A load of hoo ha if you ask me. And I'm on an American forum and there's people taking out loans to decorate nurseries

[MarionHaste]

I converted my study to a nursery like this: I bought a piece of PVC cloth for the top of the desk, then put the changing mat on top. Nappies in the filing cabinet, ice cream tub for top and tail washing, washing up bowl for baths.

[OhEmGeee]

We were the same in that we rented and bought a house when DS was 9 months old. We didn't see the point in making the tiny spare room a nursery so he just stayed in with us.

To be honest the SIDS advice is that baby sleeps in the same room as you for 6 months anyway as it's thought to reduce the risk of cot death.

www.lullabytrust.org.uk/safer-sleep

[OhEmGeee]

Oh and practically if you're up all night feeding going into another room continually is a pain, you just want them next to you.

[DarylDixonsDarlin]

'nursery furniture'

You're best off getting normal furniture that you can continue to use when the child is grown up, imho. We just had a cot (that was never slept in) and a big chest of drawers, which we put a changing mat and nappy box on top of. The DCs now still keep their clothes in the chests of drawers, as they are a good size and should last a really, really long time as they are solid wood. They have one each.

[HeffaLumpers]

Don't waste your time or money. I'm expecting my second and have never had a nursery. With our first we kept the second bedroom as a spare room because we were moving. It was much more useful. Dd was on with us till past a year. Dc2 is staying in with us then will go in with dd when they are older ( certainly no earlier than 6 months.) Don't bother with nursery furniture.

[Vijac]

You definitely don't need one. My dd is 6.5 months and the nursery is only used to store clothes and toys at the moment. She is in the bed or a Moses basket. If you want you could get a crib or beside cot. The only thing you might need is somewhere for dh to sleep if there are lots of night awakening and he struggles with lack of sleep.

[Sparrowlegs248]

People seem amazed/horrified if you mention you haven't done a nursery. I'm constantly being asked at work. We have a two bed house, both bedrooms are huge. The soared room has a single bed, drawers, shelves and wardrobe in it. It will also have a cot when we get round to sorting all the other cap out. That's as far as it goes!

[eurochick]

We did exactly this. We sold when she was 2 months old and moved when she was 5 months. There was a cock up with the nursery furniture delivery so she didn't have a cot until she was 8 months, but she was fine in our room in a bednest and then travel cot. It was no problem at all.