Surprise 3rd baby but only 2 bed house

No points indulging in feeling a failure. If you took the pill then it's just what can happen. Congratulations. Is there an option to swap homes with your parents?

Can you not squeeze a cot in and have then in with you for a few years and fingers crossed the 15 year old goes to uni and the baby is a boy to share with the current 8 year old

Could your parents get carers in instead and you work FT after maternity leave? I think you need to prioritise the family you have created now, and there are other options for your parents.

I had 3 children in a terrace for years, we found a few videos online of how to turn a large front bedroom into smaller spaces and they shared with no issues. Kids are very flexible and will work with whatever you've got- don't forget we're only a generation or 2 away from times when lots of children would be sharing rooms and even beds! Don't feel like a failure, you've done nothing wrong- if you've love to give then everything will be fine x

So no major extension or conversion but could non supporting walls be moved / removed. Do u have a loft that you could makenusuable for you and DH eventually?

Do u need clever sleep solutions in bedrooms eg your current boys room needs clever re arraging - ask AI chat gpt to make room.for an eventual.3rd bed or.are u saint a baby in a newborn cot cant fit in your room.

Can you remove wardrobes and put clever and nice storage elsewhere for clothes?

What will happen if you stop caring for your parents? Surely if they needed the help they will be entitled to something? With accommodation, how much garden space do you have? There’s units you can buy now to go in the back garden for offices or extra bedrooms. I really don’t see how this is going to work, with you already being borderline overcrowded and presumably your parents needs will increase as they get older. They really do need to take some responsibility for organising their own care

We have a small double bedroom and we got a double loft bed from Ikea with space underneath, and had a compact cot bed there. It converted to a cot bed and baby was able to sleep there until age 3.

We got rid of our wardrobes and had just a few pieces in an under bed case under the cot, with out of season stuff put in storage.

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/stora-loft-bed-frame-black-80160867/

To throw out ideas: can you take the wardrobe doors off, so you don't need space to open them? First few months should be fine with a moses basket instead of a full cot. Would you bed share when they are older? Is there any space for a garden room? That could be used as a social space if lounge becomes your bedroom, or a place for oldest to sleep when he is over 18? Can you fit a cot in your hallways? Can younger ds have a bunk bed over a cot?

What about getting single bunk beds in your room so you can fit a cot? Then a cot bed.

Then when the baby gets bigger you get a bunk bed with a double at the bottom and a single at the top?

Or you apply to the HA to move to a 3 bed in a years time? Let your oldest get his GCSEs done then move as it won't matter so much as he won't be at school any more. Or perhaps someone locally will do a house swap?? Lots of house swaps happen in my are where people want a 2 bed to downsize.

Is moving definitely, really impossible? I'm sure you can make this work but if there was any way not to I'd do that.

Having a 3 bed flat in a worse area might be preferable?

Cot with shelving above it instead of wardrobe? Clothes storage in living room?

Movings the only option. The op says the eldest is only 15 and is unlikely to move out within the next ten years. We can give her all the clever storage ideas in the world for a cot, but the reality is going to ultimately end with four adults and a ten year old in a very small 2 bed house. And her parents may need care for another 20 years. And oh may love his job, but it’s low paid and no room for a pay rise. For this to work with any success and the whole family not being miserable, ops oh needs to change to a better job. Op needs to go full time. Parents need to take on the responsibility of their own care for the next 2 decades, and ultimately they need to move. Op seems to want to have it all but without changing a thing. This situation is impossible

Yeah, you are right actually.

For now could you put your wardrobes in the living room to make space for a cot?

How much more would a three bedroom shared ownership house cost if one was available?

What about swapping with your parents? Or pooling money with your parents for a bigger house?

I had my third when we were living in a 2 bed. Our older 2 were 4 and 7 when the baby was born and they shared a room. The baby stayed in our room in a cot then cotbed for 3 years! Then we moved to a bigger place.

I would remove one of the wardrobes, and have a ruthless chuck out of clothes then share the other wardrobe. If you have winter stuff or things you don’t wear often you can vacuum pack them and buy a plastic garden storage box. You could swap the double bed for a single with trundle, and ask DH to sleep on the sofa until baby is older. Once the baby is 3 will your oldest be looking to move out? He will be 18 then.

Something has to change. Soon you'll have 5 people relying on you, kids and parents. Your husband might like his job but he needs to look at options to earn more and so do you. The obvious choice is to stop the care for your parents. You need to prioritise, you've chosen to have a large family and you need adequate housing, which means 2 full time jobs for most of us.

I don't think any 'innovative' space saving solutions are going to be fair on your children tbh. It's your husband's job and your part time hours that are the issue.

Most 18 year olds don’t move out and if they do go to university they are back for up to five months a year.

The ops husband is just expected to sleep on the couch for the next few years? Also op has already said the eldest is looking to go into an apprenticeship and realistically isn’t likely to move out until mid 20,s, no another 10 years?

The loft bed to replace the double bed seems to be the best solution for at least the next three years, possibly a little longer. The baby's cot/toddler bed will fit underneath with some small storage space.