Second floor flat (with storage room on ground floor for pram)

socialmedia23 · 2023-01-29T15:38:48+00:00

Do any of you have any advice on this? My current flat (which I own and am selling) has 2 bedrooms and is also on second floor (so am used to steps). However no storage room on ground floor unlike this flat. This flat has amazing location, is reasonably priced (hence allowing for £1800 childcare fees and new higher mortgage) and is most importantly a reasonable location from MIL (who can't drive but has promised to look after my future baby 1 day a week at least- thereby reducing childcare fees).. new flat is also bigger. Not planning on more than 1 child. And arguably, this flat would be easier than my current set up due to the storage room. i really want this to work. Any tips from mums who live in second floor flats in London!

Girasoli · 29/01/2023 16:38

Is there a lift? I think that would be the decider for me.

We live in a block of flats and there are lots
of families with 1/2 children.

(I'm desperate for a garden though if I'm honest)

PotteringAlonggotkickedoutandhadtoreregister · 29/01/2023 16:43

do you have any access to outside space at all? Post Covid, that would be a decider for me.

I’m Sure lots of people do it and I’m sure lots of people manage, but having access to outside space you can get to without having to leave where you live with a child will make your life immeasurably easier.

also, don’t throw all of your eggs into the childcare basket with MiL. What if she changes her mind? Doesn’t want to? Can’t cope? It cannot be the sole deciding factor about where you live. If you’re in London, her being able to drive or not is less important. You have access to public transport the rest of us can only dream of.

Clicheinaqashqai · 29/01/2023 16:48

As pp have said, it is the outside space that would bother me more. We aren't second floor but as our house is built in to a hill, we have 12 steps from the driveway to the front door and the pram just lives in the car boot and it works fine. The bike, scooter and helmet also live in therr we have very little hallway space.

Just make sure you get a pram that is easy to fold 1 handed whilst holding baby or fits in the storage space without folding.

Original poster

socialmedia23 · 29/01/2023 17:21

PotteringAlonggotkickedoutandhadtoreregister · 29/01/2023 16:43

do you have any access to outside space at all? Post Covid, that would be a decider for me.

I’m Sure lots of people do it and I’m sure lots of people manage, but having access to outside space you can get to without having to leave where you live with a child will make your life immeasurably easier.

also, don’t throw all of your eggs into the childcare basket with MiL. What if she changes her mind? Doesn’t want to? Can’t cope? It cannot be the sole deciding factor about where you live. If you’re in London, her being able to drive or not is less important. You have access to public transport the rest of us can only dream of.

We have a balcony..and a communal garden.

I am in London. Honestly not too bothered about outdoor space as while I grew up in a house, 95% of people in my home country raise people in apartments. But nice it has a balcony imho.

OP posts:

Original poster

socialmedia23 · 29/01/2023 17:23

Girasoli · 29/01/2023 16:38

Is there a lift? I think that would be the decider for me.

We live in a block of flats and there are lots
of families with 1/2 children.

(I'm desperate for a garden though if I'm honest)

No lift. There are flats with lift on the same estate but this one has an extended lease (seller is a lawyer and was therefore quite savvy re extending). And honestly lift does cost quite a lot to run as well...

OP posts:

Original poster

socialmedia23 · 29/01/2023 17:24

Girasoli · 29/01/2023 16:38

Is there a lift? I think that would be the decider for me.

We live in a block of flats and there are lots
of families with 1/2 children.

(I'm desperate for a garden though if I'm honest)

My current flat has no lift either! So used to living without a lift. Though I guess with baby it may be a different question, there are families with 1/2 children where I live and they often live on upper floor..main problem is pram storage though. We don't have any in my current flat..

OP posts:

Steviebrown · 29/01/2023 17:26

Is it an actual storage room? Or just some space where you think a pram could be left? Probably teaching my granny to suck eggs, but usually you can't store prams, bikes etc, in the shared spaces.

Girasoli · 29/01/2023 17:32

IME it will be a massive pain when your baby falls asleep on a walk and the you have to somehow get them inside while keeping them asleep. Double tricky if you also have shopping in the bottom of the pushchair.

(And I only used to have one small flight of steps! Live on the ground floor now)

Original poster

socialmedia23 · 29/01/2023 17:44

Steviebrown · 29/01/2023 17:26

Is it an actual storage room? Or just some space where you think a pram could be left? Probably teaching my granny to suck eggs, but usually you can't store prams, bikes etc, in the shared spaces.

It is an actual store room...

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Original poster

socialmedia23 · 29/01/2023 17:45

Steviebrown · 29/01/2023 17:26

Is it an actual storage room? Or just some space where you think a pram could be left? Probably teaching my granny to suck eggs, but usually you can't store prams, bikes etc, in the shared spaces.

Pic below

Second floor flat (with storage room on ground floor for pram)

OP posts:

Defaultuser · 29/01/2023 18:00

I moved to a 2nd floor flat when my now 4 year old was 3 weeks and we managed fine. It was a bit of a pain having to lift him out of the pram when he was asleep but on the plus side I think that might have got us to a routine of him sleeping in his cot earlier. For 4 years we have thought about whether we should move to a house but we love the location so much we are quite happy for now! We were lucky that no-one complained that we left the pram downstairs.

BlackeyedSusan · 29/01/2023 18:17

Only one child, ground floor storage:a doddle.

Two children under two with additional needs (DC one could not walk upstairs unaided and needed one hand )and a double buggy (7.5kg, folds/unfolds with one hand)that goes upstairs as no downstairs storage getting all that lot up the stairs in one go....)

Requires a bit of forward planning, and a baby carrier or two and good thighs. (One on the back, one on the front and a buggy in one hand)

I have carried two sleeping children and a rucksack full of stuff up the stairs.

I have carried 11 year old children either up or down the stairs as well when injured.

Things to check: the stairs are reasonably wide so you can have fridges/furniture delivered without them getting stuck on a tight bend.

brainstories568 · 29/01/2023 18:20

I can't see the size of the storage room from the pic as it's too small, but where is it located in comparison to the flat? And is it large enough to roll the pram into, shut the door, and have space for a chair etc? And does it have power? I know people who have a similar set up and if the baby is sleeping (particularly when they're down to one nap a day) they essentially set up shop in the storage room for an hour with a book/iPad/hot drink and time that into their day. However if it isn't that sophisticated and you'd need to fold the pushchair up anyway then that could be more problematic....as unless you use a sling too then how are you going to get your baby from the storage room to your flat after you've stored the pushchair?

From what I can see of the floor plan, it looks like you could have a suitable area just to the side of the main entrance to the flat? I reckon that's where you'll be putting the buggy in reality rather than the storage unit, particularly if you get a lightweight one like a yo-yo.

Also unless you're very early into your pregnancy then it's possible that you'll still be in your current place when the baby is born anyway so you could try befriending the existing families in your building to find out how they did/do it, regardless of whether you buy the other flat.

doadeer · 29/01/2023 18:20

I live on second floor with a pram. I can leave it in hallway downstairs or fold it and carry up

Original poster

socialmedia23 · 29/01/2023 18:45

brainstories568 · 29/01/2023 18:20

I can't see the size of the storage room from the pic as it's too small, but where is it located in comparison to the flat? And is it large enough to roll the pram into, shut the door, and have space for a chair etc? And does it have power? I know people who have a similar set up and if the baby is sleeping (particularly when they're down to one nap a day) they essentially set up shop in the storage room for an hour with a book/iPad/hot drink and time that into their day. However if it isn't that sophisticated and you'd need to fold the pushchair up anyway then that could be more problematic....as unless you use a sling too then how are you going to get your baby from the storage room to your flat after you've stored the pushchair?

From what I can see of the floor plan, it looks like you could have a suitable area just to the side of the main entrance to the flat? I reckon that's where you'll be putting the buggy in reality rather than the storage unit, particularly if you get a lightweight one like a yo-yo.

Also unless you're very early into your pregnancy then it's possible that you'll still be in your current place when the baby is born anyway so you could try befriending the existing families in your building to find out how they did/do it, regardless of whether you buy the other flat.

I was planning- take baby upstairs, come down and then put pushchair into storage unit. So you don't need to carry the pushchair up the stairs. It's in the same building as the flat. Storage room is three metres square.

I am not pregnant yet sadly.

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doadeer · 30/01/2023 07:35

I just got a pram with a detachable carry cot, lift that off. Then you can fold the Base and you carry baby up in carry cot. Once they are old enough to walk up with help you don't use the carry cot anymore. I also purposefully got a light pram I can carry. My son is four and I can still lift him in the pram. Get something like a bugaboo bee

Original poster

socialmedia23 · 30/01/2023 09:31

doadeer · 30/01/2023 07:35

I just got a pram with a detachable carry cot, lift that off. Then you can fold the Base and you carry baby up in carry cot. Once they are old enough to walk up with help you don't use the carry cot anymore. I also purposefully got a light pram I can carry. My son is four and I can still lift him in the pram. Get something like a bugaboo bee

Thanks that's a great help..do you have the bugaboo bee?

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RedRed20 · 30/01/2023 09:40

Looks like a really spacious flat. I think you’ll be fine. Plenty of friends in London have babies in flats. You could get a yo-yo or similar.

MaeMair · 30/01/2023 09:45

I did this. Loved that flat, all my happy small child menories are there! The stairs are a bit of a nuisance but only a bit, with the sleeping babe stage. I've carried a pram up two flights, carried two toddlers, carried loads of shopping, etc etc. Your storage room looks bloody amazing. I used to bike lock my bugaboo frame to the bottom stair railings!

I lived a few mins from amazing parks so really only used my shared garden to hang my washing out, which I also did even though two floors up with 2 little children!

Like you say, it's not strange at all. So many people live in flats. You find ways to make it work! Good luck, the flat sounds perfect to me!

LiverBurd · 30/01/2023 09:46

I think it will be fine. I lived in a 1st floor flat in London with 2 kids and no downstairs storage for the pram and it was fine! Loads of families live like this in cities.

A lack of outside space would bother me more - we had a communal garden it it was a pain walking down to it and sharing it with other people. We did have a balcony which was great though.

doadeer · 30/01/2023 09:46

Yes I have a bee. Where I live in London most people have this or the yoyo. But I think the bee feels more substantial and the carry cot was much more secure and you can also have parent facing pram which I liked. You can use the carry cot as a moses basket.

FlounderingFruitcake · 30/01/2023 09:55

I had my eldest in a 3rd floor walk up flat in Chicago so that was 4 flights of stairs since everywhere has a raised ground floor entrance there. No storage room. Honestly it was fine. Changing bag with a strap over one shoulder. YoYo pram which has a shoulder strap over the other. Hands free to carry baby. Get all the shopping delivered.

FlounderingFruitcake · 30/01/2023 09:59

You’re not going to want to leave baby alone whilst you go to a separate storage unit though. That sounds a bit sketchy. I used to hang the YoYo off the coat hooks in the entryway.

Oh and find a good local coffee shop for if they’re napping as you won’t manage getting up the stairs without waking them!

Original poster

socialmedia23 · 30/01/2023 10:00

FlounderingFruitcake · 30/01/2023 09:55

I had my eldest in a 3rd floor walk up flat in Chicago so that was 4 flights of stairs since everywhere has a raised ground floor entrance there. No storage room. Honestly it was fine. Changing bag with a strap over one shoulder. YoYo pram which has a shoulder strap over the other. Hands free to carry baby. Get all the shopping delivered.

Thank you, it's good to hear. I think I was just worried because there are always articles in the tabloids about mums in social housing saying it is disgraceful that they are housed in an upper floor flat with no lift. Though to be fair, the tabloids intent may not be to highlight the 'plight' of the mother but to be goady and portray them as entitled!

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GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut · 30/01/2023 10:06

You're not going to want to leave the baby alone in the flat while you come back downstairs and sort out the pram.

You'll need to take baby out of the pram and put the pram in the storage room, then go upstairs.

If the pram would need to be folded you'll either need one that folds with one hand, or a sling to put baby in while you deal with it.

Is the storage room just yours or shared?