To ask you to help me work out how a baby will work in our one bed flat (diagram)

[HackneyP]

DH and I have found out we are expecting a baby due end of May. We live in a one bed housing association flat (third floor) in central London and will likely need to stay here for a while after the baby is born.

Logistically I need some help on making our flat work! (See attached diagram- not to scale!)

Bedroom is a small double. Our bed takes up 3/4 of the room.

Very small bathroom, shower over the bath.

Large front room/ living room.

Large kitchen.

I don't know where we could put a cot/ changing table/ pram etc. Everything we get will need to be relatively compact. I did think about us sleeping in the front room and getting a big sofa bed and making our bedroom the baby's room with a cot and changing table (it would work for this) but then there's nowhere for either of us to go of one wants to sleep early and I still want the place to look decent enough for visitors (wishful thinking).

Any suggestions gratefully received.

Do you have space in the bedroom for a very small cot/crib?

This apparently lasts until they are 10 years old but is tiny to begin with. a bit expensive but not a bad investment as it can come with you if you move etc but also works in very small spaces www.stokke.com/GBR/en-gb/nursery/stokke-sleepi/2222.html?dwvar_2222_color=100&gclid=CjwKCAjw6ZLOBRALEiwAxzyCWymxnICHhB9VTSdRWJTxjafS9aP6TVJzo2PrIfHdhuKSxgs9iUAlmxoCDREQAvD_BwE

A mattress topper could be used if its not the greatest sofa bed.

Bit of a faff making and putting away bedding every night though.

Also do NOT waste money and space on a changing table. I used a side cabinet (about the right sapce) in the living room of our tiny flat when DS was born . I just put a changing mat on top and stored the nappies etc inside.

Whatever you do, do try to keep two sleeping options (with a sofa bed or something similar in the non-bedroom) so that one of you can sleep in the other room if necessary.
Good luck

🎉CONGRATULATIONS! 🎉

It sounds like it wasn't exactly planned, the best things in life often aren't! 😂

Do NOT buy loads of 'stuff'

Babies need surprisingly little, parents just want loads of cute 'stuff', but it makes life much more messy & complicated.

I would co-sleep or get a pram that has a flat based proper baby bit, like a Moses basket but on wheels. Then you can move it into the lounge/kitchen in the day & near you at night. Your baby doesn't need its own room, you two need a bedroom & a separate lounge so you can both retreat when you need to get some space sleep.

Absolutely no need for a cot for a few months. Then you can decide if you even need one or if the baby has moved into your bed 🤣 Depending on the baby you could use a travel cot for a while then too. My friends DD was in hers until gone 2. Likewise they used a blow up baby bath in the bath for a good while.

If you're bottle feeding the microwave sterilisers are great & stored in the microwave!

As countless others have no doubt said you do not need a changing table (I prefer the bed with a changing mat anyway).

Do NOT buy loads of 'stuff'. Did I mention that?!

😂🤣

Oh and keep saying LOUDLY we don't have any space so we are choosing to be minimalistic. If parents, siblings are dying to buy the 'big things' then let them buy the things you NEED. 3rd floor, one bedroom flat is not the place to indulge Grandparents buying rocking horses & massive jumperoo things! 😊

I'm so excited for you, I hope you are too 💐

Sling
Co sleep
Fold up changing mat that goes in your handbag

Get a pull down bed for your living room, convert bedroom for baby.

Don't even think about highchairs, absolutely no need for months after the baby is here, let alone beforehand.

Keep the sofa you have for now. There's NO need to even think about changing it until you see how often it's used & how comfortable it is to sleep on. Stay in your bed, in your bedroom, for now. The baby needs to sleep near you, they're tiny, you two aren't.

Honestly, there's no need to plan for when the child is 2, Plan for the newborn & change things if/when they need to be changed.

Paranoid

WTAF? Spend a fortune on one of those so the baby has a bedroom. The baby that should be sleeping in its parents room for months, if not longer, does not need a room.

They're in a housing association flat, they'd be daft to buy something like that anyway.

Also, don't bother with a high church, mamas and papas booster seats are fab, we sold our high chair and got one of these instead. Saved so much space!

I'd just like to be the sole voice of dissent re: changing table.

I could not have managed without mine. I had a very difficult recovery from CS and couldn't bend on the floor or twist on the sofa to change the baby. Mine was a godsend and I used it every day until my son was 3.

Agree with everyone else about changing table, but what you do need is somewhere to store all the kid's clothes/blankets/bibs/slings etc. Especially if you're relying on hand-me-downs, or want to keep grown-out-of clothes for a second baby - you will end up being given loads of stuff that is too big for them and wanting to keep stuff that they've grown out of.
Get a pram that folds down small and get a chest of drawers that can live in the hall. Put baby in a Moses basket when little and let them sleep in bed with you when a bit older. You don't need baby gyms/bouncy chairs etc, but you WILL need a carseat, even if you don't have a car. If only to get them home from the hospital!

You can always put a changing mat on the bed if you have a difficult delivery , you really don't need a changing table.

direct.asda.com/george/furniture/nursery-furniture/cots-cot-beds/rafferty-compact-cot-white/050219175,default,pd.html?cgid=D5M23G2C1S4

We had this as a cot smaller then a regular cot but big enough for baby did us as our standard cot until he was ready for a toddler bed.

www.argos.co.uk/product/3765122 We used this portable booster as our high chair on a regular kitchen chair was good for crafting and doing things at the big table he still fits in it now at 3 before he was 12 months he just used to sit on my lap as we did baby led weaning but other portables are ok from 6 months.

We also used this www.madeformums.com/reviews/baby-gear/bouncer-and-rocker-chairs/lindam-bounce-about-door-bouncer/786.html for play.
Toy storage we use this
www.amazon.co.uk/Hartleys-Tier-Storage-Unit-Canvas/dp/B00E9YCGQE/ref=pd_sim_75_15?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=ZXP0RGA7GKG40VSKGZVJ&tag=mumsnetforum-21

Which is tiny but holds a lot of toys

I didn't have a change table and had a csection. It was fine.

We didn't ever have a high chair either,just a booster seat like the one linked.

Congratulations, as previous PP have said babies really don't need much stuff so it's doable with a bit of creativity. We lived at my Mums 3 bed house with DS until he was 3 months, there were 4 adults a teenager, 6 month old twins and a newborn but it worked out!

Sleep -
co-sleep/space saver cot in your room

Travel -
sling/small pushchair you can hang on the back of a door. Car seat in car/corner/cupboard. I know people who use them instead of a bouncer for 10 mins here and there to shower etc.

Warmth -
Clothing/bedding can be stored in underbed boxes, in your wardrobe or in drawers, maybe get a large chest and put in living room/hallway to replace existing ones in your bedroom if you have?

Food -
Boobs are portable or look at Mam bottles, they are self sterilising so you just add water and microwave rather than buying a big steriliser tub/unit.

Bathing/changing -
Baby can bath in sink or big bath with you, keep nappies/wipes in a box in sitting room and have a fold up change mat with them.

I had 2 CS and managed to change them on my knee or the kitchen table (not ideal but needs must!) as there was no money or space for a changing table.

You can pay about £250-300 for the wall mechanism and base.

This is the side ways small double version. They are on ebay as wall beds or murphy beds. It's £269. The other pic is a more expensive one with a sofa built into the closed bed.

We did similar to this until first son was 2,but in a (tiny) onebedroomed house rather than flat.
You don't need any baby "furniture" at all. Clear a drawer for baby clothes. Use a towel on bed or floor once you're up to it. Although we had a Moses basket it was used it in the living room for day time naps but we co-slept overnight. My main bugbear was having the bloody huge pram thing in the living room as we had no hall.... Make sure u get something sensible to go in the hallway.

Id have hated not having a separate living and sleeping space but I really don't think the baby need needs it own bedroom until at least 2 ish so you have loads of time to play with.

Contratualtions

Don't switch rooms around. Being squashed in a small living room with a 6 month old won't be pleasant. Put a small cot next to the bed and then look for a slim & tall second hand dresser for babies clothes & nappies. Use a change mat on the floor. Ikea sells slim wardrobes that can be stored in the living room and still look really nice. You'll want more floor space for a crawling baby than bed space. Stuffed into a small room for sleeping is far better than stuffed into a small space with a baby whose awake and on the go.

How big is your kitchen? Does it have room for a small table (no need for a high chair) and a dresser for the baby (rather than in the living room)?

Buy a heavy duty hook that goes over a door so you can hang your pushchair up. I used the Stroll Away but it looks like it's not available at the moment. This one on Amazon looks similar www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B003OE6A8K/ref=pd_aw_sim_sbs_75_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=GB9D9Z1D55AMTE2BXF8Y&dpPl=1&dpID=61QGviq0UIL&tag=mumsnetforum-21
We used ours in our tiny apartment in Hong Kong and it was great!

We used plain white wooden crib from mothercare - small and compact.
Used bumbo with shelf instead if high chair.
Get any buggy/pram that folds down small.

Honestly little babies don't need much room

Thank you so much for all of these replies and suggestions I have been making a list!

I think we need to get a decent sized chest of drawers for the bedroom and a changing mat. Even with the bed against the wall there won't be space for a cot attached to one side so will have to get one and put it at the end of the bed.

Then in the living room I am going to sell our sofa and buy a really decent double sofa bed so will give us the option of sleeping in that room. Will get one with storage.

Feeling like this is much more doable now so thank you.

Take a look at the ikea hemnes daybed. Works ok as sofa and as single or double bed.