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.

What about the double Ikea loft bed with baby 'room' underneath? Pic for idea but it could look so much better

Don't worry about visitors, they will have to take their chances. Work out what works best for the family. Is there room for a cot behind the sofa in the living room?

I'd recommend the Nuna Sena travel cot - our DD actually prefers it to her usual cot and it's smaller too. It has a bassinet level and you can also buy a change mat attachment which slides onto the top of the cot and clicks into place. We went away for six weeks and just had the one bedroom - that system really sorted us out.

So, if you get a decent sized chest of drawers you are sorted! Just go all 'olden days' and line a drawer with a blanket for the baby! ( I don't think they used to shut the drawer with the baby in though!)

(Lighthearted comment obvs )

Don't fancy climbing out the loft bed at night after giving birth either naturally or cs!

Move all furniture out of the bedroom apart from bed and small cot. Drawers or wardrobe can go somewhere in hall or living room.

Buy the cot only after you've had the baby and they've outgrown a Moses basket- you might find you like co-sleeping, you might be desperate for a cot ... but they're truly no use until about 8 weeks I'd say (depending on size of baby you have!) so no point tripping over it in the meantime.

congratulations!

Aww, congratulations! It'll definitely be doable, it might be a bit of a squish but you'll get through it. I shared a room with my first son in my parents house until we moved out and it was fine. I just shared my chest of drawers with him and squished a cot into my room.

In my current house, we could only fit a cot between the wardrobe and the side of the bed, with the bed against the wall on the other side. I just used to climb over the bed to get to my side of the wardrobe and get into bed from the bottom. It could be done the other way around too, with a cot at the base right up against the bed. We used a Moses basket at first which we bought very cheaply on eBay. It came with a folding stand so we hid it away when the basket was on the floor. Your baby may outgrow this quickly, so it's a good idea to know what your plan for a cot is beforehand. My son was only 5 weeks old when he outgrew it.

We used to keep a changing mat upright behind the curtain in our living room and change him on the floor. We also kept the folded Moses basket stand behind there. That could be a useful little storage space for you if you have any floor length curtains. A towel on your lap or sofa will take up even less space. I had a handled basket of nappies/wipes etc so I could carry it from room to room. Probably not such an issue in a flat. I also use the space under my settees as storage space. They are the ektorp ones from IKEA so there is a little gap underneath which is covered by the settee cover. Lots of toys and games have been stored under there, as well as instruments in hard cases! Possibly not going to work for you if you buy a sofa bed but could be considered for other items of furniture.

I had a sling and a pram and used both. I didn't feel comfortable using the sling in winter as I live in a very hilly area where people regularly slip over on ice. You could look at storing a pram on the wall in the hall the way that people store bikes.

I'd leave the bedroom as it is. I never had a changing table- we just used a folding mat on the sofa / bed / floor. You could put the cot and some storage/ bookcase / wardrobe in one corner of your massive living room and maybe section off that part of the room say with a bookcase. A moses Basket will be handy for the first month or 6 weeks up to about 12lbs really, but useful if you want to put baby to sleep in the bedroom for part of the evening.

www.readingmytealeaves.com/2016/09/life-in-a-tiny-apartment-floor-plan.html
She seems to have strayed away from where the blog started but some intetestibg ideas

She basically moved her bed and a wardrobe into the corner of the living room and the kids sleep in the bedroom.
She approaches it as a studio appartmemt with a kids bedroom.

We have a Chicco Next to Me crib wedged between our bed and the wall, and a changing mat that lives on its side down the side of the bath. Folding pushchair rather than a big travel system (we have a Babyjogger CityMini because it's cheaper and I wanted to run with it, but the Babyzen Yoyo is much smaller).

Activity mat and bouncy chair in the living room. Baths in the sink until DS was three months, and in with us now he's bigger. Stacking Muji plastic drawers for his clothes, or you could get some underbed storage. Gro Company harness on normal chair rather than highchair, though we are thinking of switching to a booster seat because DS tries to escape the harness. We're breastfeeding so no sterilising crap to store.

DS is six months old and it's working well so far. We're in this house until he's 18months (going overseas and it's not worth selling up).

Not a popular view on here but I'd have been lost without a high up changing surface. I can't imagine changing a baby on the floor after a c-section and if you're tall, your back won't thank you for doing 50+ changes a week crouched on the floor or hunched over the sofa. The cot-top changing unit already mentioned sounds like a good space saver and for me would be a priority.

We never had a changing table because I always felt it was safer to use a mat on the floor- no chance of baby rolling off once they get to 3 months or so and can turn over.

I think you've had some good suggestions on here... the main thing I would say is do whatever works for the 3 of you. Don't worry about potential guests or entertaining.... this is your home and if guests needs to make day visits rather than stay over with you then so be it for now.

We had twins in a one bed flat and didn't move until they were at school. You can do it, it's not ideal but doable. In fact Wandsworth C BBC him, I'm ouncil do not consider 2 adults and 2 children in a one bedroom flat over crowded.

As others have said, get rid of stuff before that baby comes. Store stuff - especially seasonal with generous relatives or friends. Try and hire a shed or storage space, if none are forthcoming.

Buy second hand baby stuff at NCT sales That way you don't mind giving away and are less likely to hold on space draining stuff for the 'next one'. Forget changing table. Those hanging fabric shoes racks are cheap and great for storing baby things like nappies, babygrows and muslins.

Cots can be quite compact. If you don't have the space, try a travel cot.

Both our dc were in moses baskets for about 6months, we never had changing tables. The only thing you need to consider is placement of a cot/childs bed somewhere. Get a pram that is foldable, especially being in London. Look at small living with children websites/blogs. Get rid of unnecessary clutter.