To think we can have a baby in a 1 bedroom apartment?

[MummyToBe89]

Hi All,

Our first baby is due in December and we're confused over whether we should move out of our one bedroom flat or stay there until the baby comes to need their own cot.

We currently live in a 1 bedroom flat. It's ground floor, has a small patio area and is an old Victorian era house, so nice high ceilings and fairly roomy living room, but doesnt have much spare space in the bedroom or much storage. A few of our friends have told us the baby won't need their own cot until they're about 6 months old and to not bother moving until then.

We live in a very expensive part of the country (currently paying around £1000 per month for our 1 bedroom place) and are trying to save a deposit for a house. Staying where we are would save us about £500 per month, but I'm just worried the baby will get here and I'll wish we moved to a bigger place and have a room to put all the baby's stuff.

Has anybody lived in a one bedroom place with a baby? How long was it before you put your baby in their cot or in their own room?

We could afford to move to a 2 bedroom place, it'd just mean a big hit to what we save each month towards a house deposit.

TIA :)

We put our flat on the market when DC was about 6 weeks old-we felt we really needed more space. We moved at about 5/6 months and they went straight into their own room. I wouldn’t have fancied moving whilst pregnant really.

Congratulations on your pregnancy. If I were you wait till the baby is 5-6 months old then I would get a very good (big) sofabed put it into the living room.Then I would let the baby to have their bedroom/play area then you can have your own space too in the living room. Then you can save all that money but you would still have your own space. Is that something you’ll be able to do?

I’d say it doable but if I were you I’d move before baby is born. Moving is stressful and even more so with a young baby speaking from experience.

Carbon Monoxide can be a problem having a fire in a bedroom, so depending on the type of fire it might not be advisable. If you contact your local fire station they’ll tell you whether it’s ok or not.

Imo it’s fine. I know plenty of people and myself who have carried on living in a 1 bed for a while after having a baby.

Not ideal in the long term especially with all the things they need as they get older but certainly fine for 6 months to a year I would say!

I know a family of 5 who somehow managed to live in a 1 bed for a while between moves. The kids slept on fold our beds in front room, parents and newborn in the only bedroom. Not ideal obviously though..

We did it for a year with first ds. We had a 3/4 size cot from mammas and papas which was great. You don’t need anything else really.

We were in the same position, lived in a lovely area but in a very small one bedroom. It was fine though - used a next to me crib, changed baby on floor. Didn't need much storage. Everything was close and in reach. I could go to another room for a couple minutes and still feel close to the baby.

It was only an issue when baby turned one and was trying to climb everywhere. Kept falling backwards and knocking his head too - I got foam mats but the space was so small it was carpeted in foam. It was hard to make a safe space and I was so stressed by it I kept us outdoors as much as possible. We also had masses of baby stuff we had accumulated by that point.

We moved when he was 1yo and the mauves amount of space made a huge difference. He started walking really quickly and loves zooming around from room to room.

So I think first 6 months are fine, almost idyllic. But I would move by the time they can pull themselves up.

As pp said - get a next to me crib. They are great. Our baby is 4 months and still has lots of room in hers. Highly recommend Tutti Bambini ones - so much better quality than Chico next to me. X

Absolutely, YANBU

We had DC1 with us in the bedroom until well after their 1st birthday when we moved into a 2 bedroom rented flat.

They went into their own cot from the day they came home from hospital- it was next to me by the bed.

We found it fine having a baby in a 1 bedroom flat, my parents (especially my mother) were pretty disappointed and slightly horrified that we did it

We stayed on in the 1 bed because we were saving much more money by paying less rent

It was amazing when we did eventually move into the 2 bed flat- although moving with a toddler adds to the huge stress of it all

Hmm it's really up to you both- weigh up how much money you can save vs the need for space.

In fact really a tiny baby needs a relatively small amount of things- yes, there is an unlimited amount of plastic crap that is out there for you to buy, but they really don't actually need it

Having said all that, if you have the opportunity to buy before the baby is born, that will be much better as you will have more buying power before the cost of childcare kicks in

Plus, moving without a small person in tow is much more straightforward

However, if you a saving a significant amount by staying in the 1 bed, I'd do that

Sorry, going round in circles but hoping that I've made some sense!

Good luck with it all

Hey hey! Yes, we are living in a small 1 bed flat with a 14 month old and a 5 year old 2/7 days a week. We are managing, make use of the space , don't over buy or clutter, our bed has storage underneath it etc. We moved dd in to living room at 6 weeks old as she snores and was waking us 😳 (2 meters from bedroom) we have to put him to bed in travel cot in our room then lift him to living room cot when we go to bed. It's a ballache and we get under eachothers feet but we cope and it saved us 600 quid a month

We live in a 2 bed flat with a teenager who has one room and an 11month old who sleeps in a travel cot (with a proper mattress) in with us. It's fine most the time. A bigger concern for me is lack of space for a dining table!

Can a room containing a gas appliance still be used as a bedroom?
Since 31 October 1998, any room converted to use as sleeping accommodation should not contain the following types of gas appliances:

A gas fire, gas space heater or a gas water heater (including a gas boiler) over 14 kilowatts gross input unless it is room sealed.
A gas fire, gas space heater, or a gas water heater (including a gas boiler) of 14 kilowatts gross input or less or any instantaneous water heater unless it is room sealed or has an atmosphere-sensing device.
If a room contains one or more of the above appliances and was used as a bedroom prior to 1998 then you will need to do a risk assessment to determine if it can still be used as a bedroom. If you are unsure of the safety of any gas appliance you should get a Gas Safe registered link to external website engineer to check it for you.

A solid fuel fire is also not suitable for a bedroom.

You absolutely don't NEED another bedroom, you do need space to put a cot in your bedroom though. My dd is 7 months and in a cot in our bedroom, shes going to be in our room for a good while yet!

We've never even used our changing table once, definitely not essential.

Sounds like a good idea moving the rooms around! Job done. Congrats!

We did it, moved out when he was 10months old.
We didn't have space for a proper cot but ds slept in one of these. It's got a changing unit on top and we just bought a proper mattress to go with it.

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Friends of mine lived in a one bedroom flat until their second was around a year. I would be tempted to stay put for now and save the difference so you get used to the extra outgoings but give yourself a nice lump sum once you move

You willl be fine!

Your landlord will need to approve you swapping the rooms because of the fire.

Can you change the wardrobe for one with sliding doors? That way you don't lose the floor space in front of it.

Small babies dont need a lot of stuff. Slingg, moses baskets and a drawer for clothes. All ours have been in our walk in wardrobe until nearly 2 and sleeping consistently then into shared room with a brother. Repeat after me. Small babies dont need a lot of stuff. Stay and save.

Yes you can, whether you'll be comfortable or not is another matter.

We stayed in a 1 bed flat until 1st DC was 6m. We had room for a cotbed as well as our double bed, in our room, and we were fortunate it was (as yours sounds) an old Victorian building, so high ceilings, good sized rooms, with room for a sofa bed in the sitting room, and a dining kitchen. I was pretty glad to move out to a 2 bed house, but then equally glad to move to a 3 bed when DC2 came, and now to a 4/5 bed house. We could have stayed where we were, quite happily - DC don't need loads of stuff. although a 2nd bathroom is a godsend with teenagers!! you'll fill the room you've got. I never had a changing table, just a changing mat from Asda or the like. I imagine mums who've had sections may need a table, but perhaps a mat on a higher surface would suffice? It's been a while since I had babies, but I'm sure someone will advise! Congratulations on your baby!!

My SiL had a baby last November while living in a one bedroom flat. It was ok at first while baby was in the Snuzpod in their room. She grew out of the Snuzpod by 4 months old and the only place they could fit the cot was the living room. That meant that once baby was in bed for the evening, the only thing mum and dad could do was stay in their bedroom whispering.

They had rented out their flat and moved to a rented house (outside London) within a couple of months as are very relieved to have the extra space.

Move the rooms around or move.
If you have no space for a cot you will struggle, and you don't want to have to move with a tiny baby.