New kitchen and tiny baby

[wondering7777]

I’m saving up for a new kitchen and will probably have enough money in the bank - and feel confident enough in my financial situation - to go ahead by autumn next year. However, I have a baby (my first) due in April/May!

Would it be madness to get a new kitchen installed so soon after the birth - and if so, how long would you wait?

I live in a two-up, three down small terraced property in London, so we’ll never be far away from the noise and dust.

Any advice?

It's risky it could end up being extremely stressful. How much work do you need doing? Changing the cabinets is easier than knocking down walls, re tiling and changing the floor. How long will the work take? Factor in inevitable delays to this - plus the delay always happens when you are mid-job and have no cooker or sink.

Then there are baby related complications. The noise might wake up the baby, you may worry that the dust will be bad for the baby and it may be unsettling trying to bf and recover with strangers going in and out of the house.

What will you do about cooking, can you afford take-aways for the duration?

There won’t be any walls knocked down, but everything else will need to be ripped out and replaced, including flooring. Hmm, maybe I’ll wait till the baby starts school...!

We had a new kitchen installed when DC1 was 2 and DC2 was 4 months. Yes it was chaos for a few weeks (cooking in microwave balanced on the tumble dryer in the living room). Thankfully it was summer and we spent a lot of time in the park or on playdates, and lots of naps in the buggy.

I think it's easier to do when baby is small and immobile- a 9 month old crawling in plaster dust and putting nails in their mouth, or a 13 month old toddling onto your freshly screeded floor would be much worse

Can you go away for a week while it's done?

I don’t think there is ever a good time to get the kitchen redone tbh. Do you have someone you could go and stay with for the week while the work is completed? Family?

Your baby won’t be a newborn when you are planning to get the work done though (May birth+autumn work= 5 month old). Whilst you may still be having broken sleep, I would expect that you will have found your groove with the baby and kind of know what you are doing (as much as any parent does). Life can’t stop because there is a baby in the house, so you will probably just have to take the disruption and get through it as best you can.

I had a huge loft conversion with walls knocked down on the ground floor, no bathroom, washing machine and even water sometimes and it started when my baby was two WEEKS old!! It's chaos whilst it is happening but definitely worth it.

As you are expecting your first have you factored in (if you work) that you might want up to a year off (with some of this less pay/unpaid), to go back part time or maybe not go back at all.

Do you have savings for these options or can afford them? At the moment you might think you want to get the kitchen done and go back to work when baby is 6 months for example but when baby is here you might decide you would rather not get the kitchen done and have a year off work.

I’d just do it now. It’s easier when they’re a tiny baby than a crawling baby or toddler who keeps wanting to go and investigate what the builders are doing! And leaving it til they start school is a very long time to wait. We were in the middle of a loft conversation when my youngest was born and then we had 2 of the bathrooms done one after the other, it was all fine and ended up being totally worth it

Have you considered a finance option that would let you get it done before the baby is born? I'm getting a new kitchen and one of the options was pay a deposit and then the balance in 12 months with the only extra cost being a £50ish admin fee?

Definitely get it done when baby is smaller but make sure you are prepared so cooked meals in the freezer ready to defrost.
Plus if you will be breastfeeding then this will be easier.

We had a new kitchen when I had a 15 month old and a 5 week old baby. I wanted it done while I was still pregnant, but my husband persuaded me it would be too stressful, needing it finished before the baby arrived, and he was right. Tbh, it was ok. We spent a week at my parents’ (mistimed, actually) and I still remember how it felt when the builders told me i could finally wash up in the kitchen sink, not the bath (blissful!) We had a makeshift kitchen in the living room, with a microwave and small fridge etc. Obviously the baby won’t need food, so you won’t need to worry so much about that. On the plus side, we lost a load of weight eating microwave meals, because the portions are so much smaller than my own! It can be done.

5 months old isn't a bad time, you will probably feel slightly more on top of things but maybe still be knackered.

Are you planning on going back to work and using external childcare? It would be easier if baby was out of the house while the builders were in.