“You can’t possibly have a baby in that flat”

[Mellowpink]

DH and I are in our late 30s and finally decided to start trying for a baby before it’s too late. Mentioned this to my sister, expecting excitement, but she had a totally different reaction. We live in Zone 3 SW London in a 2 bed 3rd floor flat. It's an old building, so no lift, just steep stairs. And our second "bedroom" is more like a box room, currently my home office.

My sister insists it's too dangerous and cramped to raise a child here. I said I’m sure we could make it work, but she says I just don't get it as I'm not a parent yet. We've thought about moving, but staying close to central London for work is a must as we are hybrid workers. We looked at houses in Surrey but prices seem to be crazy, and with interest rates, we'd be paying a more just to inconvenience ourselves by being further out.

Am I crazy to think we can handle raising a baby here?

We don't all have the luxury of choice. You'll be absolutely fine in a 2 bedroom flat. I would suggest an umbrella stroller which you can easily fold up and is lighter to lug up and downstairs (and store in a small flat) than the tanks that are many modern prams. Also invest in strong wall hooks so that you can hang baby equipment out of the way rather than have it taking up floor space.
FWIW, I suvived with a baby (now a primary school aged child) in a small 1 bedroom flat with no outside space, that's up 2 flights of stairs. It will, however, be infinitely more difficult if one of you insists on working from home all the time. (It's not fun trying to keep a baby/small child quiet while your partner shushes you, or be constantly out of the flat when all you want to do is rest on the sofa.)

My post said nothing about the mother struggling with basic activities, it was all about the reality of what a 15 month old toddler can and cannot do safely.

And! Chill out darling. It doesn't affect you.