To worry about living on a higher floor with a baby (no lift)

[Lndn93]

Currently flat searching in London and we've seen a lot of great apartments/maisonettes that are top floor - with no lift.

We prefer this as we don't like anyone living directly above us. However, the plan is to try for a baby whilst living in the next place, so we are trying to future proof as best as possible. Does anyone have experience of living top floor with baby? OH thinks it would be fine or we could even leave the pushchair on the ground floor if space permits/we have a private entrance. I am unlikely to ever have e.g bags of shopping as we order online, so just in terms of day to day life with a baby.

So my question is, how inconvenient would living on 1st/2nd/even 3rd floor be with a baby and having to take the stairs?

YABU - it would be fine and people manage
YANBU - it would be a hassle and best to avoid

It's more convenient to have ground floor entry, but assuming you have no physical disabilities, it'll be fine.

I've done it. Loved it so much to be honest. I baby wore so used a sling most of the time. Kept buggy in the car which was parked outside as our building had a policy about things in the hallway (fire hazard) so just be aware of that. But you can't beat one story living with babies and toddlers, so much easier. I miss our flat to be honest, it felt rather secure in terms of safety. Not having a lift taught our older dc to use the stairs too... It's remarkable that our youngest has no idea what to do when faced with stairs as we now live in a bungalow and Moved just before she was two so she's so confused by stairs

I thought it would be fine, then had SPD in pregnancy which never fully resolved, had a prolapse caused by the birth, and had a baby who would only go to sleep while being walked in the buggy but then would wake up if I got him out of the buggy to walk upstairs.

So my advice would be it’s probably fine, but might be a bit of a disaster! I’d avoid it.

OH thinks it would be fine or we could even leave the pushchair on the ground floor if space permits
It will typically be against fire regs to leave stuff in the hallway. And you'll be dependent on the goodwill of your neighbours likely to be dependent on how much space there is. In a converted terrace (or even in a purpose built apartment/mansion block) unlikely to be much. Different if you have your own entrance.

I have a newborn and am often leaving my baby in the pram in the hallway to continue sleeping, which wouldn't be possible in the scenario you describe.
If you're going to leave the pram downstairs then get a good lock for it.

I lived in a 3rd floor with no lift and 3 kids under 4 it was hell!! Couldn’t leave the pram downstairs as they claimed it was a fire hazard. I became a single mum so I was basically trapped it was awful. So glad when I got out of there.

I know you say you wouldn't need to lug bags around, but don't underestimate how much crap stuff a baby needs. Seriously my changing bag had more paraphernalia in it than my normal rucksack I used for travelling. It's fine for your husband to say it'll be alright, because I suspect you'll be doing most of the childcare (unless you are going 50/50). I mean one flight of stairs fair enough, but anymore than that, I think you might regret it.

We live in a second floor flat with no lift. Pushchair stays in the garage, baby has learned to nap around her brother's school runs and we've all managed just fine. It's a bit of a ballache with shopping and baby in tow but I just leave her in the pushchair at the bottom of the stairwell, take the shopping up and then go back to sort her out. I also baby carry a lot, super convenient! Lots of pushchairs compact fold now so it's entirely possible to store them inside the flat. There are definitely options

Thanks for all this input, really helpful

You’re right that it will mostly be me, not OH. So I will have the final say - I just need to make my own mind up first!

I live 3 flights up, no lift. Pram stays downstairs (neighbours don't mind) and lightweight pushchair stays in the car)

It's doable but I wouldn't recommend. We've just bought a house but we've lasted birth to 2 and a half years here and got on fine. Can't wait to move out now. I'd rather not have done it but if you need to you'll make it work.

I never carried more than a rucksack and my baby up the stairs. Husband did the rest of the running up and down, with shopping/bins/recycling etc. Infant car seat stayed in the pram.

You don't need as much as people say. I just used my normal rucksack (still do). For baby I breastfed and the back would have nappies, nappy bags, wipes, few changes of clothes, and some muslins. Same rucksack now for toddler has a change of clothes, nappies, wipes, reins, his water bottle and some snacks. He's been able to walk up all the stairs himself from the age of 2 with me holding his hand.

Really looking forward to having our own garden, driveway, and not climbing all these bloody stairs anymore.

We lived in a high rise when the dc were small. It’s negative in so many ways. All the things you’ve said but also:
You really don’t know when your child will crawl or climb. We couldn’t have the windows open in case the baby crawled out. It was just not worth it. A child was killed a few years ago falling from a window of a new build flat near me.
It became a huge mission to take the bins out as it meant sticking the baby in a sling and carrying the bin bags. Or putting the baby in the buggy and carying them.