Pregnant & living in 1 bed flat we can't sell - is anyone else in this situ??

[Peaches174]

Hello, I am new pregnant mums net member and am wondering if anyone else is experiencing a similar problem...

We live in a (admittedly lovely) 1 bed garden flat which has been on the market for nearly 6 months with no takers.
I'm 16 weeks pregnant now and getting anxious about what we will do for space when the baby comes if we still can't sell it!

Husband tells me should be thankful we have this problem and that loads of people live in great big houses with no babies.

He's right but secretly i'm scared I'll get crazy cabin fever cooped up in a tiny flat when on my mat leave.

So does anyone else face the same issue? Is anyone thinking about becomming a forced landlady?!

Should I just stop worrying and be thankful I have a roof over head?

We lived in 1 bed flat until DC was 6months. 3rd floor, no lift, no parking nearby, etc etc.

It's certainly manageable - and you have a garden!! Babies should sleep in their parents room for 6 months at least anyway.

If you go to antenatal classes you'll probably meet lots of other people, so won't feel isolated or stuck in your home.

Can you let it and rent somewhere yourselves?

My niece and her dp are renting a 1-bed 1st floor flat with access via a metal staircase on the outside of the building. Their son is 2 months old and they're both desperate for sleep.

The advice is to keep baby in the room with you for the first 6 months anyway so hopefully you'll get sorted by then.

I would look at renting it out, but agree that worst case scenario is that you'll be stuck there longer than you want. However, a new baby really isn't too much of a hassle. You don't need masses of space, and the baby would probably be in your room to start with anyway.
hopefully by the time the baby is mobile and you really need more space, you may have sold.

we lived in a 1bed flat until DD1 was 11 months.

2nd floor, no lift, no garden.

i agree w/forty and find, try to rent it out.

Sit tight & wait & see what you would like once your baby is older. You might want a certain location near school/childcare or other things that will be helpful but hard to know now iyswim. A baby needs very little & doesn't need its own room.

Peaches: we're still in a one-bed flat (hopefully moving shortly after birth of DC2) and it's a squeeze but fine. You'll prob have the baby in with you for the first 6 months anyway. Honestly, it's easier than you would think!

It'll be spring when your baby arrives anyway so you don't have to be indoors all day - I'd love to have a garden....

We have a 3-bed flat but DD still sleeps in our room as that works best for our use of space (she's 2 next month).

When I visit my brother who is in a one-bed garden flat, I am always jealous of the fact that my child doesn't have a garden to play in.

Admittedly it might not be ideal in the long run, but I wouldn't worry about it too much, at least for the first year after your child is born - which gives you nearly a year and a half to allow the market to pick up.

Personally, I'd rather sit tight in a one bed than have the added hassle of becoming a landlord and a new mum.

Had the same situation 5 years ago! I fell unexpectedly pregnant and we couldn't sell our 1 bed flat. The flat was tiny so no way we could even squeeze a cot into it so we looked to rent it out and bought a house which we moved into just 2 weeks before my due date, with no furniture whatsoever, as all the furniture remained in the "furnished" flat. It was a scary time but everything fell into place just about in time and looking back there wasn't a dull moment and the pregnancy flew past. However saying all that, if our flat had been big enough to just about squeeze a baby into and the fact you also have a garden, I don't think we'd have put ourselves through the added stress of renting out one property and going through the purchase process of another! Good luck with whatever you decide.

I lived in one bedroom (was tiny) flat with 2 children up until last year, we left when dd was almost 3 and ds was 17 months, so it is do-able, dd was in a single bed in the bedroom with us and ds's cot was in the lounge and one of us slept in with him on a sofa bed. We also had a garden and i think that is what made it manageable, otherwise we would of gone stir crazy.

I would sit tight if i were you.

we lived in a 1 bed with dd1 until she was 5 mths and then had three children in a two bedroom house until dd3 was 1yr old. You will cope - and at least you won't have to worry about getting loads of housework done when on M/L

Hello
Not exactly the same situation, but myself and dp live in a tiny two bed cottage, on three floors and totally cramped and impracticle for raising a child! We have had it on the market for nearly two years two sales fell through and then the credit crunch hit and no viewings for months and months so we have taken it off. I would dearly love another Dc and due to my age am getting really worried that we wont be able to because of our living situation. I would probably go for it regardless but DP is adamant that he will not raise another child in this house as he finds it stressful

Having said all thaI know of two couples who are currently raising a child in a one bed flat and they seem ahpy enough, also harking back to my own childhood, most of the families we knew when I was young had small houses two beds and lots had tow or three kids so it was more the 'norm' then.

Good luck, it will all work out for you in the end!

If you can't move, when you have your baby, find out about all the groups, take baby out for walks, in the summer go to the park, and having a usable garden is great - we have a very small garden but unfortunately it's wasted on us since we don't seem to be able to keep in a usable state.

Not so long ago people expected babies to room with them, in a pulled out drawer if needed ( why take room up with a cot?) Times maybe reverting.

I am in almost the same position as NorthenLurker, we have a tiny 2 bed 2 up 2 down victorian terrace and am due DC3 quite soon but have no plans for moving until about 12/18 months from now.
We had 2 ds's in a flat for 3 years and to be honest we had more room there than we do here.
Dont be in a hurry to move until you know exactly what you will need.

One of my friends was in a similar situation. They lived in a tiny one bedroom flat with no garden. When they DS was 6 months old they bought a sofa bed and slept in the livingroom. They have the nicest DCs I have ever met.

We lived in a truly miniscule 1 bed flat with no garden, only a balcony, until DD was 9mo. We had to move as the bedroom was so tiny there wasn't room for a cot and the place was so cluttered there was no room for DD to crawl. However, up till then we managed it, DD was in our room as per SIDS guidels (well, we didn't have a lot of choice) and a newborn takes up as much space as a small cat. It's the paraphernalia that takes up lots of space - you'll just have to be careful not to go overboard buying stuff for the baby, you'll probably find you won't need 90% of it anyway.

As others have said, the baby will be in with you for a good few months anyway. And then when it's a bit older if you don't want to all share, you can always give the baby the bedroom and invest in a really comfortable sofabed for you in the lounge (some friends of mine went down exactly this route, before moving when their first baby was about 18 months). It's not ideal, but it's certainly do-able. Be grateful that your flat is lovely, and resist, resist, resist all the crappy magazines about "preparing the nursery" - they are just trying to sell you stuff! We have a 3 bed house and neither of my DDs had a 'nursery' as such until they were well on the way to 6 months!

Ladies your advice is excellent. I have got my knickers in a twist over not having a nursery like you see in the magazines and shall stop being such a sucker from here on in.

There are truly more important things to worry about!

Thank you