Mums: Nursery upstairs a bad idea?

[foxcote90]

Hi everyone,

We've recently finished a two year renovation on our house and found out we're expecting (thankfully once most of the building work was complete!)

We're trying to decide which room will be the nursery - there's no huge rush as the baby will sleep in our room in a bed side cot for the first 6 months.

We've got two options on which should be the nursery/toddler room. One is an attic room directly above our bedroom l which you access via a spiral staircase (about 8-10 steps). Currently the room isn't used for anything else so would be the ideal choice.

Second option is a spare room across the landing from our bedroom. It's got a big bed in which won't fit in any other room, so ideally we'd like to keep it as a guest room.

My question for you is: is having the nursery up an old ish spiral staircase going to be a bad idea? Would love to know if anyone else has a split storey setup and their experience with it.

Thank you for any advice!

I'd be on the same floor as you because it's easier in the night to get to them and a spiral staircase seems a recipe for a sleep deprived trip, slip or fall

If you use the attic then the baby will probably need to stay in your room until they can walk and navigate stairs properly.

I would keep them on the same floor as you, it will make life much easier

Definitely not the attic one! Trust me when you're getting out of bed 5,6,7 times a night for the first... actually was going to say a year but 17 months on here, you won't want to be going up and down spiral staircase

Good god don't have the room up a flight of stairs. That way madness lies.

Same floor for sure

I would go for attic room so you can keep guest bedroom.

My daughter only used to wake twice a night when newborn and dropped to once a night quickly. By 6 months i don't think she was waking up at all, maybe the odd night, so stairs wouldn't have bothered me.

When she did wake for a feed, she would feed for 10mins, then straight back into her cot and i would go back to bed

100%same floor, a normal stair case between you us fine, but an attic room with spiral staircase - no way.

Thinking ahead - a spiral staircase isn't going to be great when your child would otherwise be old enough to go up and down stairs themselves.

Could you move to attic room and give child your room?

I'd rather get rid of a lovely bed than face months+ of clambering up spiral staircases countless times in the middle of the night. And then fretting about DC going up and down the staircase once they're mobile. And then worrying about what they're up to once they're a bit older and want to play in their own bedroom.

Definitely the room opposite yours. They can sleep in with you if you have guests. Be prepared to be up and down a LOT in the night for the first few years. Also be prepared for wholesale rejection of any sleeping surface that isn’t on/next to you!

Same floor as you- don’t under estimate exhaustion on a spiral staircase

The room on your floor for the baby. The spiral staircase room will be a pain if you’re still resettling or feeding overnight after they move into their own room. Also it will be safer for if/when your toddler suddenly decides they can climb out of the crib and scale the stair gate and in the later years when they’re going in and out of their room themselves.

Going up and down a spiral staircase carrying a baby in a fog of sleep deprivation.... don't do it

Don't put yourself in a situation where you have to run upstairs/deeper into the building if there was a house fire - always have babies between you and the exit.

I wouldn't put them up the spiral staircase. If you're unlucky enough to have a poor sleeper it'll be a complete ball ache going up and down the stairs to resettle and/or check on them. Then there'll be one day where they can suddenly get out of their cot unassisted and Sod's law you won't have a stair gate on the nursery door- your two year old or whatever will be toddling down the spiral staircase quicker than you can say "frig the spare room".

Obviously we don't know what your staircase is like, but often they're the open tread style with relatively wide balustrades which would also make me nervous. Carrying a older baby or toddler up a normal staircase can also be challenging (especially if they're sleeping or a wriggler), and it would be even harder up a spiral type.

I would sacrifice the big spare bed and just have baby on the same floor opposite you.

I would go for room on the same level. Our DS slept through from 16 weeks and is 10 months now and never needed any attention overnight since then, but even so, if he were to get a sickness bug or a cold or whatever, I'd want to easily be able to access him. Also, when he's older and in a bed, I would trust him to toddle to our room in the morning, but if it's a spiral staircase you'd probably have to wait until they were 4 or 5 onwards to be safe enough for going up and down them alone. Also agree with what a PP said about not having the baby further away from a fire exit than you are.

Another vote for the same level. Even with a good sleeper it is nice to have them close.

It there enough room in the spare room to keep the big bed and add a few pieces for the baby (you don't need much, a cot and maybe a change table or chest of drawers). I like having a regular bed in the baby room as it is convenient for breastfeeding at bedtime and night feeds. Plus, you can still use the room as a guest room -- when guests come the baby can be in a travel cot in your room.

The spiral staircase will be really hazardous when sleep deprived or with a wriggly older baby. You will have to move the nursery once you have a toddler because if you don't you will have a child who is unable to use/access their room without constant supervision for several years. I would just go for the easy option of the downstairs (same level) bedroom. You can decorate it as the child's bedroom/nursery because that will be their room anyway after all.