Planning a nursery room: how to fit everything in??

[Sera123]

We're expecting our first child at the end of May, and we're currently in the midst of 'shopping for baby' and getting our heads around the giant list of things we are going to need!

Today we've been trying to figure out nursery furniture, and it's turned into an almighty puzzle working out how to have a functional house that can accommodate the new baby and not make our lives any more difficult than it needs to be! Some of it is guesswork as to what's important and what's not, as we've not done this before, so I was hoping that you wise ladies will be able to shed some light on what is key!

Our situation:

We have a three bedroom house, two double bedrooms and one box room.

Currently we sleep in one of the double bedrooms and the other does double duty as guest room and WFH office. The box room isn't really used.

DH works from home three days a week, and is frequently on zoom calls so will continue to need somewhere that stays as quiet and undisturbed as possible, so moving him downstairs into a living area is not likely to be a great solution.

My mother, who normally lives abroad, is coming to stay with us for 6 weeks when baby is about a month old, to help with childcare. Other family from abroad may also visit in future but will be more short-term social visits rather than childcare.

The in-laws are two hours drive away so although maybe on a more intermittent basis, if they come to help or visit they'll need a place to stay as that's a long return trip in a day.

The box room is literally tiny, there's enough room for two out of a cot bed, changing table unit and a chair, but not all three.

We think we will have the baby sleeping in a next-to-me crib in our room for the first six months before moving to a cot bed. But there's not enough room in our bedroom for us + main cot so that will have to be in another room.

So we're struggling to decide whether its worth turning the box room into DH's office, and the guest room into the nursery, which would be easier juggling my mum staying & DH's WFH, but would mean that after 6 months or so once baby moves into the nursery, that would pretty much mean no room for guests at all. But that otherwise seems to work ok space-wise.

Do you really get guests much with a young kid? I'm assuming friends is basically no, (we've basically never stayed at any friends house with kids ourselves) but maybe family will, and esp those abroad and several hours away, it feels like it would be really inconvenient and expensive for everyone to have to book themselves accommodation every time they wanted to see us. We don't want to be totally isolated!

Or Option 2 is whether it's worth keeping the second room as-is, doubling as guest + office, and put the nursery in the box room.

My instinct is that the important furniture is the cot and the chair, and the changing table could be one of those cot-top tables? Are those hassle-free enough to use as your 'main' changing table? Would you have another table elsewhere? I'm wondering for middle of night feeds/changes, what's super important to have on hand and what's fine to have to go downstairs/in another room for? We could maybe squeeze in a little bit of storage but baby stuff will otherwise need to be in another room. Is that just going to be a daily unnecessary pain when we could just have everything in the same room?

Slightly tangentially, is one person trying to sleep while the other feeds/changes/settles baby in the same room an exercise in futility, or does it not even matter because nobody's sleeping in a house with a wailing baby anyway?

Sorry for the giant wall of text, but hopefully that explains our situation and hoping you will be able to shed some light on what's really key to get right and what is a reasonable compromise! We don't want to arrange everything in a way that's basically setting ourselves up to fail! Or if there's another arrangement that might work even better I'd be keen to hear your thoughts.

Thank you!

I never used or needed a changing table. Floor or bed at night time was perfectly adequate. Plop the changing mat down and crack on!

In your situation I'd 100% move the office to the box room. Guests aren't going to stay with a newborn around and your baby should take priority over infrequent guests anyway. Can you get a sofabed for downstairs to accommodate future guests?

I've never used a changing table either. I'm clumsy and babies can't fall off the floor!

Our DS was in a tiny box room until we moved last month - he's now 3.5. I never bothered with a chair in there (I did middle of the night feeds in or bed or in the sitting room). I did have a changing table but mainly for the storage. You also don't have to make any decisions now. DS stayed in our room until 7 months or so and we didn't touch his nursery until then so you can see what works best down the line.

I would definitely not be without a changing table. Both my kids loved them, and it saved my back! I never change them anywhere else, always go upstairs to change nappies.

I would put office in the small room and 2nd room as baby's. Seems silly to prioritise potential visitors over child who lives in the house

So we're struggling to decide whether its worth turning the box room into DH's office, and the guest room into the nursery, which would be easier juggling my mum staying & DH's WFH, but would mean that after 6 months or so once baby moves into the nursery, that would pretty much mean no room for guests at all. But that otherwise seems to work ok space-wise.

I would do this option. Bigger room for the baby equals a place to store toys. We have 3 bedrooms (2 kids, each have a room each) and when we work from home, we have to work in our bedroom which I hate, would be so much better to have a dedicated office.
I would be surprised if you have many over night guests in the first 6mths, no one wants to be woken by a baby plus you'll be shattered!
You could always get a sofa bed downstairs?

Re changing table, we never used ours because it was upstairs. It was easier to change the baby on a mat on the floor in the living room. (Big baby plus badly done stitches meant it was hard to walk far then i got used to staying downstairs)
Had the changing table been downstairs, we would probably have used it more.

We never had a changing table either.

We didn't change our office/spare room into a "baby room" until our first was 5+ months old. My mum stayed with us quite a bit and the baby couldn't use it at that age anyway! We were in a two-bed flat.

Now we're in a bigger house, but the nursery is still going to be an office for a few months after baby #2's arrival. The difference is we have a bit of space in there to store baby's clothes and things.

I considered a changing table this time, mainly for the storage, but decided against it for now. You can always add these things later if they're useful.

I would definitely make the bigger room your child's room - makes sense to use it for the person who lives there not occasional guests, but I would consider holding off until the baby is 6 months because you don't need a nursery when they are sleeping in with you. Then you have the spare room for your mum.

In the longer term, I would be tempted to have a sofabed in your child's room, it's nice to have somewhere to sit and read books with them etc and then if you have guests you can temporarily move your child into the box room/office

Guests clearly depend on your family set up - all our close family live far away, so having a good space for them to visit makes our lives easier rather than harder, because they can come and stay. But if all your family is local, you can disregard this!

Always changed babies on the floor. Never used a changing table.
Turn box room into office space and larger room into nursery. You will accumulate toys, toys, toys.

If you’re having to put the babies clothes in another room then I’d opt for the larger room and make the smaller room an office.
I had a chair with both of the kids in their rooms and it was used loads whilst they were in a cot. We only got rid of it when I could sit on the bed and read them a story / comfort them

For now, I'd put a cot and chest of drawers in the box room. You can move the baby into the bigger room at six months if you need to. Ours was only in their bedroom room to sleep as a baby so it seemed pointless giving up a big room for that, the box room was fine.

We debated this too, our box room is also tiny and would only just fit a single bed and set of drawers.

If I did it all again I wouldn’t bother with a cotbed, I’d get a low or floor bed double for the “nursery” along with a set of drawers with changing mat on top and wardrobe, we got a mamas and papas set off marketplace. Then visitors can use the double when they come to stay.
I thought I’d move mine into the cotbed too but I had no desire to move her out at 6 months, she was used to sleeping with us, I got plenty of sleep that way too! Gave the cot bed away to a friend who also didn’t use it, she also went straight to a double floor bed once they were 1+.
I’d definitely use the small room as the office and give the baby the bigger room - much better when they are older and short term useful for visitors too.

Will you have one than one child?

If so I would keep the box room as the nursery and it can be used for dc2 when the time comes without having to re do it. Dc1 moves in to the larger room then.

I used a changing table, with a set of drawers under it. After a c-section it hurt to bend over and change on a bed or floor. I had a small chair in the room rather than a huge feeding chair, but could have sat in my bed.

Your problem is that you have 2 rooms for 3 purposes, rather than the size of the rooms. Can you get a sofa bed for downstairs when visitors come? It sounds like you could have people stay several times a year, so not a bad idea to think of where they can go. If not, you have to decide which combo of office/first room/nursery would work.

Against the grain but I found my changing table invaluable. If I ever changed on the floor or a bed etc my back hurt.

Never had a dedicated chair and never felt the need/wanted one.

I would give the baby the box room, with a cot and a changing table. Ideally some extra storage for clothes?

Can always swap things around in a few years when baby needs space/toys etc.

We have a two bed and everyone expected us to move when we were expecting DS1. We’re now expecting DS2 and still have no plans to move! So first 6 months we had DS in our room in a next to me. Second bedroom was DH office and guest room. The bed is one that is a single and you pull put the underneath to make it a double. Chair wasn’t needed, I sat in bed for night feeds and on the sofa during the day. We never bought a change table, we just used a change mat on the bathroom floor or wherever. DS moved into a cotbed in the second bedroom when I went back to work so it was still fine for that room to be office during the day and his room at night. I would sit on the guest bed for night feeds so still no requirement for a chair. When we had guests we put up a travel cot in our room. We’ll start in the same way with DS2 with a plan that they will eventually share. Honestly you don’t need all the space and furniture that people tell you you need.

I think what these replies show is that it's worth starting with the minimum and seeing how you go.

I was fine with changing mat on the floor but my back was very sore if I breastfed without sitting in a proper chair or upright sofa - but @graphitepemcik was the opposite

DS1 did really well in a cot, DS2 is a low floor bed kid

I would start with a crib, something to store clothes in and then figure it out later

My advice is to not bother with a special chair, do you really want to hide away feeding your baby? A box room is fine for the first few years, makes it easier for guests

Ps I had a changing mat on top of my chest of drawers, we had a one bed flat

Box room should be the office. Baby to have the bigger room, but not until they are at last over 6 months old, so all the changing table, cot etc goes in our bedroom with us.

Guests can stay in premier inn or similar! Don't base your house plans around guests, plan them around your direct family.

You could always make the second double bedroom baby's room and the boxroom DH's workspace. Stick a sofabed instead of a chair in baby's room so that family can use the room when visiting and get a travel cot so that baby can move into the boxroom temporarily when guests are staying over?

I didn't have a changing table for my first, used the floor and bed. Bought one for my second and can count on 2 hands the number of times we used it. Not worth the money or space it takes up IMO.

Thank you so much everyone for your feedback so quickly. Really really useful and given us a bit more to think about and I think a clearer plan going forward!

Much appreciated x

Changing mat on the floor (one called childchanger is really good, the shop ones fall apart after a year)
Also plenty of super chunky pillows works for feeding in bed.
You can easily spend a lot on stuff you never use with a baby, trust me, the shops don't close when the baby is born, so you can order away in a sleep deprived state in the night instead !
Good luck with the baby

just get a cot for your room, and wait until baby is here. Don’t get sorting nursery in advance, I personally am too paranoid