Baby on the way and looking for a flat.. is a nursery necessary?

[frostyfrekkles]

Hello! I'm pregnant with my first and looking for somewhere to live with the babies dad. Not sure whether we'll need one or two bedrooms? what does everyone think? I thought initially that we'd need two, as thought it important to have some space for us as a couple still, but so much of what i read says that babies are never in their nurseries anyway? money is tight, so what are the pros and cons? one or two bedrooms?

You will need two eventually, if only for somehwere to keep 'stuff'

when is eventually?

I agree - even if you are planning to co-sleep don't underestimate the amount of large plastic 'stuff' that comes with the baby that will need space to store.

You don't need a spare room for the baby - ideally they should be in your room until 6 months anyway but, what about when they are older? Surely you don't want to share a room with a child for very long?
You do need space for a bit of adult time after all

i don't plan on co sleeping... i'd like my and my partners bed to be our bed if you know what i mean. is this possible? i know nothing ladies...

Depends how long you are looking to stay there. I had DS in with us for a year and that was fine....probably have been ok for another year.

oh and that was in his cot, not co-sleeping

'eventually' is after 6m or whenevr they grow out of the moses basket

a room for the baby is worth having even if it is teeny weeny, ie so teeny weeny it can't be counted as a 'bedroom' on estate agent's details - look for 1/2 beds or 1-bed-plus-study. And remember you could use what is nominally a second reception room as a nursery.

Definitely 2 bedrooms. Ds has more "stuff" than dh and I put together.

No, I lived in a small one bedroom flat with dd til she was about 10 months old. If you can deal with the upheaval of moving, I'd look for a small place with the aim of staying maybe a year, and save money in the meantime for a bigger place after that.

2 beds definitely. We lived in a flat when DS was tiny. He slept in our room in a cradle but his room was full. It had his clothes and changing stuff in there. We were also given lots of stuff for as he grew so it was handy to have somewhere to store it all. I always changed his nappy on the changing table in there out of the way.

Two bedrooms is preferable, if you can afford it.
If you're not pro co-sleeping think it's really important to get the baby into his/her own room sometime in the first year.
We have a large two-bedroom flat and one toddler, and we still struggle for storage space.

My DD was in with us until a year-old, first in a bedside cot, then in the same cot at the other end of the room. However when it came to it I was desperate to move her out to her own room and get some 'me' (or maybe 'us') space back.

if you can afford it, get 2 bedrooms

you don't want the expense and stress of moving twice in a couple of years

NB if money is tight, you will have less stuff than well-of splurgers

five vests, five sleepsuits, hat, blanket, sling
old towels for mopping up, old pillowcases for moses basket sheets

shoudl fit in one chest of drawers

NB if money is tight, you will have less stuff than well-of splurgers

five vests, five sleepsuits, hat, blanket, sling
old towels for mopping up, old pillowcases for moses basket sheets

shoudl fit in one chest of drawers

NB if money is tight, you will have less stuff than well-of splurgers

five vests, five sleepsuits, hat, blanket, sling
old towels for mopping up, old pillowcases for moses basket sheets

shoudl fit in one chest of drawers

NB if money is tight, you will have less stuff than well-of splurgers

five vests, five sleepsuits, hat, blanket, sling
old towels for mopping up, old pillowcases for moses basket sheets

shoudl fit in one chest of drawers

sodding Sarafi

sorry about that

I was also desperate to get our room back when Ds moved out at around 8 months. My DH said he missed him being there but I quite honestly didn't.
It was nice not to have to creep around, read a book wiht light on etc etc..

Get 2 bedrooms. You will need it within a year and moving house twice is unnecessary hassle and expense.

thanks for all this advice ladies! my feelings are that i'd still want me and us space. Maybe I'm being hideously naive here assuming that parents get time to sleep and have sex with a small baby around, but surely it's more of a possibilty if you start with the mindset that the baby has it's own space and so do you?

So if i can use a small room, how big does it need to be+
? would a walk in wardrobe do? does it need to have windows? Not planning on loads of stuff?

Two bedrooms, one for you and the baby and one for your partner

If only I was joking. When my dd2 was little, she was such a poor sleeper that my husband used to sleep in the nursery because he needed to be up the next morning for work. I know lots of other families that have done this with a newborn. He would usually start the evening in our bedroom, but move out to get some peace during the night!

I'd say you need a window

you may find yourself rethinking 'me-and-us space' - I liked having the sofa as adult space after spending all night in the bedroom sleeping / not sleeping / rocking / singing / feeding etc