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?

yes - you would need a window but otherwise as long as the space fits a cot then it will be fine. You can use the space under the cot/ cotbed for storage...one box for clothes/ one for toys or nappies etc

but if getting a 2bed stretches you finacially I would def go with the 1 bed option and look at flats with larger bedrooms so you could potentially screen off an area. Stretching yourselves financially is not the best in current climate

Co-sleeping with a baby never stopped our sex life. A few years on boredom has done that but having the baby in the bed or in the room wasn't a problem.

You've always got the living room if you want space away from where the baby's sleeping. Or the kitchen. Or the bathroom. Really, do people actually only have sex in the Marital Bed?

2 beds not essential but does help (particularly if you or your partner need a break from the baby for a night or a few hours here and there).

or at least a sofa that's comfy to sleep on

cheers! the baby is due in may and therefore if the bedroom had a window i'd be getting it a black out blind so thought the window might not matter. Gosh i'm so scared of all this!

I'm hoping that the perfect wee house is going to pop up. While yous are giving me advice, could i ask a few more questions? is there anything else a flat should or shouldn't have? wooden floors? ( i love) garden ? (i wish) and location wise I think I'd rather be nearer friends and central than have more space and be more suburban? what do yous think?

why do i need a window?

How long are you planning to live in this new home? - it all sounds quite short term if you are asking if you need a window!

I would have thought a window fairly essential in a bedroom for fresh air and making the room look and feel nice, rather than like a cupboard!

Flats generally feel cosier with carpet but wooden floor is easier to clean baby chunder off - however our DS when he started to crawl/walk would only do son in the carpeted rooms and not on the wooden floor in the hall. Garden not essential if you have easy access to a nice local park/playground, but it is nice to have some outdoor space which is safe to play with your baby/let them crawl around in when they are older. Would ensure that you have enough storage space whereever you go for buggy and other baby paraphernalia (.i.e fitted wardrobes, sufficiently wide hall way). Ground floor flats are a hell of a lot easier to get buggies in and out of than higher up flats.

you need a window for fresh air and light
summer can be roasting
would you sleep in a bedroom with no window?

tbh in the current financial climate I wouldn't be too fussy re floors etc

Location is v important though - ideally you'll able to push the pram to a shop, a park, a cafe, a library, the doctors' surgery and a few friends' houses, for your sanity more than the baby's.
However big your house is you will feel the need to get out.

Agree ground floor flats are much easier for buggies, shopping etc.

well, i lived in a one bedroomed flat with dd1 until she was 2.5 and dd2 until she was a month old. it was do-able but certainly something i'd like to have avoided if i could. yes, they can easily sleep in your bedroom for the first few months but then you'll REALLY need your own space and just be able to move around with the light on.

if you're renting, sure, go for one bedroom with a short term lease, then move to a two bedroomed flat.

you should look for one close to a park so you can get out for walks / plays when they're older. close to shops too.

ventilation really important

also babies throw up and poo ALL DAY

okey dokey! :-) one very inexperienced mum to be thoroughly chastised on the window thing . I wasn't thinking of the ventilation issue

thanks for all your advice. it's going to be a finely tuned balance of luck and compromise i think

Ideally, get a place with a nursery, a playroom, a relaxation area, a guest suite, a master suite and nanny's quarters....

However, it is possible to manage very well with anything; in some places, whole families live in one room, so if that is what you have, that's what you'll manage with, and it will be fine. We have a lethal staircase and our floors are stone and rougher than the average pavement - it just meant that DD wore trousers while crawling and learnt to walk pretty quickly!

Good luck with the search!