Baby and a 1 bedroom flat - What do I need, what don't I need?

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Nearly 15 weeks now. Myself and husband were all set to move into a 3 bed house and had plans to have a lovely nursery set up for the baby. Due to a massive mistake made by the estate agents, we now can't have the house and are having to stay in our tiny 1 bed flat for another year.

What can I do to maximise space? What do I definitely need to buy and what should I avoid until we eventually get a house? Our bedroom is quite small and taken up by our double bed so I'm really concerened about storage for babies things.

I had a baby in a small flat.
I would say have a declutter now of your things, in all rooms, not just the bedroom.
Think about arranging things across different rooms too - for e.g. I always changed nappies in the bathroom, so I kept most of the baby things in there - I had shelves with baskets of clothes and nappies, and I kept the changing mat on top of the bath when it wasn't being used. It was a small bathroom, so I actually knelt on the floor outside and had the changing mat in the bathroom when using it.
I had one of those high chairs that clip to the table, to save space.
We were able to keep the pushchair in communal storage area, but some people I know kept theirs in the car. One friend just had a sling, no pushchair.
You can get smaller cots that should be fine up to a year, or you could get something smaller for the first 5 months or so (unlikely to last longer)

You don't need a baby bath or changing table or jumperoo for a start.

2 bed flat here. We had the proper cot from day 1 to avoid multiple sleep solutions in one space. Clip on high chair for the kitchen island (but don’t get this until you need it). Babyzen Yoyo stroller - easy to carry up stairs and it can hang on the coat hooks. Diaper bin was good because our outside bins aren’t easy to get to, we had it in the bathroom along with a foldable travel changing mat and small box of nappies, wipes, cream. We had a play mat for the living room which was replaced with the foldable space saver jumperoo when she got older. Baby’s clothes only read need a drawer as they’re tiny and grow quickly so you don’t need a lot. We did have a baby bath- it would have been pretty tricky without it I think!

Did had my first while in one bedroom apartment. Just had cot, bought a normal 3 drawers from ikea and put on top the changing mat. Had a baby bouncer in dining area, pram was in the hall, had a small bath from ikea( but if you have a bathtub you can make that work).

Not much else in terms of baby stuff, obviously as baby grew we had some toys for him to play, but you don't need all the fancy stuff to grow a baby. A place to sleep, bath and food( either your milk or formula), clothes and diapers.

You will need a bit of extra space in the kitchen - especially if bottle feeding. It’s amazing how much clutter one little person brings! Medicines, thermometer, bottles, steriliser, weaning bits eg bowls, spoons etc

I lived in upstairs maisonette when my 2 were babies,
I had a baby jogger city mini. I could carry baby in one arm and buggy/prom in the other. Clever design that you can fold one handed by picking up the carry handle!

You could get an ottoman bed so that you can store your winter clothes in summer time and vice-versa.

You'll have to be really clear with people about buying gifts as well, as regards space. Otherwise you'll do a lot of decluttering (I second the "do it now" advice), only for it to fill up again!

You need a kallax unit fill that with clothes, nappies etc. Get rid of clothes when they're out grown......babies need very little tbh.

I'd go for 10 vests, 10 baby grows. Couple of day time, fancy baby grows. Few packs of socks,scratch mitts, bibs.

Blankets obviously.

2 sleeping bags, one for the cot, one for in the pram.

Basic, bouncy chair.

Play gym........pretty much the only toy baby will care about so don't buy anything else. They won't use it.

Couple of board / cloth books.

Nappies

Wipes

Spare washing up bowl for sterilising stuff if you're bottle feeding.

Baby bottle and couple of cartons of milk, always handy to keep stashed if you ever have an emergency. Even if you're breastfeeding.

And one of those bath hammock things. They're absolutely fab.

We didn't have a baby bath but used kitchen sink! Later we had a non- slip foam mat we put in the full size bath. Didn't have a changing bag either.

Hi,

Two bed flat here so I am also starting to panic re space.

• I have bought cheap chest of drawers and put them inside one of the closets.

• In the hallway, I am going to get a really big bookcase to put any remaining nick knacks that are left after I have finished my clear out.

• Changing table in the hallway, just outside the bathroom.

• Pull out underbed storage

I watching this thread for advice and taking notes!

Oh and if bottle feeding then the MAM bottles are fab because you don’t need a separate steriliser if you already have a microwave.

I would get a changing table as you can really maximise the shelves underneath. Ours had nappies, wipes, creams, bath stuff, and baskets with sleepsuits, vests etc on the bottom, which meant that they weren't all over the house and were together which saved space and time. You do need something for baby to sleep in, I wouldn't bother with a Moses basket as they grow out of them quickly, if you don't have room in your room for a full blown cot one of the bedside ones should be okay size wise until you can move. Other than that I would say a small bath seat (easy to store), a bouncer so you have somewhere safe to leave them if you need the loo or whatever, and probably about it to start with.

I second the City Mini buggy. I never had a pram for DD, didn't need one ever. She was either in the buggy or the sling.

I'm in a one bed too. I'm starting to declutter my wardrobes and making my bf throw away his toys....
I dont think babies really need that much tbh.
I was thinking of getting a moses basket for its cot whilst it's small, then it can go in the lounge and bedroom. Utilise your own wardrobe, I.e go to ikea and see how you can maximise the space you have. I am aiming to get the contents of my chest of drawers in to the wardrobe. Also if you have space under the bed you can get good storage boxes. I also saw a cot that had a drawer unit and change mat on the side which is ideal actually.

Thanks everyone. I'm still struggling to see how all of this is going to fit in my flat as it is very small, especially bathroom. But will try my best to re-arrange things.

We kept the changing mat behind the couch and just pulled it out. Had a bath seat that lived in the bath. Cot lived in our room and a 4 drawer kallax unit in the living room, one drawer for nappies etc, one for sleeping bag/bedding/blankets and the other 2 for clothes.
I second the advice to declutter now and don’t be tempted to buy all kinds for baby. We got bought crazy amounts of clothes and toys.

Babyzen yo-yo is great if you are short on space. Though it really is possible to manage without a buggy when they are small - I didn’t bother with one with my eldest, he went everywhere in a sling.

You can get fold-flat baby baths, though again you can manage without.

Babybjorn bouncers fold flat and can easily be slid under a sofa etc when not in use. Many playmats are easy to fold down.

Get a side-car crib, don’t buy a cot until you need one. Actually both of ours slept in a sleepyhead on our bed for the first few months so didn’t even use the crib

Microwave steriliser bags are handy for occasional bottle sterilising.

We kept all baby clothes etc in a tall tower shelving unit with pull out from Ikea designed for bathrooms - I replaced my bedside table with it (I kept one shelf free for my essentials (emergency hobnobs etc for night feeding!)

You really really don’t need a change table, Moses basket, jumperoo.

We’re in a 2 bed and I hate clutter so this thread is so helpful. We live abroad so hopefully postage and customs will deter family from sending anything large. We are trying to tell everyone that we’re having a minimalist baby too.

The only furniture we’re buying is a cot. We can fit a full size one in our bedroom so no Moses basket etc. We’re both getting rid of clothes to make drawer space for baby clothes and bits. I’m pleased to read that they don’t need too much. I have a basket for the bathroom to put some nappies, creams etc and will keep the rest in a cupboard and refill as needed. Not sure whether get a bath yet, I expect we’ll just wait and see if we need one. Change mat fits under sofa.

Undecided whether to go for a bouncer chair or playmat so interested to hear others views.

We used the full sized bath and bought one of those plastic seats that babies lay in. Took up no space. We left it in the bath.

Kallax unit is an excellent recommdation. The boxes are cavernous, so you'll comfortably get clothes in one to two boxes and paraphernalia in the others (nappies etc). Get the 1x4 and you can lay it on its side or have it upright. Friends of mine bought the 2x2 and used it as a TV unit. Then when you move house, you can repurpose it as toy storage.

We had a tiny 2 bed house. Fine when baby 1 came along, a squeeze when baby 2 arrived. We got rid of our bedside tables. Cot went on my side of the bed with one side left off as a cosleeper and we put a tall boy on DHs side for DS2s clothes. I wish I'd bought a 1x4 Kallax in hindsight. The drawers on the tallboy were so shallow, they were pointless.

We had no dining table (no space). We just used to eat on laps or the coffee table. We bought a Mamas and Papas Snug (like a Bumbo) for DS. It had a tray.

We just had a plastic change mat that we slid under the sofa when it wasn't in use. Nappies lived in an ottoman that we already owned.

We had both a bouncy chair and playmat. But honestly, blankets on the floor work just as well as a playmat. DS1 loved the bouncer, DS2 hated it.

Do you have a Toy Library near you where you can hire items like that? Can return it the next month if it's not working for you. My local one hires out bouncers and jumparoos, as well as baby toys.