Tips for having a baby in a flat

[LuckyFlash]

Hi all!

I’m currently 21 weeks pregnant And living in a 2 bed flat in London with a very large master bedroom and Large lounge/diner, small-ish galley kitchen and medium size second bedroom.
We had planned to take advantage of the stamp duty deadline and move out of London into a house but a sale has just fallen through. We now don’t have time to find something else before the deadline ends and I don’t want to have the major stress of moving with a newborn if there’s no financial benefit so it looks like we’re staying put for now.
I’m trying to be pragmatic and see the positives in the situation (we get to stay in an area we love, it will be a lot cheaper while I’m on mat leave, we don’t have to move hospitals) but DH is really bummed about it.
So I’m trying to help him see the positives and also work out some hacks/plans for flat life with a little one.
My main worries are that we live on the 4th floor with no lift. There is a small storage space on the 1st floor that I could leave a pram but it’s currently taken up with one other pram and about 5 bikes that are never used (grr). Another issue is that we have a shared garden but have to go down 4 flights of stairs to get to it so I’m concerned about the ease of getting out and about in the nice weather.
Any tips or advice or positive stores welcome! Pram recommendations, small kitchen hacks (because we have limited storage and no dishwasher - eek!), storage solutions etc welcome!

P.s we plan on keeping the spare room as a guest room for now rather than a nursery as we have plenty of space in the master for baby and would like parents to come and help - sensible?

@LuckyFlash So many people have babies in flats, it is definitely do able! We have a 2 bed and plan to store some of the babies stuff in our 2nd bedroom but have a sofa bed in there so we still have somewhere to stay.
I never know why people make a nursery for the baby during their pregnancy when the baby isn't going to be in the room for months anyway!
Are you planning to breastfeed? It seems like that might be a big space saving thing, you don't need loads of bottles and sterilisers, bulky tins of formula etc

I've no real life tips as I'm not due until the summer but I just plan to not buy too much stuff. Easier said than done I know.

Also in a similar situation - two bedroom flat and have put off house hunting until next summer for now. We're keeping the second bedroom as a guest room too but the main thing is just being economical with what space we do have - we've organised a lot and chucked a load of stuff out over the past few months to make space for the baby's things. It's not going to be easy - we're lucky enough that our block does have a lift but I'd recommend investing in a baby carrier for short walks out if dragging a pram up and down three flights of stairs every time you want to go out is a realistic possibility. I'd just buy what you need - a changing mat you can use on the bed/floor etc rather than a full on solid unit with drawers, for example - and I'd you've got space to store bits under beds/sofas then take advantage of that

I would keep looking for something else - theres 4 months until the end of the stamp duty holiday almost and lots of people wanting to move by then. Having a baby on the 4th floor with no lift will be tricky - definitely consider a sling! We moved into a house from our attic flat when I was 6 months pg with twins, then again when they were 10 months as we bought a house, and it was stressful but such a relief once we were in. I also didn’t have to worry when they were crying all night. I’m sure you will manage fine but I think you may find it easier moving in late pregnancy / with a baby than waiting until you have a toddler - babies are much more portable, and stay where you put them!

I think you’ll be fine in your flat with a baby but would be much tricker once they hit 1.

Honestly, as PP mentioned lots of people have babies and children in flats, you might find you are a lot happier. Especially in a city where you have
accesss to services, people, groups, and can walk or get public transport everywhere. Not to mention less house to clean!

Major tip is just to buy the absolute basics until you are absolutely sure you need it. we never used the cot as baby just slept in the co sleeper for example. I didn't use a changer, just a mat on the living room floor. See what you can deal with / get used to and buy the rest! I found having more stuff was more of an inconvenience.

Also I've product recommendation - when your baby is ready to sit up and eat - I recommend this www.amazon.co.uk/Hook-on-Seats/b?node=1902079031&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&ie=UTF8
Clip on chairs for the dining table rather than a high chair
I also never used the pushchair, just always the carrier or a baby backpack as it was easier on public transport. But i was fairly strong and fit at the time.

Good luck!

Do you have a car? If so I would definitely keep the pushchair in the car and use a sling for getting up and down the stairs.

Totally doable we had a baby and 2 Great Danes in our 2 bedroom flat! recommendations are for baby to be in with parents for 1st 6 months anyway. My husband spent a lot more time sleeping in the nursery than baby did!!

Newborns really don’t need to take up much space. A side along cot can go on the edge of your bed. If you breast feed then your boobs are already attached to you and a couple of boxes of clothes could go under your bed. Once it comes to weaning time you can get high chairs that clip onto the table and if you do baby led weaning baby eats same food as you so all you need are a couple of plastic or wooden plates and bowls and the odd sippy cup.

I had a friend from antenatal who lives in a stunning 2 bed. When I visited her I was super jealous. She obviously had the whole minimalist thing down to a tee. She had a small rotation of lovely toys instead of the mountain of plastic crap we acquired as soon as we got a big house.

Not sure about small buggies as we were ground floor but a sling would be good for going up and downstairs and probably for getting around London in general. We also had a shared garden but didn’t spend that much time out there when baby was small we were more likely to be out and about in parks and meeting friends or walking the dogs.

Good luck - sounds like you have a lovely flat and will be just fine.

I've realised children in a flat. They are 10 & 12 now. Honestly, it's fine. In fact it's ideal when they are small and everything is all on one level.

That should say raised not realised.

We had a flat when Dc1 was born and it was a lot smaller than yours sounded!

We had a cot next to the bed and a chest of dresses with a changing top bit on top and all the clothes went in there. We had a microwave steriliser which we stored in the microwave!

The pushchair was a pain-I had to keep it in the boot of the car.

I was glad when we moved into a house when DC was about 5 months and had started to crawl though.

It sounds like you have much more room that us though.

We lived in a tiny one bed london flat until my daughter was 3 months old due to our delayed house sale. It’s very much possible with a baby (they have a lot less stuff than toddlers!)

I used to keep our pram in the car, although our parking space was right outside the house so I didn’t have to carry baby far. I kept a lot of things at my parents house until we needed them. Eg. Clothes and toys than weren’t needed until she was 3 months+ so I made sure to only have the real essentials in the flat. I cleared out a lot of my clothes that were either off season or wouldn’t fit me for a while to make room for the baby clothes and shipped those off to my parents house too for a bit! We reiterated to friends and family what little space we had so they didn’t buy us too much stuff.

Yes sensible about the spare room, baby doesn’t need a nursery until they are 6 months or so and even then you could get a daybed for when you do have guests as someone else has already mentioned.

It was actually quite nice starting out in the flat. My house now is spread over 3 floors and I’m pregnant again and the stairs are a pain in the arse 😂 much easier to be pregnant in a flat as everything is so close.

I lived on a first floor 1 bed flat with DS1 until he was 2. Moved when v heavily pregnant with DS2 into a 2 bed.

Get a lightweight, folding buggy. We have a bugaboo bee and it was so good for when we had a flight of stairs to contend with. I've heard the ant is also very good.

Get the best sling you can afford and become its best friend. It will be soooo much easier to sling the baby up and down the stairs. It's hard work at first but your body gets used to it. Id also recommend contacting your local sling library to get thier advice on which sling may suit your body.

Get rid of anything you don't need and do it now before the baby comes. Because you will not have the time to sort it with a newborn. DP and I made the mistake of leaving jobs to be done for after the DS1s arrival.. they never got done!

The baby born bouncer is good and folds flat, our DCs have bobbed away in that happily for a long time until at least 6months.

Don't worry about having to make a trip to the garden, we have the same in our current place, you get used to jt and plan accordingly. Just always keep your bag stocked with nappies, wipes, a change of clothes and a large muslin and you're pretty much set for most disasters.

DS2 still sleeps in our room and we had a side sleeper for a long time (hes just in the bed with me now) so I guess keeping the other room as a guest sounds sensible.

Make the most of the free childcare/help from your parents!! I'm jealous as we never got any help at all.

I think the main thing we living in a small place is to live minimally and consider anything coming in to your flat very carefully. Especially with baby stuff as you'll be made to feel like you have to have certain things that in reality won't get used. Buy second hand and sell forward stuff as and when necessary.

Good luck and congrats!

I am definitely not putting my baby into the second bedroom in my flat anytime soon (and he's almost 8m old now). A spare room, that my dad can come and stay in, is sooooo much more useful.

I'd think about mostly carrying the baby in a sling/carrier, if I lived on the fourth floor, tbh. Much less faff than dragging a pram around.

It's absolutely fine, tons of people do it. Just declutter ruthlessly and buy a sling for the stairs. Also put window locks on the windows when the baby can crawl.

Same here although our second bedroom is a box so our place sounds even smaller haha

We got a The yo yo buggy - it’s tiny, folds up small, so easy enough to carry upstairs!

Reckon I’ll mostly just take the baby out in a sling if I’m on my own tbh! Easier for the tube/stairs and stuff.

Got a hook on the back of the door for the buggy to hang on as well so it won’t take up much space

I’ve also gotten very little baby stuff tbh - all we have is the next to me cot, buggy, clothes, sling, blankets!

Il just get more stuff as it’s needed And get rid of the newborn stuff as soon as I’m done so the place doesn’t get overwhelmed with stuff!

If you don't have a car right outside you can keep the buggy in have a look at something like the Babyzen Yo-yo. It folds down so small and light that you can sling it over your shoulder like a handbag and it's easy to carry it and baby up and down the stairs, and won't take up space in your flat. It has a newborn pack and then can use the normal one from 6months.

I've linked it on another thread, but have a look through this blog for inspiration!

www.600sqft.com/

It's an American family who have managed to stay living in a 1 bedroom flat through 2 babies (now toddlers) through minimalism and creative solutions to use of their space. I found it quite inspiring when I was having a freak out about our tiny terrace with no built in storage and a second bedroom that doesn't even fit a single bed without blocking the door!