Living with a roommate and new baby (and spouse)

janflo27

Hi Ladies! I'm looking for success stories regarding having a roommate and bringing a new baby home (with spouse). Did anyone of you have this situation and where able to make it work? Please share any success stories.

jamiesc58

DH and I have helped out a few different friends within the past couple of years, giving them a temporary place to stay while getting back on their feet. I can honestly say that while I love my friends dearly, it was too much for us. I am the kind of person that feels like I need to "entertain" and with a new baby there was no way! Both DH and I have decided that unless it is a real true emergency, we will steer away from having roommates in the future.

charmedlifex3

When I was younger, I saw this done more often. I will say, let the roommate know whats up. 
I'm thinking of one friend in particular, she lived with her husband and a roommate. Prior to the birth she let the (male) roommate know "There will be boobs, there will be blood. If you can't handle that, you need to move."  He stayed, but was fully aware he had no ground to stand on if he came downstairs and she was sitting there topless feeding the baby. That's what the baby needed, (skin to skin, and full access) its her own damn house, and he needs to either be okay with it, or leave. 
By the same token, you need to be the kind of person who can stand up for what you need, in a situation like that, and give no ducks. 
Now, I will also say, another friend had her sister living with them, and the sister was a HUGE help. (Both financially and emotionally, my friend struggled with post partum.)
In both situations, both parties agreed the roommate having their own space was crucial. I couldn't see that working in a small apartment, but in both of these situations it was a house with multiple living spaces, which made a big difference. 

skelly70

I'm curious to hear about others' experiences, as well. No prior experience, but one of my former students is living with us for the rest of his senior year (he was homeless and on the verge of dropping out of school so he could work full time at a burger joint). He'll be here until he moves into his college dorm, so there will be some overlap with the baby. His room will turn into the baby's room. I'm mourning the fact that I won't be able to do much nesting before the baby is born, but maybe I'll spend less money that way. I like the story that @Allisun85 shared, but I know I won't feel comfortable nursing in front of one of my (former) students. I'm just hoping he'll be blissfully busy with his job and social life so I don't feel the need to hide in my own house. 

cal031686

We had a male roommate who rented out our basement for a couple years when I had DD. He knew there was going to be boobs, baby, crazy hours etc upstairs. DH and I work/sleep opposite of each other which makes new baby duty sometimes difficult. The roommate was very helpful if I needed a minute to take a shower, run an errand, or just needed to not be holding a baby. It was great to have an extra set of hands and someone to snuggle baby. I'm pretty sure I'm going to miss the extra person once new baby comes home. 

kcolly32

When I was in college my boyfriend (now hubby) and I lived with a friend that had a baby. She had gotten pregnant her last year and got sick and had to drop her last semester so when she came back it was just for that semester and it wasn't bad at all. I don't think she had an issue living with us either. We were all mutual friends and she didn't expect us to help watch the baby or take care of him. She did her own thing and we obviously gave her the biggest room available to use. I'm sure maybe from her point of view it might have been somewhat stressful not having her hubby around as he was back home working but I have to say it wasn't a bad experience by any means.

janflo27

Thank you all for sharing!  It helps ground me a bit. :-)