repost: Small space living

leslie_ina_dres

Hi ladies,

I was hoping some of you city dwellers might be able to give me some pointers and ideas for doubling our bedroom as a nursery.  It looks like our family won't be able to move to a bigger place before the baby is born (in March), and I'm trying to get some ideas on how to make it work best for us.  There will be NO closet space for baby.

Thanks in advance for your help.

dc1

we live in a one bedroom apartment right now--our bedroom is so small that we can only fit a cradle in there, and not even a crib or dresser. we also have no closet space for the baby. so, we have her cradle set up in our room, along with cute storage bins (underneath the cradle and on the side of the bed) that hold her things. in the living room, we have a dressser for her that we use as a changing table. Most of her clothes are in in the dresser and her changing and bath stuff are on top of the dresser. we are moving this month, so we have a lot of things still in boxes in the living room; if we were staying, we'd probably have gotten less stuff or gotten rid of some of our things in the hall closet to make room for the swing, bumbo, etc. we have her carriage and bouncer set up in the living room. my advice is to keep things simple and out of sight as much as you can. we're even trying to sell our apartment right now with baby stuff and all... it's very possible to live in a small space with a baby-- if you can fit all her stuff in your room in a dresser and cute bins, that's great. good luck!

BethGL

What about a portable or a mini crib?  I have one and its better than a pack n play because it has a higher weight capacity and you can move the levels down (like on a regular crib) as your baby learns to sit up or stand, etc.  The portable cribs also fold up to take with you on vacation (haven't tried this yet).
here is a link to the portable and mini cribs at target just to get ideas:
https://www.target.com/b/ref=sc_pgc_r_6_0_3145001/601-6062822-8646516?node=16250281

They also sell them at babies r us.  For some reason I can't get the website to work for for me right now, but maybe you can try going to the BRU at Union Square.  The third floor has all the furniture.

As for the rest of the house, you can use the fisher price space saver high chair https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2508005&cp=2255957.2273443.2255981.2256180
I love mine and have been using it from day one to put dd in while I make myself something to eat, etc.. It reclines, so your baby doesn't have to have head/neck control either.  Its $49 everywhere I looked, and I got mine from amazon for free shipping and no tax.

As for closet space, I can't help you there, I have a dresser for my dd and use that as a changing table as well.

If I think of anything else, I will post, or if you have any questions.....

BethGL

Oh yea, just so you know, the mini cribs are a little shorter and skinnier than regular cribs.  The dimensions are similar to a pack n play, except sturdier, so this is not a permanent solution, but it should work for the first year or so.

Also, you should look into getting a better mini crib mattress.  They are like $20.  The ones that they usually come with suck.

MrsWin05

We used the bugaboo bassinett as her crib for the first 3 months.  It worked out well for us and saved space as well as money for an addn'l bassinett.

We have a regular sized crib but it's not a bulky crib - Delta Luv Jenny Lind style.  Even with the bed at it's lowest setting, we are able to put baskets to store her clothes in underneath.  We have a matching changing table next to it it contains her linens, diapers, and diaper changing supplies.   We hung a net in the corner of her alcove to hold all her plush toys when not in use.    

Also, we cycle her toys and clothes out as she outgrows them.  (It all went to storage but we have a cheap storage facility outside the city.)   We got rid of the activity mat at 7 months, swing at 8 months, exersaucer at 8 months.  The bouncer is going next but she still uses it to drink her morning and night bottles in so we'll replace it with a child's bean bag or chair.  (Never owned a jumperoo, bumbo, etc)  It might be crowded in your space for a few months after baby if you have all these items but they are short-term. 

We didn't purchase a high chair until she was ready to use it (able to sit) at 6 months.  Before then, we fed her in her bouncer.  We ended up getting a bulky high chair b/c we don't have a table, just breakfast bar, and I wasn't going to pay $$$$ for one of those Stokke chairs.  If you have a table, I'd suggest the space-saver high chair or one that hooks onto the table.