Anybody bringing baby home to a small house or apt?

strickland8052 · April 2016

Hi! I thought it would be fun to have a thread for those of us who will be raising baby in a small house or apartment.

Introduce yourself and share your plans, thoughts, concerns. STM: please give us tips, products, encouragement, etc. that will make our lives easier and keep the clutter minimal.

strickland8052 · April 2016

I'll go first! DH and I are proud owners of a fairly small house that we absolutely adore. We've been here three years and have fallen in love with the idea of living small. To make it work, we have key furniture pieces that are multi-purpose, lots of secret storage, space bags, and quarterly cleaning out of the closet sessions. It is nice to have minimal clutter and to be selective about what "excess baggage" we carry around with us in this life. I also love that it makes repairs and maintenance more affordable and manageable, plus it minimizes our carbon footprint.

Some people say that we are going to want to move to a big house in the burbs once the baby comes, but I think we can make it work. I love the idea of passing this lifestyle down to our kids, and teaching them the joy of living minimally. I'm also excited about finding furniture, baby supplies, toys, etc. that take up little space, serve multi purposes, or fold up easily. Would love to hear tips from moms who are already making it work in a small house or apartment.

annabenanna · April 2016

@strickland8052 every time I see your siggy gif, it makes me smile! Where is this scene from? who is he?

We are definitely raising the baby in a small-ish house. We live in the city, and while we love being able to walk to the park, restaurants, stores, etc---we do have to sacrifice space to stay within our rent budget. In mid-January of this year, we found an amazing deal: craftsman duplex, we would have the upper unit...with a gorgeous deck overlooking Balboa Park golf course. We love the space, especially the living spaces, but the bedrooms are tighter than we'd like, and we only have 1 bathroom. Waaaah!

We also have my stepkids every other weekend (4 nights a month), and they will be sharing the second bedroom with the baby.... so I'm gonna have to get really creative with planning out the space.

strickland8052 · April 2016

Thanks @annabenanna ! It is Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation. If you haven't seen the show yet, you should definitely check it out on YouTube. He is my all time favorite tv show character.

annabenanna · April 2016

strickland8052 said:

Thanks @annabenanna ! It is Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation. If you haven't seen the show yet, you should definitely check it out on YouTube. He is my all time favorite tv show character.

I'm definitely checking it out. I've heard lots about the show. SO and I just for some reason haven't gotten around to it!

Speaking of small living arrangements, I've been looking and looking and researching mini-cribs... I'd prefer the ones with casters! If anyone has any input on them (good or bad), I'd love to hear it!

sheviolentlyknits · April 2016

We lived in a 1br apartment when DS was born. We designated one corner of the bedroom a baby corner. We skipped the changing table in favor of changing him on the bed or on the floor. He was in a bassinet the first few months and we kept all the clothes and diaper supplies on a large wicker shelf.

When DD was born we were in a very small 2br house that was a campground office in a previous incarnation, and there was not one single closet for storage so we had to get really creative with that. We ended up putting up a divider in our bedroom and made the space behind it the "nursery nook" still no changing table, but we got a crib, small dresser, shelf, and rocking chair in there.

Now we bought a 3br house, thinking we were done after two kids. Oops. Baby will be in our room the first few months, and then sharing with either big brother or big sister after that until we decide to move to a bigger house.

coffee89 · April 2016

We brought baby home to am apt but only loved there 3 more weeks so no advice there.

Currently in a 1,000sq ft, 3 floor townhouse and while I know it's going to seem to shrink, I like the size. I feel like we are doing a good job keeping the toddlers stuff spread out how it works for us (some toys in the living room that can be hidden, a playroom where the TV is in the basement, most of his books in his room. We keep our room as ours, aside from newborn, our son has been in his own room since about 3 or 4 months old and we prefer it that way.

We plan on having a rnp in the living room, and a vibrating chait in the basement with the bassinet in our room. It takes a lot of effort on my part to keep up with the picking up of our space, but we have settled into a routine and our layout helps things feel spacious. If anything I have learned to not have a million toys that sit around and instead we rotate them and get outside more and go places.

coffee89 · April 2016

annabenanna said:

strickland8052 said:

Thanks @annabenanna ! It is Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation. If you haven't seen the show yet, you should definitely check it out on YouTube. He is my all time favorite tv show character.

I'm definitely checking it out. I've heard lots about the show. SO and I just for some reason haven't gotten around to it!

Speaking of small living arrangements, I've been looking and looking and researching mini-cribs... I'd prefer the ones with casters! If anyone has any input on them (good or bad), I'd love to hear it!

I would research the weight and length limits. My full size crib goes to 50 pounds and my son is 30 pounds at almost 2. You might end up having to transition into a toddler bed sooner. Pack and plays are a cheeper option to save on floor space from my research a few years ago.

coffee89 · April 2016

Apartmenttherapy.com has had some articles in the past on small spaces and babies, might be worth a search

emt87 · April 2016

We own an 1,100 sq ft 2 bed 1 bath house, and I love the idea of raising our child in a smaller space in the city vs moving to the burbs. We do have family telling us already that we are going to need a bigger house, but I am hoping to make it at least 5 years before we even think about that. We already try to keep the clutter down, and I am constantly editing and getting rid of things. The hardest part will be DH and I having to share our tiny (basically a coat closet) closet in our bedroom to make room for the baby to have a closet in the second bedroom. We plan to just limit what items we buy, and keep up with our somewhat minimalist approach to living once baby comes.

@coffee89 I second checking out apartmenttherapy.com, I love that site and am always finding new tips and ideas for our house!

booksandicecream · April 2016

We live in a 2-bedroom 88m2 apartment (750ft2?? Will calculate later...) We are staying here until we can afford a house, so at least a few more years. The second bedroom is currently my office /storage for "stuff" and an entire wall of my books. I really don't know what we are going to do with everything in there.. Luckily baby will be in our room for at least the first 6 months so we aren't planning on changing anything until summer 2017.
My primary concern is the changing table. Was planning on using the top of the washing machine but it's too short for a changing pad. I could use the bed but I'm terrified there is going to be a poop blowout and it will get on my mattress! Does anyone have experience here?

Schell2013 · April 2016

The house we had with our first was small, little closet space and just a weird layout. I didn't stock up on diapers, and just kept the minimal clothing out that we needed (honestly they don't need much clothes, we tend to buy more than they will ever use) if it is your first baby you'll likely get a scwack load of clothes at your shower, so having half a dozen new born sleepers and a few outfits for dressing up is honestly all you truly need. If you think your baby might be big you can get the same of 0-3m stuff too.
I hadn't intentionally planned on co sleeping but after an emergency c section getting out of bed was super difficult so we didn't end up needing a basinette at all, since she went straight to be crib when she wS 6 months old. Cribs with drawers underneath are great for all the extra blankets and bedding and those big ziplock bags you vacuum the air out of work awesome for getting the outgrown stuff into a small space.

NoraAurora · April 2016

We have 900 square ft, 2 beds (but we are building on for #2).

Noise can be an issue during naps, so I'd recommend a nice white noise machine- we use marpac dohm.

New babies come with so much crap- we kept a swing, high chair, and exersaucer in the (tiny) living room. And the hospital rental pump. I found it best to just accept that things would be cramped for a year.

Tell relatives you don't want toy gifts. They really add up.

jillianpardo · April 2016

books&icecream said:

We live in a 2-bedroom 88m2 apartment (750ft2?? Will calculate later...) We are staying here until we can afford a house, so at least a few more years. The second bedroom is currently my office /storage for "stuff" and an entire wall of my books. I really don't know what we are going to do with everything in there.. Luckily baby will be in our room for at least the first 6 months so we aren't planning on changing anything until summer 2017.
My primary concern is the changing table. Was planning on using the top of the washing machine but it's too short for a changing pad. I could use the bed but I'm terrified there is going to be a poop blowout and it will get on my mattress! Does anyone have experience here?

Just get a towel or one of those changing pads you take on the go. When blow outs have been really gross I put baby right into the infant tub, clothes and all. I undress and clean baby up. If any poo gets on the tub it's easy to just rinse away.

jillianpardo · April 2016

NoraAurora said:

We have 900 square ft, 2 beds (but we are building on for #2).

Noise can be an issue during naps, so I'd recommend a nice white noise machine- we use marpac dohm.

New babies come with so much crap- we kept a swing, high chair, and exersaucer in the (tiny) living room. And the hospital rental pump. I found it best to just accept that things would be cramped for a year.

Tell relatives you don't want toy gifts. They really add up.

I second the toy gift thing. The white noise machine is really great. As long as the noise level is consistent in the home it shouldn't affect things too much. My mom would always start whispering if DD was sleeping and I kept having to remind her that it was OK to speak normally. I prefer to keep the house busy and noisy during nap time. We did the quiet thing with my first and it was like I couldn't do anything while she slept.

coffee89 · April 2016

books&icecream said:
My primary concern is the changing table. Was planning on using the top of the washing machine but it's too short for a changing pad. I could use the bed but I'm terrified there is going to be a poop blowout and it will get on my mattress! Does anyone have experience here?

Ours is a dresser specifically made to fit a changing pad, but some people just use any short dresser with a pad on top. When babe was tiny, I changed anywhere with a big burp cloth or a diaper bag sized changing pad under him. Somewhere around a year I stopped putting him on the changing table/dresser (heavy and wiggly kid) and just used a changing pad on the floor that I shoved in the corner by the crib when it wasn't in use. My mother in law keeps a changing pad that she just tosses on her dinning room table and then back in a closet.

coffee89 · April 2016

jillianpardo said:

NoraAurora said:

We have 900 square ft, 2 beds (but we are building on for #2).

Noise can be an issue during naps, so I'd recommend a nice white noise machine- we use marpac dohm.

New babies come with so much crap- we kept a swing, high chair, and exersaucer in the (tiny) living room. And the hospital rental pump. I found it best to just accept that things would be cramped for a year.

Tell relatives you don't want toy gifts. They really add up.

I second the toy gift thing. The white noise machine is really great. As long as the noise level is consistent in the home it shouldn't affect things too much. My mom would always start whispering if DD was sleeping and I kept having to remind her that it was OK to speak normally. I prefer to keep the house busy and noisy during nap time. We did the quiet thing with my first and it was like I couldn't do anything while she slept.

I agree with noise being good but it doesn't have to be constant oceans, just constant volume. We talked, had the TV on, cleaned etc just like normal from the start. He slept fine so long as it wasn't crazy loud and was/is a mostly great sleeper. I have friends who ran noise machines and didn't make a peep and now their 4 and 5 years old's can't sleep without a noise machine or sleep at friends houses because someone might flush the toilet. I'm team noise.

rhenson1 · April 2016

We will have baby here for around a month probably. We are currently building our home but it likely won't be done until sometime in November. We are renting a tiny two bedroom and once the baby gets here (#4) we will have 6 people living here plus our large business. We already share a room with our youngest so I guess we will share a room with 2 little ones once this one gets here. I'm just hoping they somehow finish our house early because we have no room for anything extra here as it is.

ladyshark311 · April 2016

Yes, big time yes here! We have a three bedroom that's decent size I suppose but we have 4 girls in one room one of which is my 15yo and then 2 boys in another and then our room. We have the girls the master which has its own bath just because it was way bigger for them and so we have a smaller room that just fits all our furniture. Plan on using a bedside co-sleeper as I did with my first two and loved it. Honestly I had a changing table for each of them and NEVER used it, it was good for storage but I just change them wherever we happen to be in the house. I did see a cool way to make a baby "closet" from a bookshelf I will try to find the link and post it here.

ladyshark311 · April 2016

AshleyGemini24 · April 2016

Currently living with the inlaws. Fi and i have a loft bedroom. For finacial reasons that benefit everyone we have decided to stay there. LO will be in our bedroom with us.

Paturkey · April 2016

Yup. We live in an 800 sqft 2 bed terraced house (shared side walls). This LO will be in our room until 6 mos or so, then will share a room with DS. When DS was born we were in a smaller two bed apt and we just didn't buy a lot of stuff and it was fine. It's easier for us though, because LO will go to nursery from 6 months old (like DS) so we're only in the house together on weekends and mostly go to the park- it keeps the toys/ crap to a minimum.

jillianpardo · April 2016

@ladyshark311 that is such a good idea for homes missing a closet! It looks pretty cute too. My kids love to dump buckets/bins. I feel like it would be better with doors that could be secured shut. I guess that would make it an armoire ish.

MzOro82214 · April 2016

I'm also in an apt. The baby will be in our room in a bassinet until 5ish months then he/she will move into the boys' room. They have a bunk bed, so that saves on space a little. They have a weirdly shaped closet that you have to step up into so they don't use it & keep their clothes in their dressers instead. I figure I can use that weird closet for storage & put shelving in there as well. They have one free wall in their room where I can set up the crib & maybe a changing table or mini dresser. I like the idea of a "baby corner."

sharksightings88 · April 2016

Happy to see so many practical minimalists out there! My EDD is 10/25/16 and we move out of our compact studio into a 2 BR with separate Kitchen/Living room on September 1st. As mentioned above, Apartment Therapy is awesome for stylish and practical advice.We don't have a Washer/Dryer in our new building and the laundromat is a 5 minute walk. I'm looking into Haier Portable Washer. Has anyone else used one of these before? I was actually inspired by this Apartment Therapy article to get one: https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/life-without-a-washing-machine-ever-tried-a-portable-washer-206074

kmtz89 · April 2016

We currently live in a single room with an outhouse. We're in the process of building our house and HOPEFULLY the roof will go on in the next 2-3 weeks. The new house is also small though, but not too small. Two bedrooms, one bathroom and a half open kitchen/living room. We are hoping/planning to be completely moved into the new house before the baby, otherwise stuff is gonna be crammed!

jillianpardo · April 2016

sharksightings88 said:
Happy to see so many practical minimalists out there! My EDD is 10/25/16 and we move out of our compact studio into a 2 BR with separate Kitchen/Living room on September 1st. As mentioned above, Apartment Therapy is awesome for stylish and practical advice.We don't have a Washer/Dryer in our new building and the laundromat is a 5 minute walk. I'm looking into Haier Portable Washer. Has anyone else used one of these before? I was actually inspired by this Apartment Therapy article to get one: https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/life-without-a-washing-machine-ever-tried-a-portable-washer-206074
I haven't tried it. We got a wonder wash but aren't too happy with it. I would say check reviews on how effectively it spins the water out of clothing. The haier looks like it runs off of electricity and actually has the ability to drain water out unlike the wonder wash.

booksandicecream · April 2016

@coffee89 Our only dresser is very shallow and therefore too small for changing but I never even thought about using a regular changing pad on the bed and just moving it to the corner when not in use. I think I will try that - thanks!!

NoraAurora · April 2016

Oh, something else we did, speaking of closets- we took the closet doors off in DS' room and stuck his combo dresser/changer in there, with a light inside the closet. H installed shelving on the side walls to store diapers, wipes & genie refills on.

Want a personalized experience?

Anybody bringing baby home to a small house or apt?

Re: Anybody bringing baby home to a small house or apt?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards