Tips for Raising Baby in One-Bedroom Apartment
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Anonymous
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For now, your DC can use a bumbo with a tray for solids. We got one for $15 at a consignment shop.
After they sit up well on their own (around 6 months), you can feed your DC on the floor with a blanket underneath them. That's what my mother did with me, and what she does with my DD because she thinks high chairs are a waste. One of my friends had a 1 bedroom, and just put the crib in the dining room with a screen. That way the baby has their own "room". I know our DD sleeps better in another room, so that may be an option. Babies don't really need "big" things. Our DD is 8 months, and she loves her bouncy, but her favorite toy in our house is a block. One block, that is red, and she gets on the floor and crawls right to that. As long as you have the necessities, your DC will play with whatever they find. It might actually be better once they are crawling that you have a smaller, easy to manage space because it'll make baby proofing that much easier. |
Anonymous
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We lived in a one bedroom until DC2 arrived - and then we could not take it any more and bought a house! I think having very little furniture was what made it possible.
DC1 slept in his small bed in our bedroom until we moved when he was 6. DC2 slept in the Mini Stokke crib in the living room for naps, but co-slept with us during the night. Big items apart from bed: We had a large Stokke Xplory stroller (unfolded!) near the door, and a Stokke highchair for him at our small dining table. A bouncer, then when he outgrew it (and it broke) a small play-yard. We changed him on a dedicated coffee table for the first year (so I could kneel and not hurt my back) then recycled it into a TV stand. Small items: We had extremely few toys! Kids have far too much these days. Buy open-ended things they can use creatively, like wood blocks or planks (not for newborns, of course). Borrow books at the library. We had a small mixer for baby foods and a stand for bottles on the kitchen counter. Small baby bathtub that we stored under his bed. Baby clothes take up so little room, stuff them in a drawer. Remember that in Europe and Japan this would be done as a matter of course, since square footage is so expensive (none of US cities made it to the top ten most expensive places to live in this year). Enjoy your little one! |
Anonymous
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Truly a first world problem, and I don't write that often.
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Anonymous
Well, that was useful. I don't think I said that a one-bedroom apartment was worse than a third-world country...just asking for practical advice. I suppose on your logic one can only post about problems that exist in third-world countries, which would kill most every post, or does the mere ability to use the Internet take all posts out of the running, geesh. |
Anonymous
I grew up in a third-world country, and not having my own room sucked. My 72-year old Mom just confessed to me that sharing a bedroom with two kids (before we moved to a 2-br apartment) sucked for her, too. |
Anonymous
| ugh - we didn't last past 6 months. the gear wasn't an issue (and we were in a 400 sq ft apt). it was the sleep issues. dc learned we were near and would wake way too often. no one was sleeping, no one was happy. if your baby is a fine sleeper, don't worry about the gear. they don't need much. just use the outdoors. go for walks. leaving the house was key for us. |
Anonymous
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We lived in a 1bedr apt until DS was 22 months, it was ok for the first 12 months, very easy, but not so great after DS started walking and running around.
I am amazed at people who say a few blocks and books can occupy an active toddler the entire time and there is no need to toys or space. I guess it depends on a child, if your kid turns out to be a quiet genius type, who can play with intellectual toys for hours on a bad weather day it may work. But if your kid is very active and needs space to run around, climb and burn off crazy amounts of energy, you will find yourself miserable in a confined space on the many days that are too cold/hot/rainy to go outside. We ended up moving our furniture to the middle of the living room to have place for DS to run around things and climb on sofa, etc, since there is no space for any indoor playsets for active play. We also took him a lot to the hallway to throw the ball around and use his ride on/push toys and cars, because all of this creates noise for the neighbors downstairs. I grew up in a one bedroom place, but I was a quiet intellectual type of kid and we did have lots of outdoor green space and playgrounds right next to our building for us to run around. I had to spend my childhood sleeping on a sofa bed, having to pack my bedding each morning and night and having to store all my toys neatly into a box in the corner to avoid a huge mess. I cannot say I enjoyed this as a kid, I wish I had my own room and would not subject my kid to this type of childhood when other options exist. You can avoid buying a lot of unnecessary bulky items, but cannot control what others give you and honestly, some bulky items are fun for kids and they enjoy them for many months and even years every day. Our issue was not indoor items, but mainly storing outdoor items, such as bikes, strollers, ride-on toys. We had no car, so had to store the strollers indoors and we have 2 of them, a jogging stroller and an umbrella stroller. We also had a crawling tunnel and a tent, which DS loves and can be folded compactly, but we just got tired of having to fold and unfold, so the tent just stayed there.. He also loves his bouncy horse, his ride-on car, his push toy, his trike and his scooter and all of this takes storage space and not easy to keep in a closet as it gets used every day. If you have a boy, expect to get lots of cars and construction toys and if you have a girl you cannot avoid having too many dolls, people will just give you gifts and many will be bulky and redundant, so you have to be on top of getting rid of them. Also, if you are planning to have a second kid, you will be tempted to keep all the items your first one outgrows for the younger one to avoid buying this again. And this is really a killer in terms of storage space, so if you plan to live in an apartment for a while, you must get rid of them. We ended up selling/giving away DS's crib/bouncy seat/high chair/exercaucer/bottle warmer/feeding stuff/bedding/clothes, because we had to make space for the new stuff. |
Anonymous
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We basically live in a 1 bedroom because bedroom #2 is an office.
WE have baby stuff everywhere - actually, we use the changing table to store things, like multi-functional shelving, in the dining area. We fed DD in her BebePod Flex Plus chair (it has a removable tray) until yesterday when we finally got a high chair (she just turned 10 mos). We have a big bin for all of DD's toys - we keep it in the family room and throw most things in it at the end of the day when she's asleep. Everything not being used goes into big plastic storage bins in our bedroom closets - this may really help you save space! |
Anonymous
Just wait when your DD wants a kitchen set and a trike and a doll stroller, etc, or when you decide you want to start jogging with her when she reaches 12 months. Make sure you get rid of her infant age toys before the toddler toys arrive. We also found a high chair to be a waste of space, much better to just get a booster seat for a regular chair, we got rid of ours and never missed it. I agree with the bins, we have a couple and they are great. We also got a metal storage unit against the wall where we store all the cars and books/puzzles and other toys. |
Anonymous
Move. If you are already feeling tight, this feeling will not disappear. Baby gear doesn't go away, it just changes and outdoor items your kid may want are bulky. Instead of a high chair, I would get one of the fisher price booster seats with attachable trays, you can put this on the floor and feed your baby and later on you can put it on a regular chair if you are planning to get a table, plus it folds and can be taken with you. We got a small table and got rid of our coffee table, since we had no use for it after the baby arrived and it was a hazard with all the sharp corners. I also liked having a small square of the rubber mats in the corner of the room for our little one to crawl and play. We kept mesh bins there and put the toys away, keeping toys in one corner in a dedicated space like colorful mats looked less messy than having them scattered all over the apartment. for the bed, we used Baby Bjorn crib, which is smaller than a regular crib and can be moved around easily, plus has soft sides, no need for bumpers. It has a larger sleeping area than a mini-crib and because of its flex sides can accommodate a larger kid (easily up to 2 years old). It's also saving space on travel gear as you just take it with you wherever you go, instead of having the travel crib and a regular crib. We had a changing pad, not a changing table and put it on top of a regular dresser. When your kid can walk, you can switch to pull-on pants or pull-on diapers, they don't require you to put your kid down and eliminate the need of the changing table or a changing pad. And lots of vertical storage, shelving units with storage bins are great and closet systems are great for storing bulkier items. |
Anonymous
Well what kind of advice do you expect to hear? PPs have been writing useful, but really common sense things. It is just in your head, you cannot imagine how can someone live in a 1 BR with a kid, oh my gosh... yeah, it is so much better to pay huge mortgage and not be able to sah if you want to (so many posts here!!)... We live in a 1Br with a 27 m.o. Guess what, we even have a high chair  It is totally doable. Of course, I would prefer a 2 bedroom at least, but asking for advice??? Oh well, I better shut up now. Just could not resist. Sorry.
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Anonymous
I am not the PP you quoted, and I have a son. But yes, he will have to go without, and play with his friends' toys at their homes. You can't have it all anyway, what's the point of trying? I don't think a kitchen set or a doll stroller are must haves for child development, really. A trike or better a balance bike I will accomodate, once the stroller is folded in the storage. |
Anonymous
| What do you do for childcare? If you use daycare full time you really dont need a lot of toys. MUCH less than pps are describing. If you stay home or employ a nanny, they may be accurate. |
Anonymous
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It sounds like a lot of suburban posters. Don't listen to them - you can make it work. My parents raise my brother and I in a one bedroom in NYC (that's four people in one bedroom) - until we were toddlers.
The main trick, is nothing should ever be one thing. You should have storage everywhere (buckets and bins are your friends). http://mommypoppins.com/node/15701 http://typeaparent.com/great-baby-gear-for-a-city-baby.html |
Anonymous
Umm, not really. I grew up in a one bedroom and currently live in Manhattan in a 2 bedr with my 3 year old. Used to live with with the baby till he was 2 in a one bedroom and were happy we could afford to move. We saw lots and lots of families leaving Manhattan just because they don't want to raise their kids in an apartment setting altogether. I don't actually mind apartment living, but raising kids in a one bedroom for me is a no no. Sorry. yes, it can be done, as there are homeless families raising kids in cars and mobile homes, but do you want to go there OP? This is a hardship, whatever which way you look at it. Growing up in a place where you have no other choice but being cramped into a one bedroom as a family is not something of an example I would advise others to follow. And yes, we do like bulky toys in NYC even though we know kids can live without a lot of stuff and it's not because we are "suburbanites". But why not? Would I want to deprive my kid from simple and affordable pleasures of riding a bike, scooter, having an activity play table he enjoys every day, etc? No, that is why I live in a first world country, so that I don't have to live like I grew up. PP, your family left when you were toddlers, so do many many families here in Manhattan. Most leave before their first kid reaches the age of 2. Some families make the 1 bedr situation work because they are there only during the work week for 4-5 days max and their kid is in school or daycare. Then they have a weekend home somewhere in the countryside or the suburbs where they eventually move before having to shoulder the private school costs. If we could not afford a larger apartment, we would simply move to another city where we could. It is that important to me to not have to raise my kid the way I grew up. |