Tips for Raising Baby in One-Bedroom Apartment
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Anonymous
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I grew up in a tiny apartment and it was very important for me to make sure that my kids would have space of their own. I know this is a luxury though. I hated not having any privacy as a child, difficulty of having friends over, phone conversations. I would literally dream of having some space of my own.
I actually think for babies and toddlers though you can definitely make do in a small apartment. Toddlers need to burn lots of energy so you just have to leave the apartment frequently and organize activities. You will probably suffer more than them though but you will survive and so will they! |
Anonymous
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Look at tiny tumbleweed homes. Man created tiny homes (some you can pull behind a car). He also lives in one with his wife and toddler (wife is now pregnant with #2). His website, FB and book gives great tips on living in small spaces and having furniture do double or triple duties. .
Most of these homes can be built by the average (non carpenter construction types). |
Anonymous
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Get the FP booster seat and you won't need a highchair or the Bumbo that someone recommended. We have a house, but only use this just to save the space that a high chair would take up:
http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Healthy-Deluxe-Booster-Green/dp/B0000DEW8N/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1345142001&sr=1-1&keywords=fisher+price+healthy+care+booster+seat |
Anonymous
Also, don't feel guilty!! Your baby doesn't know the difference and doesn't need big toys. |
Anonymous
Why or why would you do this to yourself and your family especially to your kids? Go camping instead, rent an RV and drive across country, or go visit other poorer countries and live there for a while before running back to the comforts of the 1st world. Those of us who grew up in poorer countries will never understand those who grew up in nice conditions in the US who want to subject themselves and families to the hardships they don't have to. We couldn't avoid this, you can. Do what's right OP, save up for your downpayment and before your kid needs space for privacy and running around, move. I'd say plan on moving before your kid turns 2. You don't need a huge space, but it does help to have extra bedrooms, especially if you ever plan on having more kids or family visiting. I am not an advocate for large spaces but for me, I'd want at least a small townhome/SFH with 1500sq.ft and 3 bedr/2 bath for a family of 4. |
Anonymous
This is too extreme IMO, esp. having another kid in such conditions, but on the other hand so many people get locked in their unhappy marriages because they cannot sell and cannot pay mortgage if divorced... |
Anonymous
I think this is entirely different problem altogether. It doesn't have to be extreme, either a tiny 1 bedroom hole or a 6000 sq monster-mortgage house with 2 hour commutes. There are plenty of options in between, small SFH, townhomes and even 2-3 bedroom apartments. Seems like the OP had been set on buying a house in the near future, she is just worried about these early months/years, which should not be a problem as the PPs indicate. |
Anonymous
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We lived in a 650 sq. ft 1 BR condo until I was very pregnant with #2. Here are some things we did.
Started with a mini Arm's Reach (and a portable mini-pac n' play bassinet for travel, Gramma's hotel room visits etc., often kept in the car) until DD was 6 months and sitting up in her bed. Put large convertible crib in our room, essentially at the foot of the bed, after that. Used bouncy seat around the house and had an exersaucer in the LR for a while too, although DD did not need the saucer for long. We got one of those LeapFrog bilingual musical learn n' play tables, used it without the legs at first and then with legs when she started cruising. We had no dining room and ate at the coffee table a lot. In that condo we used both a Phil & Ted Me Too! chair that clamps onto counters or tabletops (now recalled I think), and a Fisher Price Space Saver high chair that strapped onto a regular Windsor-type chair. We kept toys in lidded plastic bins and would rotate them from the closet to the living room. Some toys and books on regular bookshelves. DH constructed a wood dowel wrap around fireplace guard with hinges. You can buy them online as well. That was great because the fireplace and the outdoor patio were two of our favorite things about that place and the fire made it cozy (and cheap to heat) in winter. When we got stir crazy we would visit friends or go on weekend trips or just go outside and stroll around the neighborhood. I think it is important to have easy access to nice playgrounds close by. Coffee shops or bakeries and mid-range dining are nice too. When DD was 2 we rented the condo out and bought a house in Petworth. I wanted off street parking, a yard, and space for DCs to ride their trikes around the house in a big loop! 2 BR condos in our area (Adams Morgan) were starting around $380K, plus condo fees, just way too much for what you get especially if you are also paying for daycare. One thing I do NOT recommend is getting a fixer upper. With small kids your time/ability to DIY and make dust etc. or live with construction and dust is practically nil. Save yourselves! Get something that is nicely liveable or already renovated. We also lucked out and got into a decent DCPS in the OOB lottery. So now we are OK (until middle school.) My FIL raised 2 kids in a 2 BR apartment in the Boston area and only went slightly insane. Best of luck! |
Anonymous
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You can totally live in a one bedroom... I live in a one bedroom 607 square foot apartment with my 5 year old.
Our bedroom has two closets which is a big help ALL our clothes, shoes, winter gear, hats, etc go in the closets. go vertical we have the 5 by 5 expedit shelf in the bedroom and it houses books, toys, etc... all of my "stuff" can fit one the top 5 cubes... the rest of the shelves have books, toys in bins, etc for my child. In the living room there is a short long tv stand with an under the bed tote thing shoved nder it ful of movies for the kiddo the "dinning room" houses a child size table and a tall shelf with bins holding arts and crafts and a train table. we have the little tables you set up and can eat on.. I forget what they are called... before he could use that we had one of the lapdesk style things for him to sit and eat at when he was done it got folded and shoved under the couch. the one other closet in the apartment houses three more totes of toys, his bicycle, scooter, and a large bag of outside things. the stroller we kept n the living room when we had one and he would sit in it. oh and he slept with me but the kura bed is what he has now he started on the bottom and the top was storage.. now the top he sleeps on and the bottom is closed in and is his book nook/ hideout.. baby wise I only ever owned - a great dtroller a ergo a small swing the take and go kind and a bumbo. baby clothes and cloth diapers when in bins where the toys are now on the expedit shelf we arent cluttered at all and are very comfortable |
Anonymous
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This is the third-world poster from upthread who hated not having space of her own growing up.
The thing is, you CAN live in small spaces with your child. You can, in the sense that you won't die if you do. But it won't be comfortable. At least I don't believe that you will. I don't believe it is comfortable for an adult woman to share a bedroom with a small child. I don't believe it is comfortable to play a never-ending game of folding and unfolding and setting up and putting away. I don't believe it is comfortable to be next to an always-in-motion 2-year old in a 1-bedroom. I've been there and it sucks. Again, I'm not saying it cannot be done, you can do it if you have a good reason. I am saying it cannot be comfortable, certainly not long-term, and if I had to do it, my number one tip would be to accept that you will be cramped and uncomfortable and occasionally downright miserable as you look around your space, and remember your good reasons for being there, and repeat them to yourself frequently. |
Anonymous
My parents left because they got a job in DC. Some people are city people. We are just are. |
Anonymous
I trust you ate your crepes, listened to your world music and did your yoga today? sorry i shouldn't have said that but c'mon really did you have to bring socio/anthro-politics into it? Suffice to say my third world parents taught me to keep my mouth shut unless i had something nice or useful to contribute. Ergo my contribution is to ask you nicely to be useful in the future. |