buying house, master on first floor and nursery on second floor

[Anonymous]

we are buying our first home and cannot afford a lot on only one salary (out of state, under 300K) - we have found a newer house and in move-in ready condition but the master bedroom is on the first floor, and up a flight of stairs (double set of stairs) is the other bedroom and bathroom. i only grew up in ranch style homes so this would be a first - worried about a potential second baby and scheduled csection, kids growing older, kids sleeping in same room, waking up to comfort kids during the night and sleep deprived, etc. should we keep looking? we looked last year and lost homes we put offers in because of price. my husband says plenty of people do it, but i am so so so stuck on this ha any initial feedback would be helpful maybe i'm thinking it will much more difficult than reality. (also, i wish i was rich but that's not changing any time soon).

[Anonymous]

My sister in law (Husband's sister) and her husband bought a house like this when their oldest was 3 and she was pregnant with their 2nd.
They used the "master bedroom" as a guest suite and slept on the same floor as their children for many years.
Why can't you and your husband do that?

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t do it. My six year old still wakes up once a week with a nightmare or something and adding stairs to that would just make it worse.

Plus, eventual resale will be harder so it’s a bad investment. Not to be sexist, but my DH was more receptive to that line of thinking than mere inconvenience.

[Anonymous]

I'm sure it's in some way manageable, but we passed on a lot of houses that didn't have bedrooms all on one level. Around here it's more likely a small rambler where the top was popped and a master suite added to the top floor.

[Anonymous]

I would not buy it at this stage in your lives. I think it would be okay with older kids, provided the room is big enough to share and the kids can share. But you will be going into that upstairs bedroom multiple times per night for years.

I grew up sharing a ground-floor room in a 2BD and the master was upstairs -- and it was fine. But when my sister and I were infants, the house was a ranch: my parents expanded it when I was 5 or so.

Personally I have a 3BD townhouse (because that's what we could afford) with all bedrooms upstairs, and it's been nice to have a very short walk to the nursery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sister in law (Husband's sister) and her husband bought a house like this when their oldest was 3 and she was pregnant with their 2nd.
They used the "master bedroom" as a guest suite and slept on the same floor as their children for many years.
Why can't you and your husband do that?

OP here - because the only bedroom upstairs would be the kids bedroom - there is no other bedroom for us to sleep in. man these replies are depressing....b/c i doubt we'll find a move in ready house in our budget any time soon (and my kids is now already 1 year old, we were planning on purchasing something before he was born but found nothing).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sister in law (Husband's sister) and her husband bought a house like this when their oldest was 3 and she was pregnant with their 2nd.
They used the "master bedroom" as a guest suite and slept on the same floor as their children for many years.
Why can't you and your husband do that?

Everyone I know with this set up did the same thing.

When kids are little you have to be in the same part of the house. When kids are older you can move into the master bedroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sister in law (Husband's sister) and her husband bought a house like this when their oldest was 3 and she was pregnant with their 2nd.
They used the "master bedroom" as a guest suite and slept on the same floor as their children for many years.
Why can't you and your husband do that?

Everyone I know with this set up did the same thing.

When kids are little you have to be in the same part of the house. When kids are older you can move into the master bedroom.

OP again....there are only two bedrooms each on a different floor. I shouldn’t have said master because it makes the house sound mcmansiony ha

[Anonymous]

Our house has 4 bedrooms, 2 up and 2 down. Our first two kids share the room on the same level as us but we are expecting our third kid soon and the new nursery is on another level. I’m a little stressed but will probably end up sleeping in the nursery a lot.

[Anonymous]

Honestly it's fine. I have a 2 year old and a 6 month old. Both sttn since 3 months. At 3 months I moved them from the bassinet to the nursery. When they're super young and waking up, they'll be next to you in the bassinet. Besides, the majority of time when kids cry in the middle of the night, they settle and go back to sleep after 5 minutes. So it's okay if you're a minute away upstairs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sister in law (Husband's sister) and her husband bought a house like this when their oldest was 3 and she was pregnant with their 2nd.
They used the "master bedroom" as a guest suite and slept on the same floor as their children for many years.
Why can't you and your husband do that?

Everyone I know with this set up did the same thing.

When kids are little you have to be in the same part of the house. When kids are older you can move into the master bedroom.

OP again....there are only two bedrooms each on a different floor. I shouldn’t have said master because it makes the house sound mcmansiony ha

Can one of the bedrooms be partitioned at all, with a screen or temporary wall? It doesn't have to be another legal bedroom, but two decent sized sleeping spaces? If so, you could all sleep there for a few years.

I'm the PP with a townhouse and, again, we have a townhouse because the options in our price range were a lot better. Maybe you can look at duplexes or apartments or whatever is available in your area. Or rent to own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly it's fine. I have a 2 year old and a 6 month old. Both sttn since 3 months. At 3 months I moved them from the bassinet to the nursery. When they're super young and waking up, they'll be next to you in the bassinet. Besides, the majority of time when kids cry in the middle of the night, they settle and go back to sleep after 5 minutes. So it's okay if you're a minute away upstairs.

OP here thanks for this, I hate to cherry pick positive responses but it’s so easy for ppl to say just buy bigger or stay in your apt. Just bummed at my situation although I should be grateful I can even be in a position to buy.

[Anonymous]

no this is bad, a house like this should have 2 masters one upstairs and one downstairs. Or master upstairs with a large office and full bath that can be a master in the future.

[Anonymous]

This is why they make baby monitors! If you have a second, you can have a crib in you room until 6-12 months and then move them in together. OP, the house is how a LOT of people lived before everyone starting expecting en suites and masters, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly it's fine. I have a 2 year old and a 6 month old. Both sttn since 3 months. At 3 months I moved them from the bassinet to the nursery. When they're super young and waking up, they'll be next to you in the bassinet. Besides, the majority of time when kids cry in the middle of the night, they settle and go back to sleep after 5 minutes. So it's okay if you're a minute away upstairs.

You got very lucky! But OP, even if you do not have unicorn babies like the PP, it will be okay. Keep baby in your room for first several months, then use a monitor and sleep train.