How I Survived Living With A Baby In A SMALL One Bedroom Apartment

If you’ve been following me on here and especially on Instagram/Twitter, you’d know that we just moved out of our apartment to a bigger space. I’ve felt all sorts of nostalgic about leaving this apartment that we have lived in for the past 6 years. We moved in right before we got married and we brought Riley home (and welcomed Finn, our dog, too) to this apartment so it feels really bittersweet. I’m BEYOND ready to have more space now that Riley is 11 months but it’s such a HUGE and bittersweet change. I’ll talk more about the move sometime but I’ve just been reflecting on our time living in a one bedroom apartment with a baby — a pretty small one bedroom apartment at that.

When I was pregnant I kept panicking about this — is it possible to live in a one bedroom apartment with a baby (and two adults and a dog) for at least a year?? How will we survive the small space with a baby and not kill each other? Am I crazy for thinking we can live in a one bedroom apartment with a baby and actually make it work??

But honestly? It wasn’t that challenging once we figured things out. Sure, there are times when I realize I forgot something in the bedroom after bedtime (normally underwear after a shower) and have to decide whether or not I want to tempt the fates when she’s sleeping to get that thing or when I wanted to scream because our small one bedroom felt even smaller with all this baby stuff.

But overall? Totally doable. Totally not a terrible experience at all. I don’t regret doing it. Though I won’t lie — I often pined for a cute little nursery to decorate but also felt like “oh hey I only have to shell out money for a nursery nook and not the whole shebang so also a win.”

And, in between packing and purging things, I thought about how often I’ve been asked since having Riley HOW we are handling the one bedroom thing and asking for tips that we’ve picked up and I thought it might make for a helpful blog post to help if any of you find yourself living in a one bedroom apartment with a baby!

 

1.Purge and reorganize before baby gets here

Babies come with a lot of crap — even when you try to do the minimalist thing — so it was necessary to make space in our already crammed one bedroom apartment if we were going to make living with a baby in a one bedroom work! This was the biggest thing that helped us and it seems obvious but it’s for real the best thing we did.

We got rid of A LOT of stuff — things that we didn’t use or need anymore and then we were realistic about things we would use and need after the baby. We have a movie collection and I had to laugh because we haven’t touched it in years and figured WELP we haven’t watched these in years and I really doubt we are going to suddenly make time once the baby gets here. So I kept my all time faves and the rest we let go of.

The BEST thing we did was reorganizing after getting rid of things. We went through our kitchen and found better ways to store things and we were just BLOWN AWAY at all this room we suddenly had because we were being strategic about where we were putting things. Basically gained two cabinets worth of space somehow…just by reorganizing and finding a better system and place for things — which was perfect because we needed room for her bottles and stuff.

Make a list of places you think you might need more space and work on decluttering and finding a better way. Our closet was another area where I realized we were NOT using our space to the best of its ability. So much wasted space but devoting some time to rethinking it and coming up with new ways of using the space worked WONDERS. If you listen to nothing else on this list, take this one seriously. It was essential in actually HAVING room for baby stuff.

PRO TIP: Don’t wait until the end of the pregnancy because my energy level and range of motion was not so great soooo Will ended up having to do the brunt of it haha

 

2. Two words — MINI CRIB:

We measured out for a regularly sized crib and it was going to be claustrophobic levels of tight in the bedroom (i.e. one of us not being able to get into bed). I did some research and learned about “mini cribs.” I was kind of skeptical but it’s been amazing. It fits perfectly and she doesn’t seem to care that her crib isn’t luxuriously big like other babies might be.

I will say there was a month period when she really started moving all over the place in bed that I thought we might need to get a bigger crib but she settled down with it and now I can’t tell you the last time she got a limb out the crib slat or bumped her head (and honestly I’ve nannied enough to know this happens in a big crib too).

We keep our mini crib in the same spot but the Babyletto mini crib that we got has wheels so if you were to want to move it you could. It stores pretty decently and Will said it only took about 5 minutes to set up. We have no reason to take it down but you can do it like, for instance, if you have baby in a studio apartment and want to be able to move the crib to a different spot when not in use. The Babyletto was the best mini crib for a small space for sure!

Find it: AMAZON // BUY BUY BABY //TARGET (a 2-in-1 mini crib & toddler bed)//

 You’ll need special bedding for it. We got the Babyletto brand crib sheets and we did the Babyletto Pure Core mini crib mattress because I liked that it was non-toxic so it’s a bit pricier but you can find other brands — just be sure to make sure it’s FOR a mini crib.

 

 

 

3. WHITE NOISE IS A GIFT

 

 

I literally don’t know what we would have done without white noise having a baby in a small space. It’s a godsend.

We started out with classic Dohm but then ended up getting this portable Dohm when we left the other one at my sister’s one day she napped there and we actually grew to love the portable one because it could be a little louder. So we put the quiet one closer to her crib (not TOO close– be careful of that) and then put the other one over near the door (her crib was furthest from the door) so that it could kind of block out any immediate noise.

It helped us not to feel like we had to tiptoe all the time and we could actually make noise. Plus living in an apartment there’s always SOME noise (though luckily we had decently quiet neighbors) and we have a dog who barked anytime he heard any noise.

I can honestly say she was NEVER woken up because of some noise we made or from the dog barking in the almost year of one bedroom apartment living. The maintenance guys even came and did (loud) work out in the kitchen and she never woke up. Also that time I set off the smoke detector while cooking (okay and by one time I mean it happened a few times).

Find The Classic Dohm: AMAZON // WALMART // TARGET //
Find The Marpac Hush: AMAZON // POTTERY BARN KIDS//BUY BUY BABY

 

 

4. Make a sleeping nook

My husband is pretty handy so when I explain what I wanted (to section off a little sleeping area for her in our bedroom) he totally delivered. It looked pretty easy to do…at least from my vantage point lounging on the bed while he did it.

Her crib was in a corner of the room and he put up galvanized piping (though I’m sure you could use PVC or copper) and then put these black-out curtains on each one so that we could open and close them.

It made for a cute little sleeping nook and some privacy — plus extra light blocking for good sleep. Be sure that the curtains will be far enough away that your baby can’t grab them as they get older. This didn’t become a problem until the last few weeks we were at the apartment (11 months) where she just wanted to play with them and not nap because she could juuuuuuust reach them if she stretched hard enough.

EDITED TO ADD IN 2020:  On Pinterest a couple people have commented that this isn’t safe because of air flow. I guess I can’t know (though I always felt like there was enough air flow) for sure so ask your pediatrician. We had a fan lower on the ground pointed that way on low and we didn’t have the curtains go all the way to the floor.  You could also make the nook bigger than we did. The picture makes it look REALLY compact but I promise you there was lots of air flow and room.

Don’t mind the terrible picture — I forgot to take a good picture beforehand and this was literally right before we folded the crib down and took the curtains down to move…ON MOVING DAY to our new house.

 

 

5. Position the crib furthest from the door to your living space

 

When we first put the crib in the room we had it on the wall that was closest to the door (before we did the sleeping nook) to our living space but we quickly learned that 1) there wasn’t much space to buffer the noise from our living space and 2) it was annoying as HELL to James Bond our way into the bedroom and into our bed (with a dog) because we had to sneak past her.

We did some major rearranging — we had 4 bookshelves, a dresser, our bed, 2 nightstands and a crib so space was limited — but we figured out a way to put her on the wall furthest from the door so we could have some space as a buffer, in addition to the white noise, and we didn’t have to sneak past her to get into bed. Such a small thing but a game-changer.

 

6. Get things that have multi purposes

As I started going through the things we’d need I realized we didn’t have enough space no matter how hard we tried. There was no way to cram in all the things everyone says you will need when you are in a one bedroom apartment with a baby (p.s. def check out my newborn must-have list).

One of those things for us was the pack & play we got — we were very strategic about it.

We knew we likely needed a bassinet, a changing table and some sort of chair for her to sit in as a newborn. We also knew we wanted a pack and play for travel. We knew it all couldn’t fit.

As we started looking for a pack and play we realized we had a solution as we found some that had multi-purposes. The one we got was a pack and play, had a bassinet element, a changing table element that we used until 5-6 months until I needed the actual pack and play every day when she came to work with me.

It also had a reversible seat that could be a rocker or just a reclined seat. It was one of the best purchases for her because we have already, only in a year, used the hell out of this thing! Worth EVERY freaking penny. And the best part is that, even when we don’t use all the other stuff anymore, we will be using that pack and play for years I’m sure.

Our dressers didn’t work for this because they were too high but I’ve totally seen people put a changing pad like the one we had after  on a dresser top (ours were way too high) but I would have loved to be able to utilize something we already had like that!

If you have room for a changing table, get one a changing table that also doubles as a dresser. Changing space + room for baby clothes!

Find it on Amazon

 

 

7. Embrace your minimalist side with baby gear & toys

I think the biggest thing I realized was that we didn’t need EVERYTHING. You really don’t need EVERY SINGLE LITTLE THING. For example, there are 20 different kinds of chairs or sitting device sorts of things people will tell you that you need for a baby.  You don’t. I promise. She did a lot of playing on a blanket/mat on the floor vs sitting in a container of some sort.

Related: my favorite things in the newborn months and the 3-6 month range

Building a registry (we loved Amazon’s baby registry!!)  was so overwhelming but you really need to think about what you absolutely will need and what your lifestyle looks like. For example, I knew I wanted to babywear lots so I got an easy to use stretchy wrap carrier and then a more structured carrier. over getting lots of chairs for her to be put in. 

I think the other thing I realized is that they literally go through things SO QUICKLY. Not even just space wise but money-wise I just think it’s a waste to spend so much money on things that aren’t even in use in a couple months. Being minimalist in all the gear and clothes, especially in the early days, is the way to go to being able to live with a baby in a one bedroom apartment (and also to save money).

I also realized being minimalist with her toys really paid off because we didn’t have a ton of room and half the time she had more fun playing with the dog’s toy or a water bottle or something that wasn’t her toy more than her toys.

I kept small batches of toys in different places throughout the apartment and I would rotate them out in her main little bin that I kept out in plain sight for her. It really worked space-wise and keeping things fresh for her with her toys since we didn’t have too many for her. And honestly pots and pans and measuring cups were just as fun for her.

 

8. Get things that can fold up easily.

With the exception of a couple things (like our exersaucer) we specifically got things that could easily be folded.

We had the Fisher Price this sit-me-up floor seat which was one of our most used baby items and it folded up sooo easily and nicely we could just store it under our couch. I didn’t want a chair that just took up space and couldn’t be easily folded.

 

When I was looking up high chairs I wanted one that could 1) fold up and 2) easily be cleaned 3) wasn’t a complete eyesore and it led me to the Joovy Nook which we LOVE so much.

Find it:  AMAZON // BUY BUY BABY // TARGET
 

I remember a family member looked at our registry and kindly wanted to buy us a nicer and bigger (also more expensive) high chair instead of the one we had on our list and I had to explain that we chose it specifically because we didn’t have much space and this high chair folded up and was space efficient opposed to the one she wanted to so generously get us.

I also think that these ones that attach to a seat or this one that attaches to the table are great space-saving ideas for having a baby in a one bedroom apartment.

 

They even have foldable/collapsible baby baths though we went a different route and got one you can hang.

 

 

 

9. Use bins to hide the clutter

When you don’t have a whole lot of storage space, your living area has to become super functional to store all these added baby things. We didn’t want to have the things we needed on a daily basis tucked away in closets or inconvenient spots but we also didn’t want it clutter things up.

We already had a shelf similar to this one with fabric drawers  both from Ikea in our living room but before her it was half decorative and half functional with 4 bins. We decided to upgrade to have 8 bins and zero decorative shelves so that we had extra storage space.

 

We then stored diapers and wipes for easy access (the overflow of diapers remained in our laundry room storage closet), burp clothes/bibs/blankets, etc, toys, miscellaneous baby things. It gave me some sense of calm to have space for all this baby stuff where we needed it but without it cluttering up our living space.

I also put cute bins from Kohls on top of our dressers in our room to put her socks, hair bands and other things.

 

10. Hang ALL THE THINGS  you can & think vertically in general.

I hung mine and Riley’s dirty clothes from our laundry room door thanks to this awesome laundry bag.

 Find it on Amazon

 

We got a hook for the stroller to hang while folded up in the closet nearest our entrance.

 

Find it on Amazon

 

I got this thing to hang on the back of the bedroom door to hold some extra diapers and wipes and her wash clothes and stuff in the bedroom.

 Find it on Amazon

I got a bath toy holder that can hang her toys in the tub.

 Find it on Amazon

 

I got a baby bath tub that can hang because our bathroom was SO tiny we wouldn’t have room to store it.

Find it on Amazon

 

When you don’t have a ton of storage space OR floor space, hanging things is a lifesaver.

I tried to think how I could go UP rather than using wall space a lot. So when I looked for a little toy box I didn’t go with one that was wide and would take up a lot of wall space but rather one that was taller.

 

 

 Find it on Amazon

 

11. Get a camping light

Find it On Amazon

Okay I know this might be a weird suggestion but this touch light  made all the difference for us. It made things so much easier — especially in the middle of the night.

If we were doing a diaper change in the middle of the night when she was really little or a night feeding we could adjust the brightness rather than turning on the lights (especially the bright, harsh light in the kitchen) and we could bring it around with us very easily.

OR if I needed to get something out of our bedroom and she was already sleeping I could put this on the lowest setting and QUIETLY go grab it without turning the light on and waking her.

It always just felt like with all the overheads/lamps in our apartment we had  light traveled and brightened up every single part of our apartment and in the middle of the night I wanted the least amount of light as humanly possible. SLEEPY VIBES ALL NIGHT LONG, bright harsh lights need not apply.

 

12. Get creative

I mean, just in general, GET CREATIVE.

Get creative with storage space — we used all sorts of nooks and crannies and odd places for storage so that her stuff did not overtake the WHOLE apartment even though someone else might be like WHY IS THIS STORED IN THE KITCHEN?? Well, that’s where we found some space and our kitchen is right next to everything SOOOO it works.

We got creative with our schedule to accommodate when she would be sleeping back in the bedroom. We got creative with our sexytimes (hey, I’m just being honest…it’s always what I wondered when I thought of the prospect of sharing a room with a baby).

We got creative with decorating her nursery nook since she wouldn’t have a real nursery. We got creative with EVERY aspect of it. Sometimes it was trial and error and we’d be like “OKAY BAD IDEA” but we always made SOMETHING work.

 

 

13. GET OUT

 

I feel like sometimes you don’t realize it until you are ready to LOSE IT but living in a small space with a baby (AND A DOG!) can make you feel like the walls are closing in on you…especially in the winter.

You feel like everything happens in the same room…because mostly it does. And sometimes, especially in the earlier days, it just felt like so much WORK to get out. By the time I FINALLY got us ready to get out the door we would barely have any time to be out until it was naptime and it was like OKAY cool I have 15 minutes to hang out the place I drove 15 minutes to get to and will have to drive 15 minutes back home to.

You start to feel trapped in that apartment. We also didn’t have a lot of money so I couldn’t just go do a million things that cost money — even going to Starbucks was not on my list of things I could just do just because I needed to get out of the apartment.

So some days I just chose to do a car nap and just hope all the rest of the naps for the day would be in her crib (overtired Riley was not fun so naps are important). Or sometimes I would put her in the stroller and walk or bring a blanket out in the grass behind our apartment and play/eat. I got out as much as I could because it’s suffocating to look at the same 4 walls…even if I felt like it was a hassle to leave for no reason.

 

14. Consider if you NEED a coffee table (or maybe other furniture you might have that isn’t necessary)

Once Riley started moving I realized she had NOWHERE to play because our coffee table took up so much of the floor space in the living room. We decided to get rid of it.

Honestly? We haven’t gotten a new one for the new place because we don’t miss it. It basically just accumulated clutter anyways. I sometimes miss it to put drinks on but we built a shelf BEHIND the couch on the wall (an idea we got from perusing Ikea haha).

So figure out if you need some of the bigger bulkier things in your apartment. It was the coffee table for us and it made the space so much more open without it and I didn’t worry about her falling into it when she started standing.

 

15. Stay on top of your cleaning/decluttering

This is such a biggie. It’s kind of impossible to do in the newborn stage because it was like “shower or clean?” on a daily basis and I always chose shower every time. BUT I found in the apartment that, especially with the baby, that it could go from 0 to disaster zone very quickly and that STRESSED ME OUT.

I mean there were times I felt like I couldn’t move because laundry was every where and her toys were out and dishes were piled because bottles were all in the sink and the dog was always under my feet (he still is even in our much bigger space now lol).

I had to set up a system for keeping things clean and decluttered that wouldn’t overwhelm me and was doable. Our place NEVER looked perfect or immaculate but I could keep the clutter and overwhelm to a minimum.

Babies move through things (clothes, gear, toys) very quickly in the first year so staying on top of removing the things we didn’t need anymore made SO MUCH DIFFERENCE. At one point I had a huge overflowing laundry basket of clothes she couldn’t wear any more and it stressed me out with how much space it was taking up because I didn’t do anything with it right away. (We aren’t planning for baby #2 so we aren’t saving any of her stuff…so you might need a different strategy if you are saving it).

 

16. Make sure you have a GOOD solution for diaper disposal if you have are going the disposable route

Listen, one dirty awful diaper can stink up your whole apartment quickly. TRUST ME and what happened the one time I didn’t throw it in our Ubbi but the regular trash and thought something died in our apartment.

I was nervous about this aspect of having a baby in a one bedroom because we’ve always had to work really hard to not let our actual garbage stink up our apartment because I always felt like small spaces just trap in smells.

I did a lot of research and the Ubbi diaper pail seemed to get rave reviews and I loved that you don’t NEED special bags for it. As long as you keep it closed after you put the diaper in there you are GOOD. I never once smelled it if it was closed. Taking the actual bag out is another story *gag*

 Find it on Amazon

 

If a diaper pail is one of the things you want to forego, then I highly recommend getting these bags that we have in our diaper bag for dipe changes on the go. I think if you at least throw a poop diaper in one of these suckers you can keep your regular trash from needing to go out every second of the day.

—————–

 

So those are my tips for making living with a baby in a small space easier….I’m HAPPY to answer any specific questions and help based on my experience.

I honestly didn’t feel great, when I was pregnant, about living in a one bedroom apartment with a baby, dog and 2 adults but it honestly worked. We had a lot of laughs and a lot of good memories in our space that outweighed any of the negatives (like feeling like everyone was breathing down your neck when you were in a bad mood or tripping over stuff  when things got out of control). I honestly cried quite a bit when we left.

And HONESTLY…there are SOME pros — less stuff to buy because you don’t have to decorate a nursery or have a whole playroom, you can literally see your kid from most places in your apartment (I miss being able to see her while I pee…now I have to bring her in with me or wait until she naps). You have less cleaning to do. Less back and forth when your kid is up all night.

You really learn how to adapt quickly and you make your space work. It really was not terrible at all if you have the right things and are smart about it!

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