flats and babies

[kittiecat]

Hi, we're currently TTC but wanted to post here for some advice or tips. We live in a 2nd floor flat atm up 3 flights of stairs with no lift. Has anyone else in this situation managed fine with their baby? We keep getting comments of how we should really move to a house before having a baby but we can't afford to right now without postponing TTC and we have already been trying for 18 months so it's not an option I want to consider right now. So yeah guess I'm looking for some reassurance that you can manage just fine in a 2nd floor flat with no lift & a baby. Oh and I don't drive either (DH is currently learning)

 

[Button#]

I live in a 2nd floor flat with a baby and a toddler. I've managed fine with it, although I do have somewhere on the ground floor to store my pushchair. If I didn't I would have probably not bothered with a pushchair until I could use a light umbrella stroller and just used a sling. I use the sling to carry baby up and down the stairs anyway as it made carrying bags as well much easier and now it means I can hold my toddlers hand as well. Also I get my grocery shopping delivered so I don't have to struggle up with heavy bags.

It's totally not worth moving house if you're happy where you are.

 

[kittiecat]

Oh yeah we love our flat. It's big with two double bedrooms so plenty of room. And we get our rent cheap cause we rent off a close friend. Eventually we want to save to buy a house but for me having a baby comes first.

 

[emyandpotato]

We lived in a flat when LO was born and live in a different flat now, and will soon have a newborn as well as a three year old. It's only first floor so not as difficult to access but we've had no problems. We had a heavy buggy with LO and I bumped it up and down, or if I found it difficult I left it at the bottom for OH to bring up when he got home. This time round we've got a very lightweight foldable buggy which should be easy to unfold once downstairs. We also have quite a few carriers which make getting out and about easier. Not having a garden hasn't been an issue for us either. If you're happy stay where you are! Only difficulty really is a lack of a washing line, especially in summer when we don't use the heating.

 

[modified]

I spent the first 9 months of my daughters life in a second floor flat. I don't drive either. I don't really see what the issue is? Why must you move to a house? The stairs don't present an issue. A pram is easily bumped up and down them. If you've got shopping, leave it at the bottom of the stairs, bump baby up, leave baby in the pram and shoot down to get the bags.

I babywear and have a buggy that's so light I can lift it up and down stairs with baby in it though.

 

[kittiecat]

Thanks I feel reassured now! To the people that try to tell us we won't manage in our flat I'll just tell them to mind their own!

 

[Kristalebear1]

Same here second story flat with a newborn right now, first baby. Her stroller is easily foldable but still a tad heavy but I just carry her up and the stroller, or baby wear for short evening trips (way to hot to baby wear in the day here at 110+ degrees). We've had no issues really. Yeah its a tad more of a workout but the exercise is good!

Make your baby and tell those naysayers to mind their own. Houses aren't a necessity haha.

 

[catty]

I had 2 babies to get up and down the stairs and yes for me it was a struggle but there is no way in hell I wouldnt have had my babies because of it.
things I found hard

1) neighbours seemed to be able to hear alot more in the flat than the house were in now. I got anxiety about my neighbours hearing my son cry. after a bad night they phoned the police on us and I didnt feel comfortable.
2) generally just difficult getting up and downstairs for me anyway
3) no garden
4) hard for me to find a parking space

however id still much rather have had my babies and we managed to have 2 babies there and moved when my son was 22 months so it is very much doable

 

[Kristalebear1]

I had 2 babies to get up and down the stairs and yes for me it was a struggle but there is no way in hell I wouldnt have had my babies because of it.
things I found hard

1) neighbours seemed to be able to hear alot more in the flat than the house were in now. I got anxiety about my neighbours hearing my son cry. after a bad night they phoned the police on us and I didnt feel comfortable.
2) generally just difficult getting up and downstairs for me anyway
3) no garden
4) hard for me to find a parking space

however id still much rather have had my babies and we managed to have 2 babies there and moved when my son was 22 months so it is very much doable

Whaaat!?! They called the police. Shhesssh, that's beyond messed up. Its not like it was a 5 yr old, its a baby, babies cry.

One night Isobel was crying alot and a fuss, my neighbor knocked on the door and asked if I needed anything, and gave me a hug. I asked if it was loud and she said she could only hear her in the living room and hardly at all.

But I really needed that hug that night lol.

 

[kittiecat]

Wow calling the police? Not surprised you felt uncomfortable after that! Luckily my neighbours tend to be really nice & understanding so hopefully I wouldn't encounter any situations like that but then again you never know!

 

[coz]

Our first is 7 years old and ive just had our second baby and we are on 3rd floor no lift, both were c sections too and we have managed fine, i am a bit pissed off i have to lug the buggy up and down the stairs again but you can do it and my buggy this time round is alot lighter too! x

 

[vickyandchick]

I personally hate living in our flat but I think that's down to lots of things and not just because it's a flat.
If you're happy then stay where you are.

 

[Buttercup84]

We lived in a first floor flat with our oldest til she was 2.5, though I didn't have to bring a pram upstairs as it had its own front door. I must admit I prefer the house we have now but the flat served us well

 

[LovemyBubx]

We are on first floor its fine just hate having to go up & down multiple times to get baby inside then the pushchair then any shopping.

So light pram is a must. At least my legs get a bit of a workout!

 

[newbie1992]

Sorry to kill the positivity but I found it really hard with a baby in a flat. I had a bugaboo cam and there was noooo way i was leaving it at the bottom of the flats so sometimes I would get home from shopping and have to go up two flights of stairs with shopping, a heavy pram and a sleeping baby. It was officially a nightmare, I moved because of it and also she didnt have much room to play and walk around in her walker.. also i was sooo paranoid about the baby crying but then i stopped caring because everyone else seemed to make equally as much noise!

We ended up moving to a house because of it but only because it was easy and not much more expensive to move.. if u r happy and think u can manage i certainly wouldnt halt plans to have a child because of it, atleast u can identify potential problems from what me and the others have said and probably get a lightweight pram and your problems will be sorted.

On the upside, I felt a lot more safe in a flat, less likely to be a target of burglary on the first floor of a flat with good security systems..

Good luck!!

 

[modified]

I've left bugaboo cameleon's, bugaboo bee pluses and icandy peaches at the bottom of my stairs lol! No one's ever stolen it.

 

[SarahBear]

Why would there be a problem? We were in a one bedroom second story apartment until Violet was about 11 months. It was crowded. That was about the only issue.

 

[SarahBear]

Read through and if strollers are the biggest issue, that's easy enough to deal with.