4 months pregnant - move to a house or stay in flat??

Mrs_Domino

Hi,


I was in exactly the same situation as you. We moved out when my lo was 1 year because an opportunity arose but we could've stayed longer.


We were in a 1 bed 1st floor flat with thin ceilings and floors and I did worry about the noise at night until I sent round a little note with a couple of pairs of ear plugs and a cute picture of my lo and a little poem. I had great compliments and some neighbours said they didn't even know we had a baby!


Storage was an issue for us but we solved that by getting the little cot from ikea and only buying what we needed. In some ways this saved us money as we didn't need a changing station up and down stairs or bouncy chairs all over the house because we only had 2 living rooms, the bedroom and the lounge.


One tip I would give you is make sure you get a pushchair that fits nicely in the car and leave it there. You don't need to lug it up to the flat each time, carry the baby upstairs and downstairs to the car and then either put him in the car or set up the buggy and take him for a walk. Saves space and your back.


Hth

Frugalbride

Mrs_Domino wrote: »

We were in a 1 bed 1st floor flat with thin ceilings and floors and I did worry about the noise at night until I sent round a little note with a couple of pairs of ear plugs and a cute picture of my lo and a little poem. I had great compliments and some neighbours said they didn't even know we had a baby!



Hth

Great idea! That would be a good way to break the ice and raise the issue in a positive way. We will do that. :j

Frugalbride

Adrenalina wrote: »

I also recommend keeping a book in the car or carrying your e-reader with you - even if your baby stays asleep when taken out of the pram/car, chances are it will wake up during the journey up the stairs. I used to catch up on reading rather than wake her (but that's also down to parenting style). to consider.


Good luck!

Thanks! That is a good idea and will hopefully allow a bit of 'me time' to catch up on reading.

Frugalbride

Thanks everyone. We now think we would be crazy to move and will focus our energy on making the current flat baby friendly and more 'ours'. I will also bear in mind all the great tips and advice you all posted! Xxx

claire16c

Frugalbride wrote: »

Great idea! That would be a good way to break the ice and raise the issue in a positive way. We will do that. :j

I saw on a nanny programme once, on the week where they decided they were going to persist with the toddlers staying in their room, and so knew a lot of screaming would commence, she went round with a bottle of wine and said please bear with us for a few days

Frugalbride

claire16c wrote: »

I saw on a nanny programme once, on the week where they decided they were going to persist with the toddlers staying in their room, and so knew a lot of screaming would commence, she went round with a bottle of wine and said please bear with us for a few days

That's a great idea. Make them all so drunk they don't care! X

Kynthia

I've lived in a couple of flats and my sister had a baby in a flat. The thing about noise is it's much more likely to travel to the flats above and below rather than next door for some reason. Whenever next door has a party I don't hear a thing but I can tell when upstairs celebrates an Arsenal goal. Don't worry though as the main noise that bothers people is footsteps, such as a toddler running around (but having carpets or rugs minimises this, and inconsiderate noises such as hovering/load music/slamming doors in the middle of the night. Normal lifestyle noises and louder stuff during the day is not noticed or tolerated well.


The block I live in has five floors and no lift. I knew someone who had twins on the top floor and she did fine. There are annoyances but not so many that you should stretch yourself financially. I hope it all goes well.

DigForVictory

First of all, congratulations & I hope the rest of your pregnancy & delivery go smoothly!

Babies make (not much) noise compared to toddlers & anyway so long as your neighbours know, they're more likely to be sweet about it. So definitely drop off a note when appropriate!

The where to put the pram bit is always a puzzle - especially when little coot is fast asleep in it, the boot has groceries in it & you can't see how to exchange them without fuss. They'll sleep amazingly, if they feel warm & safe (slings Wonderful here), so just get the shopping onto the floor, coot into sling, cot etc into boot & then start lugging upstairs. (Y'know, Internet shopping sounds a godsend...)

All the very best, & a safe move in another 18 months!

Frugalbride

Thanks again for all the advice and helping me to think about logistics!

Definitely staying put and have already started clearing things out of the flat and thinking about how things will work. I have started looking at rugs and some soundproofing and will think about how to break the good news to get neighbours on side. My number one priority for a pram is now whether I can fold it one handed and it will go easily in the boot!

I feel like making this decision has freed up a lot of mental energy that we can put towards preparing for LO. Thanks again.

GobbledyGook

I was in a second floor flat when my third was born.

The key thing for you is not feeling 'trapped' by the stairs. Slings are a great idea (wrap sling for a littlie is ideal), a pram/buggy that is light and easily manoeuvrable. If you want to keep your pram in the car that is handy. My lo slept amazingly in his pram so I used to put him in the sling from his car seat then carried the pram with one hand.

Shopping - sending your OH is a good idea. Otherwise look at deliveries.

Even in a small flat you can get on just fine. I was in mine for a year with 3 children. You just need to be organised.