Making Room for Baby
When our first child was born, we were living in a 10′ x 50′ trailer. There was no way we could fit in many of the “necessities” for our little one, so we learned to make do with the space we had. Here are some of the things we learned:
1. Baby does not necessarily need his or her own room to start with. In our little trailer, we had 2 bedrooms. One of them was the master bedroom and the other was in use as an office. We debated about where to put the new baby, and ended up setting up the crib at one end of the living room. Not ideal . . . but it worked fine for the first 5 or 6 months. Newborns usually sleep pretty soundly even while activity and noise goes on around them. In fact, some even sleep better with background noise. If you don’t have enough room for a crib, consider using a pack and play or a portable crib instead, as these take up less space. Depending on the size of your master bedroom, you could also set up a bed for baby beside your own bed. This is what we are currently doing with our second child (although we live in a bigger house now). This works well for nighttime feedings, as it is very convenient for mommy. Some people like to co-sleep with their babies, so that would also be a possible option if it is something you are comfortable with. You should read up on the subject ahead of time, to learn about co-sleeping safety, if this option interests you.
When our son was about 6 months old, he didn’t sleep as soundly anymore, so we ended up moving things around and putting him into our tiny extra bedroom. It wasn’t the “dream nursery” that many couples want, but the baby truly doesn’t care about any of that. He or she just needs a comfortable and safe place to sleep, and with some creativity, you can make a cozy place even in a small home.
2. Highchairs are optional. We did not even have room for a small kitchen table in our trailer, so my husband and I ate all our meals off of folding tray tables. When our son got to the age of starting solid foods (around 6 months), we had to figure out where he would sit and eat. We had no room for a highchair, so for a little while, we would put him into his saucer-like toy and feed him there. He enjoyed being able to eat and play at the same time! When he was about 9 months old, we invested in a nice booster seat with a removable tray. The seat straps onto a regular kitchen chair. This took up less space than a big highchair, but served the same purpose. In fact, now that we have a kitchen table, he is still using his booster seat, but without the tray. So even though a highchair is a nice thing to have, there are ways to get by just fine without using one.
3. Folding toys are helpful! We actually didn’t have room for a full-fledged exersaucer, so we found a similar toy which a child could bounce in. It made noise, and had fun toys on the tray like the saucers do, but it was foldable. We liked being able to fold it up when our little guy wasn’t using it. We also had a travel swing, which could fold up while not in use. These are especially nice for babies who aren’t old enough to sit up on their own yet.
4. Changing tables are also optional. While a changing table is a great thing to have, it’s not a necessity. We had a folding vinyl changing pad that we used on the floor or bed for most diaper changes. Now, if you have a low dresser in the baby’s room already, you could make that into a changing table if you wanted. Just get one of the curved foam changing pads and put that on top of the dresser. This is what I planned to do for our second child, but so far I have just always ended up changing her on our bed. Anyway, the nice thing about using a dresser as a changing table is that you have one piece of furniture serving two purposes. You can keep diapers and wipes in one drawer, if you wish, and clothes in the rest. There are also nice diaper stackers you can buy which can hang off of a crib, or even on the wall, if you need extra space for diaper storage.
5. You don’t need a lot of toys. As our son grew old enough to play with toys, we had one wicker laundry basket to contain them all, in a corner of the living room. Another nice storage solution would be a set of those colorful (or clear) plastic drawers. They don’t take up a lot of space, and nicely contain everything when you pick up at the end of the day. If you don’t have a lot of space for “stuff,” try to nicely remind the relatives not to give a lot of large toys as gifts, until you have more space for them. Now that we have more room, our son has acquired more toys, but we still try to keep them to a minimum so that his room doesn’t overflow too much into the rest of the house.
6. Your time and love are much more important to your little one than having a perfect nursery or all the right equipment! I think that the “stuff” we feel we need to have for our kids, is really more for us as parents than for our children. I mean, as a mommy, you want to have the matching Pooh (or whatever your favorite theme is) crib set, lovely maple furniture, and a gorgeous hand-painted mural on the wall. We’ve all seen the designer nurseries on TV, and yes, they are beautiful. But truly, a little baby couldn’t care less about all that. What they need most is that secure feeling of knowing that they hold a special place in your heart, which comes when you shower them with love, kisses, and silly smiles and words. Give them these most important things, and remember that even if you have a tiny home, you can be creative to find room for your little blessing. Your child will not care too much about how little your house is, but he or she will definitely remember whether or not it was a home filled with love and happiness!
