Meredith sent us an email: "Everyone keeps telling me that in a small apartment, we need baby stuff that does 'double duty'. Any suggestions on furniture that really does this, or do I have to give up the city lifestyle and move into a McMansion to fit all the baby's stuff in?"
(Note: Include a pic of your problem and your question gets posted first. Email questions and pics with QUESTIONS in subject line to: nursery(at)apartmenttherapy(dot)com)
Good Question, Meredith! The idea of furniture doing double-duty can be defined in two ways - either furniture that has more than one purpose while your baby is still a baby, like that Cariboo bassinet and changer combo, above, or furniture that can transition to and from your nursery as needed. While we all know that lots of cribs can convert to toddler beds, and then full beds, it can be harder to figure out what pieces are going to work now for your baby, later for an older child, and in between be flexible enough to be used in other rooms in your apartment.
Personally, we like the following:
But these are just two ideas, and we know there are more and better ones out there. People, help keep Meredith out of the McMansion! What are your suggestions for double-duty furniture?
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A crib and a decent dresser with a changing pad on top works for me.
Tiny clothes don't take up a lot of room. I have all baby's diapers and creams in top left drawer, socks and hats and little things in right. Baby's clothes in big drawer and baby's stuff (blankets, pumping gear, toys and gifts) in other big drawer.
That bassinet above just looks like something that needs to be replacced in 6 months. And that changing top needs to be taken on and off? too hard.
I am having the same dilemma. We are planning to use a co-sleeper for the first month or so; so no crib. We also bought a changing table that has shelves so I figure we can store a lot of the baby's stuff there. I also bought a bunch a sturdy flat boxes that fit nicely underneath the bed; this is where I plan to store the baby's clothing and blankets, a make-shift dresser of sorts.
I purchased one of those small low swings for my son and that eliminated the need for a bouncy seat. I could feed him in that just the same. Also, they make those booster seats that are like a high chair, even reclines and it attaches to one of your dining room chairs. That would save some room.
I second the comment about a good dresser with a changing pad on the top. I used that solution. The pad screws on the back of the dresser so when it was outgrown it came off with no mess. In his closet I have used locker baskets for his clothes, and 3 years later I am still using them. They work like a champ and it is helping him be able to dress himself.
We used a bassinett before moving my son to the crib. I loved it, he could sleep in my room with me at night and during his naps I could have him close to me in other rooms. He loved it too. When he outgrew it, I passed it on to another family at my husbands job. I think that keeping the stuff babies outgrow is actually a bigger problem than the stuff that they are using currently.
Having a very small area for our first born, I used 2 tall, narrow tower shelf units side by side that had a previous life elsewhere in our house. They stood, anchored, right next to the low cabinet that held the changing pad on top. They held tiny folded clothes, baskets of socks, etc. stacked diapers, wipes etc. Long since outgrown by my son, those cabinets now serve as my pantry in this apartment.
I love stuff that can be useful in just about any room!
At 3 years old, my son has never had his own bed, much less his own room. (This is about to change in the next couple months... we'll see how that transition goes.) I'm not going to start up a debate on the pros/cons of co-sleeping, but I'll just say you should consider it if you haven't already. If you choose to use a crib, that's cool. But you really do not *need* one.
Never had a bouncy seat either. I have heard they are bad for developing baby joints. Did have a portable swing, that folded up when not in use.
High chair also folded up; at the time we lived in NYC and had a teensy weensy kitchen, which I couldn't get in/out of when the high chair was set up. Now he just has a portable booster seat.
Had one of those infant tubs that hangs from the shower rod when not in use, that was a good space saver.
We share a dresser. When he was an infant and, ironically, had a lot more clothes, he had his own dresser with changing table pad on top, as others have said.
In NYC, I kept his books and toys in baskets on a bookshelf. After moving back to Seattle, got one of those things from Ikea with the drawers that slide in - I really like this, it's sturdy and manageable, so he can put away his own toys.
That's about it. Contrary to popular belief, babies just don't need much.
"I think that keeping the stuff babies outgrow is actually a bigger problem than the stuff that they are using currently."
So true!! You gotta stay vigilant about getting that stuff OUT.
And keeping a limit on toys. Set limits - for yourself and your parents - on how many toys baby can have. It's hard, especially if you have a doting family, and especially especially if this is the first grandchild and god bless em, they want to shower baby with gifts. But your child really does not need that many toys. My son has so many awesome toys (and so much stupid plastic crap, too) yet his favorite toys for MONTHS have been a wrapping paper tube and an orange string. I'm not even kidding.
We're going with a Graco Pack & Play unit with a built in changing station, storage underneath, and the ability to fold if needed.
Between that and a new cabinet/dresser from Ikea, we've got storage, sleeping and changing covered.
It seems like only one thing is missing... the baby. (She should arrive in a month or so)
Whatever you do - DO NOT buy the IKEA changing table. It may be an apt friendly option - but you WILL NOT be ablt to find a changing pad for it. We created our own by crafting it out of a standard size pad... only to have the drawer break 2 months later.
Go with a dresser and a pad on top. You'll be happy down the road. Our little guy is 10 mos and we haven't used his changing table since he was 4 mos.
If you end up getting a bassinet like the one pictured in the OP, you can use it as a laundry basket/laundry room container when the baby outgrows it. And the baby can use the bassinet when he's a lot older for his own playhouse games. If you don't take it away to use for a new sibling.
We have the bassinet featured above. While it works for us, I would NOT recommend it for someone tight on space. I is a lot bigger than one can imagine from the picture. So you wouldn't reuse it for you childs dolls. You can only use it until they are like, 20 lbs., so it goes to storage after four months basically.
The best thing I did was buy and ikea dresser for 179 and put a changing table on it. The drawer sizes worked perfect for diapers and clothes.
While we own the oeuf bouncer (that I love) I'm not even sure that one needs that. Sitting mini in the car seat works just as well and I swear she feels a little more secure in it with it's cozy sides.
The more children I have, the more I realize I don't need all this junk. Borrow if you can and lend it out when you're done.
We have a packnplay that we use for a changing table and sleeper. Also have a small storage unit (http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=sc_pgc_r_12_0_10323431/601-5128869-9867352?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B00007LVB4) that we could put a changing table or supplies on as needed, and later will store clothes or toys.
In the closet, we have a regular closet organizer for clothes, diapers, and storage (http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_2/601-5128869-9867352?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B0006ZP6NA). For bath time, we use either a laundry basket in the tub of water or rubbermaid storage bin that can be reused later.