Breastfeed... Saves a lot of kitchen space... no bottles, drying rack, bottle warmer, formula, etc... this is certainly not the foremost benefit to breastfeeding tho: )

For those of you who don't have dressers that can convert to a changing table, Ikea has a wall-mounted change table that can be folded away when not in use. It saves on well needed floor space, plus, you can mount it anywhere and it won't look out of place when it is folded away.

ANTILOP
Wall mount changing table
$69.99

I say skip the change table, personally. We have a one bedroom and we use the kitchen table! Just make sure you disinfect, ha ha.

We keep his clothes in a basket on our bedroom floor. It's kind of good because it makes me constantly go through his things and make sure all the clothes he has grown out of are put away and not creating a chaotic clutter!

I agree with the highchair thing - for now we just have a Bumbo that he uses for eating and it just sits on one of the dining room chairs. When he outgrows that, we will probably get one that attaches to a normal chair.

One thing I dislike the most is our bedroom! Our son sleeps in a playpen beside our bed because our room is too tiny for a crib. I just read the post about mini cribs and I love the idea! I didn't even know those existed.

Everything else is okay for now...we're trying to sell our place as we speak! I dream of having our own room again!

sounds like you all need a designer who specializes in small and awkward spaces for children... like Charm&Whimsy. She comes to your home, and assesses the situation and either builds into a closet or divides the space so that until you move to bigger diggs you can still have a room for the baby & yourself. She saved us.

wow, charmgirl, did you love the service so much that you modeled your name after it? being disingenuous isn't the mark of a good businessperson. maybe I'm off base and if so I'm sorry.
we didn't have room for a crib so we bought a hammock that hangs from the ceiling, partially over our bed. the kid won't sleep in it, of course, but it's lovely to look at.

What we couldn't have lived without was a separate storage space. All the toys and gear that were given to us that the baby was too young for went into storage until the time came it was appropriate. We used a bassinet when the baby was very young so the crib stayed in storage. Also some of our stuff went into storage to make room for baby gear in the apartment. And Craigslist was very helpful in getting rid of the gear the baby outgrew, and getting us a few bucks in return. (We weren't planning on having another child.) A little advice: put a reasonable price on your used gear and it will sell very quickly. We did OK with a high chair, full-sized crib, formula and bottles, even a jumperoo. But we live in the suburbs, not in a tiny urban apartment. Of course our apartment felt small to us! We did without a changing table though--quite unnecessary. We bought a changing pad and moved it between the couch and bedroom as needed.

Does anyone know the manufacturer of this crib or where it can be bought? Or of a similar style portable crib? I'd love to find one that is simple and square. Thanks so much!

I second the doorway johnny jump-up suggestion. That was really entertaining to our son, and crazy compact!

Reading many of the comments, I am reminded that "1-bedroom" doesn't mean much. It's all about square footage. We lived in 350 square feet until our son was 9 months old. Had we had the good fortune to find and afford something closer to 800 square feet in our beloved old neighborhood, we wouldn't have moved to our modest-sized (2 beds, 1200 sq ft) house up the Hudson.

We still follow our small-space habits, though: everything in its place, dresser-as-changing-table, small wooden highchair that isn't an eyesore, no huge plastic playhouses in the yard, and a daily walk to the park for swings, slides, and neighborhood socializing.

We live in a 600 sq ft one bedroom loft in Manhattan with our one-year-old and have no plans to move anytime soon. I think rule #1 is make do with less. We are costantly editing clothes, toys and gear. Many of the things we have are foldable, like the CityMini stroller (that lives on a hook) and the Graco car seat swing (that lived under our couch when not in use), and the cheapo $30 high chair we got at Babies R' Us. The three of us share the IKEA Malm dresser, a large long dresser that doubles as a changing table. We have shelves lining the bedroom about a foot down from the ceiling where we have lots of storage boxes for too-big clothes and odds and ends. The DaVinci Annabelle minicrib has worked beautifully, I made a cheap skirt to hid the ShoesUnder (as seen on TV!) that we slide underneath to hold baby blankets and extra bedding. A curtain hung from an IKEA ceiling mount offers a little privacy between our bed and his crib. I'm glad that we kept the baby gear to a minimum, I am amazed at how quickly it all becomes obsolete.

That crib looks like something they sell at Giggle.com

http://thesweetest3.com/

lejeunesse- did you get a Kanoe hammock? And your baby won't sleep in it?? (trying to decide if we should get one...)

If square footage is at a premium, I'd forgo the crib entirely in favour of a bouncy/vibrate chair. Even in our two-bedroom, we quickly realized the benefits of cosleeping with our little guy and his crib just holds laundry.

The bouncy chair, on the other hand, was a godsend when he was little -- it helped soothe him when he was fussy and was a great place to safely park him while I did some dishes or whatnot. He loved it that he had a good view from it! Mind you, it was only used a few months, but was eventually replaced with a swing which was replaced in turn by an exersaucer. Same square footage, different age-appropriate toys. Since they all came from Craigslist, and were sold back again, the cost was virtually unchanged one to the other.

We are happily expecting our 4th child and still in a 2 bedroom. Sometimes people gawk when I say that, but whatever! It's good for them to learn to live with each other. There are probably many people out there in the same boat. Since things have always been a little bit tight for me since I had kids I learned:

1. Changing tables seemed extraneous to me. Even when I used the dresser for a changing table, it wasn't always accessible when I needed it because of sleeping children, so now we just used the couch or floor with a vinyl mat.
2. Many moms tend to borrow and lend most baby gadgets. You don't have to buy everything. For instance: my kids never got into baby swings, so I was really glad to not have wasted the money on somethign they would've used for 3 months anyway.
3. I love buying in more gender neutral colors, because boys should not have to ride pink bikes and girls can wear black rainboots. I always buy red, black, yellow, navy blue, etc. My soon-to-be 4 kids will all have worn the same rainboots. (And, no, it does NOT cost $200,000 to raise a child, unless you're a moron.)

We were in the middle of renovating our little 2 bedroom house when our daughter was born (tip: do the pregnancy test BEFORE you start building), so we had one bedroom, a bathroom, and a living/dining/camp kitchen.
I changed her nappy wherever the nearest surface was - usually the floor - because we had no room for a change table. For the next four kids I did the same out of habit.

We had a stokke, which was a lifesaver, and we also got a hammock.

@charmgirl - better to be honest, than lie. but pretty sure parents who are seeking these ideas don't want to spend absurd amounts of money on a service, when these simple tips can help them. I can't bear people using AT comments as some sort of classifieds. AT sell ad space - use that!

and I feel emedarwash was a little insensitive with her blase breastfeeding comment. Some of us try really hard, and really suffer when we don't succeed, but it just doesn't happen for various reasons.

Thankfully we have our own house, but it is rather old and tiny with no limited storage. We recently bought an Ektorp (i think that's the name) sectional sofa from IKEA. Although we bought it for more seating, the under sofa storage is a huge bonus. I have a set of dumbbells, yoga mat, and babygym that are easily accessible and out of sight when not in use. With about 10 to 12" of height down there, I could also get some baskets underneath too.

Also, the baby bouncer/recliner, must have for any size space.

azmomof4:

It's called Alma and it's made by Bloom. You can order it from Mini Jake.

https://www.minijake.com/

Personally, I've never ordered from them but I came across this crib the other day and thought: this is what I need.

We are planning to get pregnant in 2014 (I have to prepare since I'm considered high risk already). We also happen to live in an RV, due to traveling for my husband's job. Due to the small space we have done our research. We plan on purchasing the changing table and bath combo - http://www.wayfair.com/Baby-Diego-Posh-Baby-Bath-and-Changing-Table-in-Pearl-JBP-LP-BDG1007.html?locale=en_US , remove our love seat (using our dinnett to sit instead) and placing a mini crib, toddler bed, day bed, with storage underneth in the sofa's place - http://www.wayfair.com/babyletto-Mercer-3-in-1-Convertible-Crib-in-White-M6801W-MIR1089.html?locale=en_US, and we are going to use the high chair that attaches to the table - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00851W5JA/?creative=395105&smid=A1LL24G08N76O8&ref=asc_df_B00851W5JA2082042 . In addition to these future purchases we have removed our bottom 3 bunks out of 4. We replace one with a curtain rod for additional storage, and 2 with an angled wall shelf from IKEA and a small student's desk from Walmart. We also cut down on our plates, bowls, and cups. Keeping enough to have up to 6 people during one meal. This provided extra storage space. We are hoping to be able to breast feed, but will have a few bottles for pumping. We are also planning to use cloth diapers, sinc they save you money in the long run and you don't need as many. Also, we are going to use the baby-led feeding technique, which will cut out the need for baby food, especially if I'm able to breastfeed.