My husband and I moved into our tiny house only a couple of weeks after our first daughter was born. We had no idea what it would be like to live in a tiny house with a baby, but we love it!
We had a dream to live in the country, be more self-sufficient, and raise and grow our own food. When we found out we were pregnant with Harmony, we went for it! We bought 80-acres in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to truly begin our homesteading journey.
My husband Landon spent the nine months I was pregnant traveling to our new homesteading land on the weekends and building a tiny house from scratch (well, just about!). Then after our daughter was born, we traveled north and moved in.
Our tiny house is about 300 square feet, with a 14 foot by 14 foot-shaped base and a loft about 2/3rds of the main floor. Landon’s work desk, our kitchen table, shower/toilet area, and kitchen area are on the main level and our bed, dresser, nursing chair, and pack-n-play are upstairs.
However, this summer we are adding on to our tiny house. We are creating a large room with a door that can close. This is definitely something to consider when you think about how to live in a tiny house with a baby.
But more on that in a bit…
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What To Consider When You Live In A Tiny House With A Baby
We love tiny house living! We’ve been living in this tiny house for about five months now and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
And, yes, we do it with a newborn baby!
I’m a stay-at-home mom, my husband works from home, and we run a homestead. We are constantly at home and going in and out, and we still love it and make it work!
When someone asks me how we do it with a baby I kind of chuckle because honestly, I don’t know how to do it without a baby! We moved into our tiny house a few weeks after Harmony was born.
Before that, we were living in an over 2,000 square foot home. Our master bedroom space was almost bigger than our current tiny house.
When you homestead, or you choose to live in a tiny house, you have to have the mindset that you are going to make it work. You can’t compare to your past living situations or others. You have to truly enjoy the path you have chosen or given.
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Sleeping Arrangements
We began with co-sleeping in our king bed. It fits perfectly in our loft and takes up about half of the space; however, it is completely worth it. A wouldn’t co-sleep in anything less than a king-size for the health and safety of my baby.
We use a SnuggleMe to co-sleep with our baby, even though the product is not advertised for this. Please use your own discretion if you are considering doing the same thing.
Co-sleeping makes night feeding extremely easy, saves space in our tiny house, and has shown to reduce SIDS in some studies.
However, when Harmony started to learn to roll over at about three months, we transitioned her into a pack and play in the corner of the loft. This is a great option when you consider how to live in a tiny house with a baby because it can easily fold up and doesn’t take up as much as a crib.
Related Post: 5 Genius Space Saving Hacks For Small Spaces In Your Tiny House
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Baby Proofing
When you live in a tiny house with a baby you won’t babyproof the exact same way as you would in a normal house. You want to consider the functionality a great deal more.
For us, we don’t have large bookcases or televisions to anchor to the wall. We don’t even use a baby monitor because we are always so close by. But soon, we will have to guard the steps to our loft when she is upstairs so that she doesn’t fall down.
We focus on making the tiny house function well. We avoid gadgets and products and instead focus on the design of our house.
For example, things are built into the wall, like shelves and our trash bin. We also installed a Little Tykes baby swing that hangs in the middle of our main level from the rafters. Each tiny house is different, so sit down and think about how you can be safe yet functional.
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Bathing
Another thing to consider is how you are going to bathe the baby in a tiny house. We only have one kitchen sink and a shower next to our toilet. Even though we don’t have a bathtub there are still options!
We had the Angelcare bathtub helper, but it didn’t fit in our sink. Instead, a Blooming Bath Flower worked perfectly for us! We will use that option until Harmony is able to stand in the shower.
What It Looks Like When We Live In A Tiny House With A Baby
Living in a tiny house with a baby is completely doable. In fact, we love it. Here are some things we do to make it work.
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Be Creative / Mindset Shift
There are no rules for tiny house living. My husband is a problem-solver by nature, and he has taught me to become one as well.
When you live with a newborn baby in a tiny house, they grow so fast. You have to be constantly adapting and changing. Just like we had to adapt to the sleeping arrangements, we are constantly tweaking our tiny house.
The house grows with the baby in a sense. We are always finding ways to make life easier as our baby grows up. It may take a mindset shift. It did a bit for us. But some of it came naturally too.
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Dual Purpose Spaces
In a tiny house, you don’t have a designated room that is a nursery. You don’t have a lot of the standard baby room items that you see in magazines or on Pinterest either.
Instead, you learn how to use one room for many things. Some baby things that we non-negotiables for me were a nursing chair and a changing pad. The nursing chair fits in the corner of our loft between the bed and dresser. Sometimes, it’s hard to even rock it. But, it’s functional and it fits!
The changing pad sits perfectly on top of our one dresser. Our loft is a bedroom and nursery all in one and I love it! Everything is so close by, it makes it quite easy.
Like I mentioned earlier, we also have a swing hanging from the rafters downstairs. When we swing it, it almost goes from one wall to the other. It works great and it’s functional. Sometimes, the swing makes it feel like our nursery is downstairs too!
Related Post: 17 Must-Have Newborn Baby Items For The First Week
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Minimalism
When you live in a tiny house you have to become a minimalist. And, hopefully, you want to!
When we were getting ready to move from our old house to this tiny house I spent two full Saturdays, from 7 am to 10 pm going through our stuff. A lot of it, I want to say 60%, was donated or thrown out. The rest we packed or sold.
It was an amazing feeling to have only what we absolutely needed. All the extra things were inventory to manage that were freed from. We will never go back!
Being a minimalist in a tiny house carries over to when you live in a tiny house with a baby. Hanging a baby swing as we did is one way to avoid huge mechanical baby products that get in the way and are also expensive.
Another is babywearing! I love my baby wraps because they make it so easy to get everyday tasks done while my baby sleeps.
You don’t need a thousand different baby items, especially when you live in a tiny house. Forget the baby monitor, the crib, the bouncers, and mechanical swings.
Is It Ethical To Live In A Tiny House With A Baby?
It’s amazing to me that some people might consider it unethical to raise our baby in a tiny house. Those people can be so critical, assuming it is somehow abusive or that Harmony is deprived.
I would argue that it is quite the opposite. And, you can’t fully understand until you do it yourself.
People all over the world live in very tiny homes and in third world countries, they don’t even choose to do it. The fact is that in our western cultures we assume that happiness is equal to bigger houses, fancier cars, and more and more stuff to fill them with.
But, the truth is that happiness can never be found in eternal goods. True satisfaction is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ alone.
By raising our daughter in a tiny house we are able to teach her to enjoy outdoor living more than indoor. We are able to teach her the value of owning fewer things and being minimal in her desires, encouraging gratitude instead. It’s also much easier to stay organized and understand what truly matters in life.
And, there are no secrets in tiny house living. You can’t hide anything. It only strengthens the bond of the family unit. You are around each other all the time, you can’t go hide away in a big room in a huge house. And, you can’t avoid being around each other.
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The Best Parts
There are so many positive things when you think about how to live in a tiny house with a baby. And, the best parts of living in a tiny house with a baby far outweigh the cons.
You are always close to your baby, never missing out on a giggle or a cry! And, you learn to be adaptable! It’s easy to keep track of everything and your child grows up with added security and comfort from always hearing their parents close by.
It’s not always fun, like when we can’t get her to stop crying and Landon has a work call at the same time. But, that’s where our sleep training has paid off.
If you are worried about living in a tiny house with a baby don’t be. So many people tried to warn us of how awful it might be, but for us, it hasn’t been awful once.
The hard days make us adapt and try something new. We love living in a tiny house as a family of three, and in fact, we wouldn’t change it at all.
Let me know your thoughts about how to live in a tiny house with a baby, I’m sure I forgot something! I can’t wait to hear from you.
Kelsey at GoodPointGrandma
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I always find your posts about living in a tiny house so interesting! I think it’s a great point too that the house is kind of growing with the baby, and honestly that’s true wherever you are. Babies are a learning curve haha so it’s good to keep learning and growing – mentally and physically in terms of adapting your living space!
Ah yes exactly! (:
I’m not sure I fully realized how tiny your house actually is! I cannot imagine being in such a small space with three people, but it sounds like you are really embracing it. I love that you found the space for your own priorities, like a king bed. Growing up on your homestead will be such a fun childhood for Harmony!
Haha yes, it is small but it doesn’t feel that way in the day-to-day…we are just so used to it now! (:
As Becky said, I always find your posts so interesting! We’re all about minimalism over here as well, but I don’t think I could give up my spacious apartment, haha.
Haha! Thanks!!