Hi there, this is one of my first posts on tripletconnection.com. I have heard very good things about this site.

I am currently 16 weeks pregnant with triplets due in October and starting to think about the nursery layout and how to accommodate 3. My husband and I live in a 1 bed condo that does come with an extra enclosed 'bonus' room that we plan to convert into a nursery for the time-being (we will probably start looking for a house early next year).
The room size is not terribly large, around 11x15 feet. I'm hoping for some crib suggestions that would make the best use of this space. Obviously that room can't hold 3 cribs so i'm wondering is it possible to buy one large crib that would accommodate all 3 for the first few months/weeks. What about smaller bassinets? What about pack n plays?

any suggestions or comments would be appreciated and helpful. I'm just starting to think about it and am currently at a loss.
thanks!
Elizabeth

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Have you considered Ikea cribs? They have a few styles that have smaller dimensions than regular cribs.

I would recommend purchasing a smaller crib for each child, and only allowing them to share 1 crib in the very beginning, until they start rolling (around 3 months adjusted age).

Best wishes for a long, healthy, uneventful pregnancy.

thanks for your help - I did go to one place yesterday to look at cribs. Also, done some research online on 'small nursery ideas' but hadn't thought yet about Ikea. I'll check it out!
Thanks,
Elizabeth

Elizabeth G.
Expecting October 2012

I think it could hold them--I had three cribs and two dressers in a room that was about that size.

I suppose it depends on your door and closet placement.

Our door was placed in the corner of the room so I had a dresser right next to the door which left enough room for a crib in the corner and down the adjacent wall. Then a second crib in the next corner and along the adjacent wall with a dresser next to it. The third crib was on the wall adjacent to the door. And I had a rocking chair between the first and third cribs, which was nice.

Don't get me wrong--every inch of wall space was used but the middle area of the room was open and it didn't feel crowded at all.

Oh and my opinion is start with the cribs you want to end with. What's the use of buying three cribs "to get by" and then a year later buying three more?

yeah, we live in a loft building so the extra room has a couple of vertical beams on the wall that make furniture placement difficult. And there isn't a traditional closet...there is just this sort of inset space with Elfa shelving right now. My plan was to customize the shelving to add a clothing bar and then cover the area with a curtain.
I also have googled 'small nursery ideas' and have some tips from that, so I'm sure i can make it work.
thanks for your insight!

Elizabeth G.
Expecting October 2012

You can fit 3 cribs in an 11x15 room. We had one against a wall. The 2nd and 3rd cribs were back to back with the short side of the cribs against the wall. We fit a changing table and dresser in there too. I would buy the cribs you plan to use the whole time.

Lori

http://yesidohavemyhandsfull.blogspot.com/

Absolutely you can fit all 3 cribs.

Our girls room is 12 x 12. We fit 3 cribs, a dresser, a rocking chair, and a changing table in it.
I don't remember it feeling crowded.

We didn't spend time playing in there, it was for sleep only.




Judie and Victor
lucky parents to
Frankie 3/95
Maggie 7/96
Rose 7/96
Elizabeth 7/96

I agree with the idea of getting the cribs you want long term. Once the babies can stand in a crib, they start shaking the side rails pretty hard. You want some that are very sturdy and made to last through the toddler phase (maybe beyond).

Don't get too dreamy about the magazine-inspired nursery. A lot of the stuff in there isn't needed. If you have other spaces to set up for diapering, toy storage, and baby gear, you can do a lot with your nursery space.

We had the typical "nursery" with toys, 2 rocking chairs and footstools, changing table, armoire, closet, extra Boppy pillows and bouncers, etc... on top of the 3 cribs. For the first couple of years, though, they were only in there for naps and night sleep. Now they use the space and it's an important area of our home, but during infancy it was more than we needed.

Sheila
GGB 10/29/06 (33 weeks)

First off, congratulations! Hoping you have an uneventful pregnancy

As for the nursery set-up, if you're going to be looking for a house early next year, and you aren't due until October, I would suggest getting only one crib that you really want for the long-term and using that for the first several months. That should take you until early next year, and then depending on what the house situation is looking like, you can get the other two cribs (either for a bigger room in a new house, or to fit in your current space). Our trio slept in one crib in our room for the first four months. When I went back to work we moved them into their own room in their own cribs (luckily we have a huge third bedroom (bigger than my 3 year old daughter's room) so it isn't hard for us to fit all that we need). They fit completely fine in one crib for that entire time, and loved sleeping together - and they were swaddled in some fashion until 7 months, so that cut down on the moving around, even once they moved into their own cribs.

All the other advice about having your changing table and play space set up in another room is good, but since you are living in a 1 bedroom condo my guess is that you don't have a lot of room in general so I would suggest keeping a rocking chair, dresser and changing table (or do the changing table on top of the dresser, whcih is what we've done with all our kids) in the nursery, which you could probably only do without three cribs (although, that also greatly depends on your door/window locations - you might be able to fit it all). I'm also guessing that your 1 BR condo is all on one level and the nursery won't be too far from the LR, and so you probably don't need a set-up in the BR and one in the LR like many parents of multiples do because it's a pain in the butt constantly ferrying multiple infants back and forth between BRs and LR/family rooms that are on different levels.

We lived in a 2 BR/1000 sq. ft. condo in a city for 7 years, almost 3 of which were with my singleton daughter, and that space got tight with only one child, and her room was smaller than 11x15! Having another set-up in our LR (with changing station and pack n play for sleeping) would have been silly, since her bedroom was about 15 feet from the LR. For us, it was nice, since we kept our living room somewhat clutter free - we only added a swing and toys - and she had plenty of free space to explore once she started rolling and crawling.

Good Luck!!

Brooke
Mom to:
Avery 1/17/09
Asa 5 lb 3 oz
Oliver 5 lb 4 oz
Connor 5 lb 5 oz
9/2/11 (37 weeks)

thanks so much for your insight and feedback - this is kind of what I was thinking...one crib might be ok for the first couple of months. We will start to look for a large house to buy early next year. A lot of folks are recommending the multiple crib option also, so i have a lot of measuring and thinking to do.
thanks again!

Elizabeth G.
Expecting October 2012

Another vote for the cribs you want. My trio are 4yo. Their room is 10 x 14. We had 3 cribs in it when they were in cribs and now have 3 captain's beds (twins with storage underneath for their clothes) in that room. When they were in the cribs, we also had a changing station on a 36 x 48 " cabinet, a chair (not a rocker), and a 6 ft. x 6ft. cabinet (no closet) in there as well. We did use pack n plays in other rooms to separate a noisy one during a nap or sleep time. We started with 2 cribs, but had to move to 3 about a month after they were born (mine were 32 weekers but were home in 2 weeks). One of the girls would work her way off the positioner, down the crib and start head butting her sister, who in turn would flail about hitting the other one in the face. DS came home on a monitor, so we had him separate from the start.