New Project – Co-Sleeper
I think I have a new next project. Many people have wondered just how and where the up-coming baby will be sleeping, well, here is the answer for a while:
As of right now I have a king sized bed. I don’t really ‘NEED’ that. I have debated sticking a crib in the tiny house, having a movable one that I could tuck behind the media center when it wasn’t in use but that is probably a pain that ultimately wouldn’t happen much because it wouldn’t be convenient enough (not being lazy, being realistic). As of right now I have 16″ on the side of my king mattress, if I replace the king with a queen, or even a full sized mattress then that grows to about 38″ clear. That is more than enough room to put a co-sleeper and potentially a crib eventually. The plan for the house is for 2-3 more years, by that time I will be ready to upgrade and give the kid some of their own space. In the mean-time it should be pretty darn convenient to be so close!
I like the way this looks and I bet it’s pretty darn easy to make. I think I will call it one of my winter projects :). I want to keep my eyes out for other styles I might like to emulate as well but this looks pretty classy :).
More on the property, I have been working with the bank on being financed, turns out I am fanciable, and not as bad off as I sort of expected after a foreclosure but still not as good. I am going rounds with them at the moment. I could potentially buy that property I like so much and rent it out making a little bit (accentuate ‘little’) of money every month. I feel I should be in a place where I could potentially stand to make at least $150-200 a month from renting it after the mortgage is covered though. And I am looking for a 15 year term and all they are offering is a 30 year term… so the search will continue. Even though I am feeling the pressure to get moved before winter hits I am not feeling up for hooking myself into a 30 year commitment without considering all options. (It is tough to not get caught up in the personal feelings of how awesome it would be!)
And finally, I get to find out if I am having a son or a daughter tomorrow morning, pretty exciting if you ask me! Whichever way it goes I know they are tough, they’ve been kicking up a storm and can easily be felt/seen from the outside now. Even though I am not gaining nearly as much as I should I am certain it is MY body that is suffering, not the babies :). If you would have asked me before if I wanted a boy or girl I would have said hands down boy… they are easier, and I just get along with ‘dudes’ better, I am a tom-boy myself so I would feel obligated to ‘girly it up’ for a daughter. Now though, I have just had the feeling it’s been a girl since pretty early on, I’ve got myself pretty convinced of it and I would feel duped if it WASN’T a girl. I’ve definitely warmed up to the idea, I think it would be pretty fun to have a chica ;-). I hope everyone’s had a great weekend!
What a great idea for the crib. The loan, a 30 might not be bad, IF there is no early or pre-payment clause, most don’t have that, so you may more each month, make what the 15year payment would be, and pay it off sooner, BUT if something happens, you are not as obligated to the higher payment, so it gives you the flexibility.
I see what you are saying but after doing the math on it, because the loan is so front loaded with interest if I did that it would take me approximately 20 years to pay it off making the same payments as if it was a 15 year mortgage. Generally the 15 years have a little better interest rate and so long as I could afford that payment and make a little bonus I feel a bit better going that way just to save that extra 5 years. I totally hear what you are saying though and I am considering/justifying the banks terms that exact way 😉 right now.
Yes, we just refinanced the 24 yrs left on our 30-yr loan, and now make the same payment as before, but on a 15-yr loan! Fifteen is definitely the way to go—even 10 if you can do it. Interest sorely adds up otherwise.
We had the idea of just paying more on the 30, but there is always somewhere else for the $$$ to go. I’m so glad to be locked in to the shorter term & lower interest.
couldn’t agree more!
Badass crib. Also great to hear you’re looking for a 15-year mortgate! I don’t agree with Dave Ramsey’s politics, but I absolutely agree with him about doing a 15-year if you’re going to do it at all.
Totally, when you do the math it makes SO much more sense, you still pay a butt-load in interest but if someone else is paying the bill anyway then i am much more ok with that!
That’s a pretty neat crib! omg you’re turning into a mommy blog! A building mommy blog… guess its a thing now! 🙂
Hahaha! It’s NOT a mommy blog! 😀
Ah, Macy, you underestimate the sheer delight of being a mommy. Prepare to enjoy. I had just your attitude, too. It’s okay, relax, and prepare to share the love. And the sidewall posts are correct. I just went for the king sized bed and made a little crib of pillows against a wall. It was totally easy, and lets you both sleep better for the first few months. She will want her own space soon enough.
That’s a great idea too!
Macie,
That crib idea is great. Our kid, who is now 13, would do quite a bit of rolling around while sleeping. As an idea, you may want to put up another sidewall to makesure the kid doesn’t windup anywhere else. Some nice woven mesh might be nice and simple or just continuing with the same design. There’s my 2 cents worth.
If she wiggles around half as much as she does already she will need a blocker for sure 🙂 I like the mesh idea! Thanks for the comment!
How about a shorter sidewall near the bed? So it’s still easy to pick up baby from bed, but safe so that he/she doesn’t roll into space between the two?
Such a gorgeous design!
I think that sounds like a good idea.
From what I could tell, the baby mattress is thinner than the bed mattress so there is a “curb” of at least a few inches so the baby can’t roll into your space and obviously you can’t roll into hers because the sidewalls and you would be falling off the bed at the time. BTW, when you say the 30 year is front loaded with interest, does the interest change? Or is it just a higher rate? If you take a loan obligated to 30 years but pay on the 15 year mortgage, I don’t understand how that changes. I did the same on my car, just paid the higher pmt, and it came out the same as if I had gone with the shorter term.
I think you’re right on Eric, at least that’s how I’m going to build it :). The 30 year loan is a fixed rate, just a higher interest rate than if I had the 15 year option, Almost 2% higher actually. Which is ridiculous.
I see, the interest change does stink… Banks won’t lend unless they can make not some money but ALL the money. Sorry the search hasn’t turned up anything… good luck. I think the add-on crib is a stellar idea, enjoy.
Cute article! And I love the co-sleeper idea.
Thank you Tammy!
What if you take the 30 year mortgage and pay it as if it were a 15 year one? You would have the option to pay the lower amount if things get tight, or pay it off sooner if you are able. Usually the interest rates are a little lower on the 15, but if you can’t qualify, this might just work. I financed my house for 30, refinanced it at a much lower rate 6 years later for a 15 and paid that off well before it was scheduled because I was in a good spot then. Good thing, too, as I lost my job the next year and have not found a comparable one yet. Thank goodness for no mortgage!
I did the math on this and it would take just BARELY under 20 years to pay it off at that rate because its SO interest heavy at the beginning, refinancing is always an option but that generally costs money and I wouldn’t want to go into something counting on that because rate may not ever get better. I think I can shop it a little more, if not I can wait a year and be in a MUCH better place.
The advantage of having your baby sleep very near you like this is that you can move her next to you for a feeding in the middle of the night without fully waking up. We used a large basket that was on the floor, slightly lower than the bed. A basket is lighter than this frame and can be used for something else after the baby outgrows it.
That is very true, I was thinking I could build this full crib size and then it can be used for much longer. I can just build the fourth wall along with it and not install it until she is old enough to need a full-on crib. A basket is a great interim too!
The 30 year term is a gift; yea I know not the one you want; however, if you have the discipline to pay one-half of the monthly mortgage every two weeks (Bi-Weekly) you will collapse your mortgage from 30 to 22 years and this is just one strategy. When my wife and I bought our home with the traditional 30 year mortgage we opted to pay one extra month payment every three months. Paid our property off in less than 17 years. The point is this, take advantage of your offer and then pay for it on your own terms.
That is another great point, I forgot about that particular strategy! Thank you!
Separate sleep area for the baby is considered much safer than in the same bed as the parent. Walls do help create the ‘crib’ idea for added safety. How do you plan to handle the open space of the loft during transport or once the child starts crawling? Other than using slings or backpack, I see problems navigating a ladder carrying an infant.
Good points Joyce, I really don’t see a problem navigating the steps, it is much more like a couple steps than a ladder, the crawling issue will need to be addressed but I have a few months before that happens and there are a lot of different options.
very cool cot 🙂
What did you use for a mattress in the co sleeper? My boyfriend is a woodworker and we plan on building something similar, I’m just stuck on what to use in the cosleep, a piece of foam cut to size?
I used standard crib sized mattress so that I can upgrade it when/if needed to a toddler bead. I think you could use some of that foam they sell for camping (sleeping on) pretty easy!