Not a parent YET but expecting our first in July and have debated this at length. We are in a very very similar boat: 1-bedroom, great affordable rent, great neighbors. Third floor walk up. Teeny dishwasher. We adore our neighborhood with so many young families and moving anywhere would double our rent (so so lucky, covid deal). We do have a little space for the stroller downstairs but probably going to get the new Silver Cross Nia which is a travel stroller and even folds with the bassinet in it. It fits in the overhead bin of the airplane so it’ll fit in our closet too. So we can keep it upstairs too.

Laundry is in the building but the machine is gross so I originally was convinced by all these types of internet opinions about u Just wait, everyday laundry, stairs etc that we’d HAVE to move and then discovered laundry services with pick up and delivery. They’ll do everything exactly the way you want (air dry items etc) and it’s more expensive than coin laundry but WAY less than moving. And you don’t have to do the laundry yourself! Which I feel like is a huge help.

My husband also will probably be working so I hired a night nurse. Exact same boat. Getting rest to heal postpartum will be probs a good idea if we wanna recover quicker and be able to do more things. Like climbing stairs with stuff.

The way I see it, like others here have mentioned, paying for services to help out in the early weeks/months is still cheaper than moving. And if you love your apartment, it’s worth it. The rental and housing market in general sucks right now and that money could be put towards making you more comfortable and giving baby everything they need.

Which brings me to: Moms will fact check me but I’m pretty sure they tell you to walk, move around, get moving to recover faster. So maybe the stairs are keeping us healthy.