How I Survived a Walk-up Apartment with Babies

“How do you do it?” is usually the first thing guests ask when they get to our apartment. The two flights of 20-plus stairs up to our third-floor apartment never bothered me even after having two kids.

For the past three years, we have lived in Columbus Park, east of the River Market. The apartment had a ton of space for the price and was full of character. Nine months after moving in we found out we were having a baby. We looked for a house, but nothing felt like home. Columbus Park was home and I knew we could make the stairs and current apartment work. My husband’s office became a nursery and I grew some muscles.

Two years later and we are still here. My oldest is almost two and our second son arrived on June 1st. So how have we made the two flights of 20-plus stairs work for us? I would like to say that I plan out my grocery lists so that I can carry it up the stairs in one trip, but only recently have I begun to think of that. Costco has become the demise of my lower and upper body strength.

So here are some MUSTS:

When grocery shopping you MUST use reusable shopping bags. Not only is it good for the environment, but they don’t rip or break. Just having one child wasn’t too bad. I would throw a couple bags on my shoulders, the diaper backpack (A MUST) on my back, and carry the infant car seat up the stairs.

MUST have a baby carrier. When V, my oldest was little, I utilized a baby carrier for our walks and some grocery trips. Now that I have two I have fallen in love with my linen ring sling from Sakura Bloom. When we go for walks I wear the baby in the ring sling and V rides in the stroller. Somehow the boys are almost always sleeping before we get home. In this case, I use the sling for my oldest and wear him on my hip. I had every intention of carrying the baby up and down the stairs in the sling and leaving the infant car seat in the car, but I am a firm believer in letting a sleeping baby sleep.

If you MUST have a stroller keep it in the trunk. Jogging strollers are not light so carrying a baby and a stroller down the stairs was not an option. Keeping the stroller in the car made it easy to access for walks around Columbus Park as well as for the impromptu walk at a park on the way home from errands.

MUST teach those kids to walk and climb stairs ASAP. When I found out we were expecting again I knew my son had to learn how to go up and down the stairs. He started walking at ten months, so I knew he would be up to the challenge and he was. Now he goes up and down the stairs, sometimes too quickly for me.

MUST plan out your day strategically. I like to run errands first thing in the morning, so the babies are ready for a nap when I get home. They go down for a nap and I unload the car. I know they are safe in their beds and I am able to run down the stairs and carry my store-bought goods up. An alternative is going after nap time so that my husband is home when I get home.

Many friends have asked why we have stayed in this apartment for so long, but it has worked for us. The apartment is enough space and very affordable for the area. Our patio is covered and the perfect spot for our morning coffee and snack time. We are homebodies, and we love that we can walk to Happy Gillis for breakfast, Vietnam Cafe for dinner, or City Market for the farmer’s market. Believe me, we have felt the pressure to conform to the shoulds that society tells us, but we have found so much happiness listening to that little voice that has told us this is home.

This home has taught us to embrace those hard moments because they will only make us stronger and that choosing what is important to our family may not look like what is important others, but these choices will shape our little ones into the unique little beings they were meant to be.

All photos by Ali Happer 

Hannah Niehues
Hannah was born in Colorado and raised in Kansas. While attending Kansas State University she met her husband, Ben. They moved to Kansas City in 2011 and couldn't imagine calling anywhere else home. Currently, they live in Columbus Park with their sons, V and Chauncey. When she is not chasing almost two-year-old V around and wearing Chauncey (2mo old), Hannah is supporting families as a birth and postpartum doula. Her happy place is in her kitchen preparing food for her family. While breastfeeding V she had to stop eating and drinking dairy. Since she was never really a fan of meat, this led her to plant-based cooking. For the past two years, her family has been primarily plant-based, which has opened up a whole new way of looking at food and cooking for her family.