Do I need this? Changing table

One of the worst things about trying to figure out how to fit three people into an apartment that is probably only supposed to fit half a full size person at most is finding furniture that is stylish, comfortable, and that will accommodate all the crap two people can accumulate throughout 6 years of living together. Now add on top all of the stuff that you "need" when you have a baby and the entire prospect is maddening. Since we decided we were ready to have a baby, I have been constantly arranging and rearranging floorplans in my mind and trying to figure out what furniture is necessary and what can be scrapped. Our apartment is a veritable hodgepodge of multiuse furniture. Our couch is made of plywood and has storage underneath the seats, our bookshelves double as a "desk" for our laptop computer and printer unit, and underneath our bed pretty much resides Ross's closet. It's worked pretty well for the two of us but but fitting in another tiny being that is in need of so much "STUFF" is causing me to lose my mind.

Since there is no nursery, figuring out how to make room for baby in our bedroom has been the biggest hassle. The discovery of the minicrib was a godsend and we figured out that an old bookshelf we are attached to and previously held our bar (and that Ross decouppaged with pictures from a punk music anthology over the course of 3 days - but that's a whole other embarrassing story) will work as a "chest of drawers" for the baby. We just plan to get some bins to slide in and hold clothes, toys, etc. I figured that I can move the board games from the couch seat storage to a tiny storage unit that resides in our kitchen ceiling and use that for baby blankets and toys. And after much personal back and forth, I have convinced myself that it is not normal or necessary for someone in a New York City apartment to have a rather large library of books spilling out of the two full size bookshelves in her living room and will be (gasp) putting some down on the building swap meet window ledge or donating them to the Strand so that her baby has more room for its own books and toys. However this leaves the conundrum of where we were going to change the baby's diapers. Originally the plan was to use the top of the old bookshelf unit as a changing table but after many measurings, I now realize that its about 5 inches too narrow. After considering the pros and cons of hoping for a really narrow baby, I decided that it would probably be too dangerous. So now I'm left with the only option of putting a contoured mat on the bed when needed and the constant nightmares of waking up one morning with my nice duvet covered in poop that I neglected to see during a groggy, middle-of-the-night changing. So after some research I've found a few other options, all courtesy of Ikea.


Antilop Wall Mount Changing table

Our bedroom does not actually lack wall space however it does lack stud space. I think this is a good idea in theory but I have a couple of issues: 1) Can the baby slide off the bottom? I think it kind of looks a bit like a waterslide and that's kind of scary and 2)If it accidentally flips up during a changing, will it flatten my baby like a pancake?

Spolig folding changing table

I think I like the looks of this one and it comes in black and white which matches our bedroom (and yes, that is important). Also, pockets are always handy though I'm not sure what these would hold outside of one diaper and a tube of Desitin. However when I showed this one to Ross he immediately started questioning the overall safety. I agreed that I think that we would need to see it in person before deciding and since this involves either a subway AND bus ride out to Red Hook or a venture into the wilds of New Jersey, I'm going to guess that's not going to happen.

So it looks like I'm back to square one of truly questioning if I really need a changing table and whether or not I can put my baby poop nightmares out of my mind once and for all.