I’m 3 months pregnant and recently left my fiancé/baby’s father. We lived together and I left, so am finding my own place again. I’m looking to move between November 1-January 1, and am due mid March. I am financially stable and have a good job, but am doing my best to prepare for the upcoming expenses (baby supplies, medical bills, 6+ weeks unpaid maternity leave, standard living expenses, childcare, etc). I have a dog as well so need to plan for appropriate space.

My two options I’m considering now are, should I move into a nice 1 bedroom apartment and share a room with the baby? I probably would have to move again in 2-3 years as the baby gets older and would need their own room, but I figure even for a while I could get by sharing a room, by separating her area with a divider. Not a long term solution but we could stay for a few years there, and then would have to move again probably when she’s around 2. It’s a more affordable option (around $550-700 a month for rent).

Or, should I just accept the added expenses now and rent a 2 bedroom place? I’d be looking at $750 + (places can go up to over $1000) but I could really only afford the lower end of it and my budget would be very tight (especially for those first initial months after giving birth with medical bills and unpaid maternity leave, all coming out of my savings). However, it would be more space for us and I wouldn’t have to worry about moving in a few years. We could stay until I move into my career in a few years and can save up to buy a house.

(Also, please no comments on what affordable rent is in your area. Cost of living changes per city, so while under $1000 in rent might seem like extremely low or affordable to you, keep in mind cost of living is factored into salaries in different locations and this is going off of what I can afford).