We're not nuts, we're just cheap

Why raise a baby in 350 square feet? A two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan rents for over $3,000 a month. But we love our one-bedroom co-op, which I bought before Future Papa (FP) and I got married, and it's almost $2,000 less a month. So FP and I figured we would renovate and stick it out for five years. Then we got the contractor's bid -- $70,000! We priced out the materials and realized we could do most of the work ourselves (meaning, I shop and FP toils) for around $14,000. But our baby, The Henry (TH), is coming fast, and I'm no longer all that agile.

This is what we have planned:

• Storage storage storage: TH's things have to go somewhere, and we only have one closet.
• New floors: 125 years of bad linoleum and carpeting have done their damage.
• New kitchen: Our current setup is one of those tin one-pieces from the 1950s.
• New electrical: Considering the apartment still has the original gas lines and fireplaces/stovepipes, our 1920s electrical is relatively recent.
• New paint: As long as we're at it.
• Bathroom repairs: The peeling paint and moldy grout are getting on our nerves.
• Childproofing: Exposed radiators and broken window sashes are annoying for single people but dangerous for little TH.