Nesting and Baby Rooms

I was just thinking about baby rooms. We have a two bedroom condo and that won't be changing any time very soon. With my first child, we emptied out our office/empty bedroom and excitedly prepared the room for Emily (our now 3 year old). We painted the walls pink and green (I even hand painted giant polka dots on two of the walls). We were given furniture gifts from family - a beautiful white crib, a dresser/changing table combo that is wonderful, and the ever popular glider/rocking chair that everyone feels they must have before the baby comes home. It was fun! I spent so much time putting away all of the tiny clothes in the perfect white dresser and putting lady bug sheets on the adorable white crib. It was a nice experience. Due to that nesting instinct, there was a little bit of urgency in having it all perfectly ready for my wiggling little 7lbs. 90z. of love. Heaven forbid we come home from the hospital and she doesn't have the right lamp or matching ladybug laundry hamper! The baby would surely suffer without a crib skirt or a sign on the wall that says E-M-I-L-Y in adorable pastel stripes and dots! OMG, will the baby be pissed if she doesn't have little white wall shelves with cute stuffed animals stacked on them?

Here is what I learned from this that every practical new mom eventually learns. We didn't need any of that stuff to be ready for the baby when she came home. We needed the following: a bassinet with a sheet on it (or similar sleep structure for baby to be near your bed), diapers, wipes, diaper cream, blankets for swaddling, lots of onsies (or something warmer if you have a winter baby), a place to throw stinky diapers away that doesn't stink or require much effor (I recommend a simple diaper genie), breast feeding products, bottles, and all the safety gear... Now I am sure I am leaving out lots of little items, but I think you get the idea... When we came home and for up to a couple of months later, we didn't need any of that stuff we just had to have. In fact, many of the cutsie items in her bedroom she didn't begin to care about until she was two.

This time around we are making space for baby in our master bedroom. There is no room for our giant crib that later converts into a toddler bed and later into a full sized bed! Baby Girl #2 will be sleeping in a good ole pack n' play. It is actually perfect. There is a bassinet attachment on top for when the baby is tiny. Once she starts moving around a ton, we remove the bassinet and she'll sleep in the main part of the pack n' play. She will be fine and happy. She will not suffer because she doesn't have a whole room to herself with perfect white furniture and wall decor. Eventually and by the time she even cares, we will likely have a bigger house and she will have her own adorable and perfect bedroom.

So, new moms on a budget (money and time), this is my point. First focus on the bare necessities for your baby - things they and you actually NEED! Pack n' plays are genius and are just fine for your baby to sleep in as long as they can fit in there. If you have the money or gifts coming from family, the pretty and cutsie bedroom stuff can come later! 

ALso, my recent annoyance in relation to baby bedrooms (nurseries if you are being pretentious) is this: babies and little kids like baby and little kid stuff! Hanging some elaborate glass chandelier in your little girls is really weird and just reflects what you wish your bedroom could look like if there wasn't a man sleeping in there with you (super girlie stuff)... Kids like animals and bright colors and sports stuff and princess stuff. They don't like perfectly striped pink and brown walls with artsy black and white pictures of themselves or framed writing about how much you love them. KIDS ROOMS ARE FOR KIDS! NOT FOR YOU! Decorate them with baby and kid stuff that they will enjoy!