The last few months of your life have been a whirlwind of hope, excitement and anticipation. The successful IVF treatments helped you on your path to become a first-time mom, and now it’s high time to set up the nursery. This is more than a place for your baby to sleep, it’s a room that contributes to the growth of your baby, your family and your family’s traditions.
Choosing the Theme
The nursery theme is your starting point, and it’s also one of the more difficult decisions to make. You may enjoy a theme such as Disney princess or video game mania, but there’s no guarantee your child wants that as their permanent decor as they grow into a young person. In addition, HGTV notes that newborns are color blind, and slowly start to see colors, starting with red. You want a decorating palette that introduces your infant gradually, with subtle color combinations they recognize. Consider wall decals that are easy to swap in and out as your baby grows into a toddler. If you do choose a theme, try bringing it all together through color and pattern, if you need some inspiration, take cues from this real-life nautical nursery in Arizona, featured on ForRent.com.
Photo by Kenziepoo via Flickr
High-tech Nursery
You don’t want your nursery to look like the bridge on the Starship Enterprise (or maybe you do, and in that case disregard this) but you want to acquire some tech tools to help ease you into being a first-time parent. Baby Zone recommends the WhyCry Baby Monitor to stop you from getting up every time your baby makes a noise, even if you’re sorely tempted to. It provides you with an output on the baby’s pitch and patterns so you know exactly what to expect when you go into the nursery.
Heirloom Books
Want to keep books as a part of your family traditions? Add books into your child’s library that you loved as a child. Ideally, you have the originals your mom or dad read to you. Otherwise, consider investing in highly rated books for newborns and infants. When you read to your child, you’re spending quality time with them, engaging their mind as they learn language and morals and begin to express their imagination. Build a simple book wall where you can display all of the most visually appealing selections. Books are an inexpensive way to add color and fun into the nursery.
Future-proofed Furniture
Your crib is the cornerstone of a nursery, but you don’t want something you have to put away until you’re ready for another child. Consider a convertible crib that grows up with your baby. It starts life as a bassinet, transforms into a crib and continues converting all the way until it’s an adult-size day bed. Your child can keep it throughout their life and then you can convert it back into a bassinet when you’re ready for baby No. 2.