Whats in your nursery? Did you get it ready before or after the birth?

[Annie456]

Hi all,
I'm 28 weeks and have bought pretty much everything I'm going to need for the baby but haven't bought any of the nursery furniture.

DH wants to wait until after the birth so we can see exactly what we need rather than rushing into buying things that are unnecessary. LO will be in our room for a good few months but I still want to have the nursery set up. We will do some minor decorating after the baby is here - when we know whether it's a girl or boy (please don't flame me for choosing decor based on the sex, this is not what this post is about!)

So what is in your nursery (furniture) and did you get it all ready before or after the baby was born?

Thanks!

I had a room decorated, big cot bed, wardrobe/drawers combo and some wicker baskets all set up by 34 weeks when I stopped work. Little bugger is 3.5 now and has never spent a night in the room

However, it does mean I have a brand new storage room nursery for this new one. Even the mattress is brand new!

I am 26 weeks on Thursday and haven't bought anything yet (we are going to have some work done to our flat which will mean we have to move out while they are doing it), but I am going to buy a cot, changing table, chest of drawers and maybe one of those glider chairs (friend has one and swears by it - and I've had a sit and it is sooo comfy!).

Realistically though, don't think you need the cot for a while if baby is in your room. Also instead of separate changing table you can get one that fits on top of drawers which I considered, but I think the changing table will be really useful (I bought my sister one when she had her baby and she found it really handy).

I already have 2 dc so have stuff left over from them. In what will be the nursery is a cot, chest of drawers for bedding/nappies/blankets a wardrobe and need another chest of drawers for clothes. Also have a beautiful rocking horse in there but that is because its lively but a total pain and won't fit anywhere else in the house.

I wouldn't bother buying anything particulary baby orientated, just as a changing unit and just get furniture that will last you a while.

Room will mostly be ready before baby arrives but won't be decorated (entire room is cream, walls, carpet and curtains) as I can't be bothered to change it and is an added expense that isn't really necessary.

Hi from the August thread, Annie :)

We didn't have a nursery and still don't. We had a spare room with a double bed, chest of drawers and some shelves already, so we just slapped some wall stickers up and plonked a cot in there :) It's only now that the next one is on the way that DS is having a room which is 'his', we are in the process of decorating at the moment and he is 18 months old. The baby won't know any different, so I would go with your DH and see what you need rather than wasting money on things you don't :) Our arrangement at the moment is great, as if we have guests staying, all we need to do is move DS's cot out of the room and it's an adult spare room again, apart from the jungle animal stickers :o

Rocking horse is lovely, not lively thank god, got enough animals in this house already!

I'm 36 weeks and already have 2 DCs. The (very small) room that will eventually become the nursery currently has a double bed squeezed into it and there's no room for anything else.

The cot, crib and pram are still in bits up in the loft as are all the clothes, blankets, sleepysuits, baby monitor etc. And I haven't bought so much as a nappy!!

Hoping that this baby is like his older brothers and doesn't arrive early!

Just realised that I didn't at all answer your question. A bit self-obsessed these days!

If you have the time & space, buy the basics before the baby arrives.

All you really need is a cot, a chest of drawers and a changing mat. I didn't like the changing tables (worried about baby falling off) and although we bought a wardrobe it was a waste of space (baby clothes are so small and not worth hanging up).

Although the baby will be sleeping in our room for at least 6 months as per guidelines, we're getting the baby's room ready before arrival. So far, we've ordered a cotbed and dresser. I'm also going to buy a chair for daytime feeds to pop in there. Then, a lick of paint and a few shelves will prob be all we really need.

Earlier on, I wasn't too bothered about getting it all ready yet, but DH was keen to get it organised. Now, it does make sense as I will be returning to work ASAP (albeit that I do work from home), so doubt I'll have much time to be sorting it out once the baby arrives!

I've had three dcs and never got a nursery ready. Dd1 - rented house and was in with us, no other room for us so we just moved in cradle and changing mat plus chest of drawers. dd2 - again in with us before sharing with dd1 who already had a room decorated etc. dd3 - in with us, no room in sisters room then we moved in to our current house whose previous occupants had decorated a nursery with Noahs Ark so she has that.
Basically all you need are somewhere to sleep, a changing mat and drawers. Lots of drawers

Oh and if you have a home with stairs set up a changing kit downstairs as well as upstairs. Trekking upstairs with a newborn 8 times a day is deeply dull!

I'm not entirely sure what a nursery is. A bedroom for the baby?

I was ridiculously slack. We moved when dd was 8 months and put her stuff in one of the spare rooms (had previously had a chest of drawers containing clothes and a couple of baskets of toys in our room) but we carried on co-sleeping until she was ready to move into her own room.

She reached the grand old age of 3 and a half before we decorated a room specifically for her.

Even though I'm planning on having baby in our room for as long as possible, I'm still going to set up the nursery as I need somewhere that I can store clothes, blankets, nappies etc.

For some reason I felt moved to google nursery pictures:
like the baskets under cot, butterflies a bit much

<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=static.howstuffworks.com/gif/baby-nursery-decorating-ideas-33.jpg&imgrefurl=tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/baby-nursery-decorating-ideas4.htm&usg=__XbEU6XUP_6Ll0ruEkK_rLd1oBZc=&h=403&w=400&sz=140&hl=en&start=3&zoom=1&itbs=1&tbnid=AWNR0HTgVGtxOM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=123&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dnursery%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26biw%3D1259%26bih%3D622%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&ei=DhLuTZ3BBYmDhQe03KC2Bw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this has gone too far

like the mural but the rest of it is grim

conclusive proof spades on wall are bad idea

with my first we were in a one bedroom flat. baby slept in a mini cot next to my bed and I put together a changing table before the baby came.

the changing table had large shelves underneath with acted as the closet/storage for all the clothes/wipes, etc

other than that the only other thing we used/needed was a bouncy chair, baby bjorn one which she still uses.

Wow northernlurker they are hillarious pics!
Ive been googling nursery pics too and have found one I love nice and bright for a DD
Think i'm going to get a changing table from ebay, a nice chair for nursing and some drawers. That should do for now...and I can get anything else as it becomes necessary...
Thanks for all your thoughts - please keep them coming if you think I'm missing anything!

That's lovely - but she needs to rethink the cute nightlight on the matelpiece with the flex trailing down. That will be pulled down by any crawling baby with half an eye for trouble

Oh and Annie bolt your drawers to the wall. If you have a climber tall drawers can be a pretty lethal hazard unless restrained.

i'm due in september and atm the room is full of junk... the baby will be in with us at firs though so hubby will have to do it either before or fter, depending on his preference.

We had most of the basic nursery stuff (cot, chest of drawers, changing mat, nursing chair etc) in place in time for our daughter's birth, but 'finished it off' over the 6 months following her birth with things that we found to be necessary (table next to nursing chair for water/dummy/books) etc. We used it almost from the beginning as, while she slept in our room at night, we put her down for her naps in the nursery so that she would get used to sleep there.

Oh thats good idea WLM...putting the moses basket in our room at night but in the nursery during the day. Wow there must be so many things like that that I've not thought of!!

Agree about the light northernlurker - it makes me cringe when I see showroom nursery pics and there's a shelf rammed full of heavy stuff right above the cot!!

Hi, we have a cot bed which we put at highest level as will be good changing table to start as I doubt I will want to be bending down too much, a chest of drawers (at foot of cot with light on), built in wadrobe and a chair with cushions for me and some of my books if stuck BF for ages at night. Will have loan of moses basket and stand in our room to start with but it is nice to have nursery set up as can put all bits and pieces in and know where to find them plus it looks so cute (yellow and cream) Plan on putting moses basket in nursery during day so he gets used to falling asleep and waking up there, should make transition easier.

For us it was mainly buying storage. We got given a pretty big wardrobe, went to BnQ brought some matching wood and made up a load of shelves to fit in there. That way we didn't need drawers.

We basically got given everything as we were only in the country in a few months so didn't want to buy stuff and then leave it there. Really helped us think about what is it exactly we need. Instead of a changing table we used a computer desk upstairs and the dining table downstairs, but when we moved we didn't anything suitable and a proper table changing table was great (both for changing and storage)

Out moses basket in the day was downstairs. I'd say the best thing in our 'nursery' was the spare double bed .

BF at night was done in bed where she was then transferred to the moses basket beside me or placed into the bed. DH was charged with changing her nappy and passing her to me in those first few weeks

Most things have been covered but a small lamp with a dimmer in the room is great to provide a low level of light in the room at night for nappy changes in the early days or feeding. Ours is on shelves between the change table and seat I used for night feeds. Once you get the hang of things you don't need much light at night to change/feed but you do need a dull glow. Putting on the overhead light wakens the baby up too much and is a rude shock for mums eyes too : )

A pile of cloth nappies is very handy for all sorts of things. I have 20 and none have ever been on as a proper nappy! They have been used as burp cloths, under heads when sleeping in first couple of weeks (before they can really move their heads much) for the tiny milky pukes, catching/clearing up the mega pukes no. 3 could do, on the changetable to provide a soft surface on top of waterproof mat (in the first few weeks they wee and poo as soon as the nappy comes off), under heads on the playmat for minor drools etc etc list has been endless and they can go in a hot wash and come out again as good as new.

I second having an additional changing station downstairs rather than always running back upstairs, especially when you have other kids already.

yy to some low level dimmer light