How soon did you get the nursery done?

[beehappybe]

So the sickness and nausea is mostly gone now and have been replaced with tiredness and kicking but still, I have more energy than in the last three months (finally). So I have managed to come up with the nursery design and colour scheme and pick all the bits we need to buy. I am 20 weeks.

I wonder when did everyone start decorating and furnishing their nursery?It seems the second trimester is the best time to do this??

I figure if I start doing everything now it will be done before Christmas leaving me January to focus on training my maternity cover at work and February just for me...

[Micah]

YY, what makes it a "nursery"?

I kind of have a vision of an upper class victorian family with a "nursery" with nanny bedroom attached where a succession of babies slept until they were old enough to go in their own bedrooms.

Do people buy the small sized wardrobes and stuff? Why isn't a normal sized one that will last far longer suitable? Isn't the concept of a "nursery" just another way to make money out of babies?

Do you move your toddler into it's own room and keep the nursery for the next baby, or do you redecorate the toddler's room and redo another room into baby 2's nursery?

[PrimeraVez]

I'm 22 weeks and we haven't actually done anything yet apart from look at paint colours. Baby is due end of Feb and the plan is to have the room emptied and painted by Christmas, and then in the New Year, we just need to assemble the new furniture and hang a few prints on the wall.

Everyone is different but for me, it's a really important part of preparing for the baby and feels like a real milestone. Yes the baby will sleep in with us at first, but it will still be where all of his clothes and things are stored and where he is dressed, changed etc.

[KatharinaRosalie]

When DC1 was about 8-9 months and went into his own room. Of course nothing wrong with doing it sooner, but if you're busy enough or want to save up, it's not strictly necessary immediately.

We got a second hand changing table that converts to a normal chest of drawers; and a cotbed that converts to toddler bed. Rest of the furniture is same colour, but regular, not nursery - put a 'baby' in front of anything and it's suddenly 3 times the price. And a regular bookshelf does exactly the same job.

[beehappybe]

Thanks for the lovely posts. I do feel sorry for the rude poster-hope they can work out their anger issues.

I had no idea that such a simple question can divide parents so strongly!

An interesting point was brought up-why is nursery a nursery? To be honest I think it's just splitting hair-I always just assumed nursery is a nursery because you nurse your baby there-I don't say "nursery" and plan to have some Victorian grand room where my baby is left alone.... Effectively it's the baby's room...or whatever you call it...

I have googled "nursery designs" and some of the photos that come are quite extraordinary...with floating clouds and cots that cost more than our car That does not mean that when people talk about creating their nurseries that is what they will do..and if yes so be it, invite me over for a coffee and I will admire your elaborate designs and enjoy working out how can you keep the clouds dust free...

Surely it's a big business making money off hormonal pregnant ladies (and men) wanting the best for their babies but that does not mean one needs to give into it. If you can afford it and it makes you feel good why not??

Well done on those having the energy to actually re-decorate, I am just going to clean the walls and use the stick on wall stickers-they are cheap and easy to update. Other than that, Ikea, Amazon, Ebay, B&Q and John Lewis and moKee are my inspirations and shopping sources. Designing a nursery is a fun project for me and I hope those of you who are doing it will enjoy it! As some others have mentioned it can also be an important psychological activity marking the big change. I really wish you all well and good luck with your nursery designs and plans-post photos (if you feel brave I suppose).

In case anyone is still in doubt and wanted to add some more critical comments: yes I have created a mood board (albeit ONLY in power point) and ordered fabric and even wood paint samples (from moKee), and I have got three very cute posters with animals to frame and put on the wall there you have it...

...and yes I plan to afford my DH some nights of uninterrupted sleep - not because he is a man but because I love him and I don't know anyone who would not be happy to get a good night sleep. He will do the same for me when it's possible re feeding. Since when being nice to your partner became something other people frown upon is beyond my comprehension...

Have a great day everyone

[ShowOfHands]

My DC are 8 and 4 and I still haven't bothered with a nursery.

Good luck with your baby. There's plenty of different ways of doing things when you have a baby and most find a way that works for them.

[Francoitalialan]

Your passive aggressive first paragraph is preposterous! You post something on a site with millions of views, someone points something out and you project that it's "negative" and whine about it, and then in some faux nonsense way feign concern for "anger issues"? That's quite possibly the silliest thing I've read in a long time!

[mrsmugoo]

DS is 19 months and still doesn't have a "nursery" - he does have a cot in the spare room though and I don't think he's too miffed that all the other stuff is still in the room! Honestly babies don't care about matching bedding and wallpaper, mobiles and the like - they just want a comfy bed.

[Bumpsadaisie]

We didn't have a nursery for ours until they were ready for a proper cot (about 6 mths I guess). Even then it was really just the spare room with cot, sofa chest of drawers and so on. Only turned into a children's bedroom when they were getting on for 2 and had toys etc. I always thought it was a bit bonkers to have a nursery for such a small baby who basically is going to be sleeping in your bed or next to you at first.

However I think I underestimated the fact that having a pleasant nursery room with changing station, chest of drawers for all the clothes, and especially a nice feeding chair, can help you psychologically feel a bit more in control of the chaos in the early months (even if baby doesn't actually sleep there).

Not that I will be having any more, but if I did I think I would have a nursery this time.

[LittleBearPad]

Thanks for the lovely posts. I do feel sorry for the rude poster-hope they can work out their anger issues.



That did actually make me laugh. So delightfully PA

[Micah]

...and yes I plan to afford my DH some nights of uninterrupted sleep - not because he is a man but because I love him and I don't know anyone who would not be happy to get a good night sleep. He will do the same for me when it's possible re feeding. Since when being nice to your partner became something other people frown upon is beyond my comprehension...

The may be how you feel, and lovely for you (and your DH) if you can do this.

For me though, I needed DH there through the night. Not just because I'd have a very traumatic birth, and needed him to lift the baby from the cot, and help me into position to feed. But it was something we went through together. Left alone to deal with the baby all day and all night too I'd have felt alone and a little resentful. Even DH just stirring slightly and asking if I needed anything made a whole world of difference.

[Brummiegirl15]

I'm 25 weeks and I will be painting and decorating the nursery as well before little one arrives.

I guess it's easier as we have a spare room all ready for this and not losing a guest room.

Even though she will sleep with us for first 6 months, I will use the room for changing, feeding, storing her clothes etc. I have picked my wall paint and white furniture from John Lewis.

I know this makes me PFB - but I lost 3 babies prior to this one and I look forward to finishing and almost being in awe that I've managed to get this far.

But that is just personal to me and I appreciate other people are in different situations. I'm sure I'd be different with a 2nd child!

[wannaBe]

I loved getting everything in ds' room ready when I was pregnant, loved having the space to change him, knowing where all the clotes etc were, and it's possibly the only time in my life I've been super organised.

And just to add a bit more controversy into the mix, an awful lot of people don't keep the baby in with them until they're six months, I've been on mn for ten years now, and over the years I would say that if you did a straw pole, the majority of parents actually don't sleep with the baby until six months, and that is a guideline along with other guidelines which someone may or may not choose to follow. So if you were to be in a position where you felt you didn't want the baby to sleep with you until six months, you would be able to make that happen with minimal effort if you already had everything organised in the baby's room.

[53rdAndBird]

On a related note, lots of people end up having the baby in their room for much longer than 6 months. I know several people (including me!) with older babies and toddlers still in parents' bedrooms, and none of us originally planned to be room-sharing longer than 6 months, but... plans change. (Usually because of having awful sleepers.)

So I would advise that if you're buying a full-size cot before the baby arrives, get one that can fit in your bedroom, just in case!

[CarShare]

Each to their own, hey. I'm not into mood boards and all that jazz but appreciate that some people are and it helps them to feel 'ready' for the big changes ahead. I guess I'm trying to be relatively careful with cash at the moment and if I can't say for certain how and when something will be used I'd rather buy the minimum and see what kind of baby we get. We're generally quite careful with cash and I'm happy buying from eBay and NCT nearly new sales so we can keep our savings topped up. Living in London doesn't leave much wriggle room for us finances wise. That said, I do enjoy seeing a beautifully decorated nursery- it just doesn't work for our circumstances (space, cash, inclination). I'm sure a lot of the passive aggression on here is linked to guilt (either on spending lots of money on miniature furniture that may not last long or not 'doing' a nursery and feeling like you should be, I get an occasional pang of guilt and then remind myself that for us the extra cash will be better spent elsewhere/saved).

[NeophyteStarfish]

What a relief to read all of the other replies that sound like my household!Thanks OP, even if that's not what you intended! My twins are 2, baby no 3 due before Christmas and we still haven't 'done' the twins' rooms yet. They have beds etc. but lots of other household stuff stored in their rooms/cupboards too, while colour schemes are the stuff of a dreamworld!

They do have their own toys, books and nice pictures, rugs etc. but the overall impression wouldn't feature in a Mothercare catalogue (but at this age, they don't know any different - they just love their own things, so I don't feel that I'm depriving them of anything too significant).

However, I'd say to do whatever feels right for you. I think to have the time to do it and have it looking lovely just how you want it in time for the baby would be a really good feeling. Best wishes for the rest of your pregnancy :) x

[randomsabreuse]

With the spare room thing my DH does on call so I make sure he gets uninterrupted sleep for a night or so before that (has to work the days regardless) so he's at less risk of being dangerously tired to drive. When I was struggling at the beginning he'd have her in with him and bring her to me for feeds. Fortunately she self settles pretty well and generally sleeps 12- 5.30 barring poos or not enough feeding in the evening

[WorldsBiggestGrotbag]

We've got 2 non sleepers (23 months and 14 weeks) so no chance of either of us getting an uninterrupted nights sleep

[sugar21]

WTF is a mood board?
Cant be something necessary as my dd has reached 16 without one.

[Runningupthathill82]

Each to their own.

My DS is almost three and I still haven't "done the nursery." He's got a dinosaur bedcover, does that count?!

DC2 is due in January and I still haven't figured out quite where she's going to go after the first few months, as there isn't room for a cot and a single bed both in DSs room.

Maybe a "mood board" will help me figure it out....!! (Nope, only a bigger bank balance would help me figure it out).

[mrsmugoo]

"Doing the nursery" is definitely more for the parents' benefit than the child!

[ShowOfHands]

Running, my 4yo has a dinosaur bedcover and that's about it, so you've got at least a year for that to suffice as a nod to them having a nursery imo.

Is there room for a double in DS's room? My brother ended up sticking his bed in the smaller room once DC2 needed to be in their own room (a real squish tbh) and the DC now have the bigger room to share.

What we did (2 bed house too) was to keep the youngest in with us for quite a while. We cosleep anyway but had a cot with one side taken off pushed up against the bed. DS had his own space that way. Then, when they were bigger, BIL built bunkbeds for them (small singles) but they're configured in such a way that they can be under each other or l-shaped, whatever fits the room and obviously takes up much less room and the ladder moves too. They're 8 and 4 and love sharing.

[Runningupthathill82]

Showofhands - no, sadly there's no room for a double in DSs room. There's barely the room to stand next to the single bed!

Unless we manage to move house before then, my plan is to keep DC2 in with us until DS is big enough for a cabin bed, and then get a cabin bed type thing which could have a cot below it for the baby.

Over time, that set up could then become bunks. Your bunk bed arrangement sounds great - and demonstrates there's ways and means of making a small house work.

So I guess I'll never do a "nursery." Am clearly a terrible parent!!

[ShowOfHands]

Could you put the baby in a drawer perchance?

Our house is tiny and the only way we could stick the two in one room was to have a bunk bed type arrangement. Before that DC1 had a cabin bed as it was the only way to have storage as well as a bed.

Fuck it. It's cosy and bijou and um, cheap to heat.

We plan to move. One day. Before they start tormenting each other for pleasure and after we win the lottery.

[ShowOfHands]

My darling great grandma btw, was born in 1889 and was one of fourteen. She lived in a 2 up 2 down with her parents and siblings and if you ever asked her what that was like she said "it was better than being down the pit" and gave you a hard stare. She used to think this whole one room per child thing was a sign that we've all gone soft.

I can't wait to tell my teenaged children to be grateful they're not down a mine. It's all in the perspective I find.

[Runningupthathill82]

We currently have all the storage under DSs bed too! One day we will move.
Until then, I can revel in small luxuries such as not needing a baby monitor and being able to Hoover an entire floor without moving the plug between sockets...