What Do You Really Need For Your Nursery?

Guest Blog

How to Plan a Nursery for More Than Just Pictures

By Lauren Engler

This blog title might sound strange, because we all know our baby’s nursery is for more than pretty pictures. Duh! However, I think we also all know the pressure we feel to fill a Pinterest board with nursery inspiration, figure out how to DIY board and batten, and find a perfect home for all of those cute little onesies and loads of diaper boxes.

Do not hear me say any of that is wrong, but do hear me say there’s a bigger picture here! In this post, I’m going to share with you how I, as a mom of four and pediatric sleep consultant, would encourage you to think about your baby’s nursery.

Lauren's Story

First, I want to share a little story with you. When we got pregnant with our first, we were living in a small, one-bedroom apartment, and we weren’t moving any time soon. And I was devasted that my baby wouldn’t have a beautiful nursery. I shed literal tears over it, multiple times.

And to be honest, I wasn’t really thinking about my baby or even our family’s needs when I was so upset. I was thinking about what “most babies” have, or what we “should” have.

A baby “should have” a crib and matching dresser. A baby “should have” blue painted walls, or pretty floral wallpaper. A baby “should have” cute animal pictures hanging on the wall.

But what would my baby have? A walk-in closet, that still had our clothes in it, and a pack ‘n play that just fit.

And we had a dresser that acted as my nightstand that held some of my clothes and my daughter’s clothes. We hung a diaper caddy behind it (because space), as well as two or three cute floating shelves, and I painted a little elephant and giraffe that we framed and sat on those shelves. I wish I had a picture of it, because it was honestly really cute! Yet so simple.

We didn’t have a rocker or a glider, because we just didn’t have the room for it. So I nursed her on our bed or on the couch.

But that was it, for two whole years. And guess what?

IT WAS ENOUGH! And after that initial despair and maybe embarrassment of not being able to give her a Pinterest-picture nursery, I truly didn’t care! She had everything she needed, as did we, and it was perfect.

Our oldest actually slept in a pack ‘n play until she was 2.5 and she finally got a crib and a separate room. Our second daughter didn’t sleep in a crib until she was 1 and joined big sis in her room. Our third got her own room around 10 months old. And our youngest (now one!) is still in our room, and I have no idea when he’ll go to another room, and whether it will be his own room or joining his sisters. And we definitely don’t have any cute pictures hanging for him. Because it just doesn’t matter right now!

Sleep-related things you should consider when planning your baby’s nursery and/or the corner of your bedroom

As a sleep coach, safe sleep is obviously very important to me! I share all about it in this blog/podcast episode, but here are two nursery-specific things to keep in mind, that are often overlooked:

You should not have artwork hanging behind your baby’s crib in case it falls! Some families put wallpaper behind the crib to jazz it up, or board and batten. But if you do hang something behind the crib, slide the crib away from the wall so there’s no danger of it falling on your baby.
Make sure there are no cords within arm’s reach of the crib - think monitor and sound machine cords!

Helpful products and organization, still with sleep in mind

First, your baby doesn’t need a nightlight – they are not afraid of the dark! If, however, you want to have some sort of nightlight to turn on as you feed and change your baby in the middle of the night, it’s ideal to use a red or amber-colored light, to not further disrupt your baby’s sleep and yours! This egg light and the Hatch are my favorites.

Second, your baby will likely be in your bedroom for several weeks, if not several months, so consider having a pack ‘n play or bassinet set up in your room. And don’t worry about buying a bassinet – they’re pricey and take up space, and you won’t need one for very long. Your friends probably have one you can borrow!

And that super cozy glider you plan to put in the corner of the nursery? Consider starting it in your room so you have it for those night feeds!

While your baby is sleeping in your bedroom,

I also encourage you to have a little changing station for them! Have extra diapers and wipes on hand, have a few spare onesies, an extra swaddle, and some burp cloths close-by. You’re not going to want to walk back and forth from your room to the nursery six times in the middle of the night!

I want to encourage you to say no to the button jammies. No one wants to match up all of those buttons at 2 am when baby is ready for milk, so stick with zippers!

And finally, this isn’t connected to sleep, but I find baby clothing hangers to be the worst. You’re just not going to hang all of your baby’s clothes once they actually start wearing them and you’re doing a ton of laundry. Drawers all the way!

Have fun deciding on the theme and colors you want to use, but don’t stop there. Consider what you and your baby will need when they first arrive, if they’ll sleep in your room or theirs, and arrange their room with safe sleep in mind!

And if you’re expecting and you’re reading this, my encouragement to you is this…

Rather than spending all of your time and energy on the cutest little nursery, make time to research and ask around about the best lactation consultants and postpartum therapists, so you’re not scrambling to find someone should you need them. Take a birth class and maybe even a newborn sleep class! Ask a friend to set up a meal train for you if you’re unsure one will be made, so you know meals will be provided for a couple of weeks. Have someone (or a few people) lined up to take care of your big kids while you’re in labor, and to help with them when you first get home.

And if you’ve already brought your precious baby home, my encouragement to you is to stop comparing your baby’s nursery to what you see on Instagram, and simply do what is best for your baby and family. Love on that precious baby, enjoy this fleeting season of motherhood, and invest in those family pictures – you won’t regret it!

Lauren Engler

I'm an elementary teacher turned sleep consultant in Westerville, Ohio, wife to my wonderful hubby, and mama to four beautiful babies.

If sleep feels impossible, or you feel like your child is the exception, I promise — I’ve been in your shoes, and I’ve also lived the other side. You don’t have to figure this out alone. We can help you find your way to rest.