Week 23: All about the nursery

The week 23 blog is dedicated to nurseries! But first a quick update on how mom and baby are doing.

Baby:

We had an appointment with our OB doctor on Monday and found out that the baby's anatomy and all of the tests for diseases (like neural tube defects and Down's Syndrome) were negative. Already a worrying parent! What a sigh of relief.

Another development this week is that if the baby was prematurely born he would have  a 5-70% chance of survival. Every day that the baby stays in the womb increases his survival rate by approximately 3 percent until week 26. After week 26 the survival rate jumps to 80-90 percent. Another worry to dwell on... on to week 26!

Mom: 

The persistent pain in my low, low abdomen (okay, my pelvic area) is the relaxing of all of those ligaments in there and the resulting movement of the pelvic and hip bones. The round ligament pain surrounding my lower abdomen are also stretching so much that it's painful. There isn't much you can do but here are some of the tips from my docs 1) see a chiropractor regularly - done 2) be careful about being on your feet for long periods - done 3) don't lift things (even laundry) - done and DONE! 4) and don't wear heels... eek! 

Onto the nurseries!

I've been scouring the Internet and baby stores for the perfect set - truth be told there is much less available for boys unless you want a theme around 1) sports 2) boats, trains or planes or 3) animals - in that case you are set!

So, I've moved toward the idea of doing more of a unisex room without a theme persay.Even after this one decision though there are still thousands to choose from so I just started picking out the elements of each room I came across that I loved best (I should be saying 'we' here - but the decorating part of things... well that's my baby!).

Here are a few of the favs:

I'm sorta' obsessed with all things birds... and yellow right now:

http://goo.gl/1tSdv

I love the idea of utilizing the ceiling as part of the overall aesthetic - I originally loved the idea of orange stripes on the ceiling but then a friend said something about giving the baby migraines... something to think about. Maybe I'll go with birds instead.

http://goo.gl/KtGLh

I know you're wondering about those striped ceilings. Here was my inspiration for that idea:

http://goo.gl/qei86

I also like this idea of bringing some life to the room with these vinyl trees - this specific seller on Etsy has a large variety of them and I think it would be a great addition to the room.

http://goo.gl/Hh8Zl

And... I need this weiny dog light. (Hint... hint to anyone wanting to buy the baby a gift ;)

After seeing this room and loving the colors (especially the combo of brown, turquoise and green with hints of orange) I finally had the eureka! moment.

http://goo.gl/5KWfo

I love that we can display a variety of colors and items from our friends and family and it all still mesh together - note the colorful Ugly dolls, sock monkeys and fragile porcelain elephants. Also, the pop of orange in the chair is just perfect.

Orange rocker pictured: Sleepytime Rocker by Nurseryworks

So, with the eureka! moment it was time to start sketching out the room and choosing colors.

Here are a couple of highlights starting from the door of the room and going counterclockwise:

Growth Chart: There is a small area between the closet and the door where the light switch is that would be perfect for a little growth chart - probably won't be using it for a little while but it will be a fun element.

Closet: We have a rather large closet in that room but the space could be suited better for a baby's or even kid's rooms so I've sketched out an idea to turn one large area into a small shelving unit - the tiny shoes mom bought us for baby was definitely an inspiration for that. I'll also paint (or Owen will, rather) the back wall of the closet in the accent orange.

Bookshelf: We have an existing bookshelf in that room that we are going to paint white with orange backing and fill with books, pictures and keepsakes.

Crib: We ordered the crib in week 20 and it should arrive anytime. It is cherry wood and will go on the focus wall of the room. I am planning to make my own mobile with fabric birds.

Above the crib I am envisioning a nameplate art piece. There are many talented sellers on Etsy that we may utilize or me and Owen might tackle that together.

I also like having a rug in front of the crib. Possibly a fluffy white rug or a print:

http://goo.gl/iPljd

Chair: Right now I'm into the idea of that chair being orange but from the little I know I might be utilizing that chair quite a bit so I'll  be choosing comfort and functionality over color. I also positioned it so that I could look outside and have a view of our gazebo, flowers and pond when sitting in that chair.

 Back Wall/Window: The back wall in the room has a large floor to ceiling window in the middle of the room. I love the idea of adding those vinyl tree designs on this wall and placing a real birdhouse on the outside of the window.

Changing Table/Storage: We are going to be repainting my baby furniture to use in the room. We will paint the dresser white and use that as our changing table and storage area.

Above the dresser we'll add an art piece and then some additional green storage boxes to the side.

http://goo.gl/LL1v2

Floors and walls: We are getting Brazilian cherry hardwood floors installed in the room in a couple of weeks. Before that we will be adding a chair rail and crown molding and then painting the bottom portion of the wall our turquoise.

Thank you to the owner's of my inspiration color room for providing those color swatches:

Paint: Lowes -  (Blues – Sea Wave, Seafarer and Beach Sparkle; Greens – Green Gecko, Meadow Twilight and Parsley Sprig, Brown – Cliveden Virginia Soil)

See you next week!