Organization for a Small Nursery – 6 Double Duty Basics

Small Nursery OrganizationIf you’re faced with a tiny or small nursery space, organization is going to be key.  One of the most important design decisions is to make sure every item has more then one purpose, or will be able to grow with your child.  Some of these are so basic that I think we forget them when looking to put together a room.

Six Double Duty Basics:

1. The crib.  I’m a true believer in purchasing a small crib that will grow with your child.  I do not believe that you need to buy one that will grow with them all the way to college (the crib to double bed phenom), but it should get you through little kid stage at the least.  In our house, we chose the Stokke Sleepi for this, but if you look at the Sleep section, there are many other wonderful options (with more to come as I continue to add new options!).  One element of the Stokke Sleepi that is not perfect for organization is that the design doesn’t allow for easy storage below it.  There is plenty of room to store out of season clothing, or extra diapers, it’s just really hard to get to, and every time I look at it I think…”Grrr that’s a waste of perfectly good space!”  So if you really have a tiny room, consider a crib that would allow you some under bed storage.

2. A dresser.  You will want somewhere to store clothes, blankets, diapers, toys, more diapers, etc.   A small, waist high dresser is a great choice because the top of it can also be a changing table. If you have room, you can put the diapers next to the changing pad, but you can also store them out-of-sight in the top drawer.  Below is a great example of what this could look like (our drawer for Teapot’s diapers is organized but not pretty right now).

 

3.  The walls. This one may sound funny, but don’t forget to look up.  Walls are great storage opportunities – think about where shelves would work, or a few great hooks.  Peep’s room doesn’t have a lot of wall space due to the 6 windows and 2 doors, but there is a bookshelf that runs 10 inches from the ceiling along 2 walls.  Perfect place for books, and other decoration.

Look at the picture below – dream land of shelving!  I’d probably make it less about toy display and more practical, but you get the idea.  For ideas about hooks and hangers, Land of Nod has really made some great wall storage items which I wrote about here.

Source: refinery29.com via Emily on Pinterest

 

4. The closet. Some of you, like my sister, are laughing right now – closet??? Are you kidding?  We only have one closet in the whole apartment!!  Ok, so if you’re lucky enough to have a closet in the room (as opposed to using your walk-in closet AS the nursery) then utilize every last spec of space in it.  Move the bar down or up.  Put in shelves.  Take the door off for easy access.  You get the idea.  If you can’t visualize, here are a couple courtesy of my Pinterest boards.

 

 

5. A bookshelf. This is of course a no-brainer, but a small well placed bookshelf can host well, er, books, and anything else you can think of.  A few good boxes/baskets are always a great oranizational investment.

6. The floor. No really.  If you have a few extra empty feet, consider putting a basket or a bucket for shoes.

Organization for a small nursery can make or break the room way more than what color scheme or bedding you purchase.  Consider and explore all your options before doing anything to the room (nook).

 

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Badger Basket – Folding Doll Furniture

If you have a child that loves all things baby as much as I do, and you have a small space, then these products are for you.  Badger Basket makes folding doll furniture.  The set includes a crib with storage, an armoire with 3 hangers and a high chair with tray.  And best of all, when your child isn’t playing with them, they can be folded up, and stored in a flat case.

badger basket folding doll furniture

badger basket folding doll furniture - storage case

Case for Storage

 

Other Great Features:

  • The furniture is made from sturdy pink canvas fabric and has a white binding.
  • The crib and armoire have concealed magnets to hold them closed
  • The crib comes with a pillow and blanket
  • The highchair has a removable tray and storage below
  • While a creative kid will play with this with any size doll, it’s made to accommodate dolls up to 20 inches
  • The three piece set is $69.99 on be purchased on their website.

 

I love that idea that these can be easily stored when not being played with.  There is some assembly and disassembly when utilizing the storage case, but there are no tools needed.

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Where Have I Been?

It’s been five weeks since Teapot’s arrival, and I have not touched the computer since announcing her arrival.  I had grand plans (as always) of writing about her birth, her integration into our little family, and most importantly to this blog’s topic, how we’ve brought another being and all of her “stuff” into our little apartment. But then life got in the way.  So here’s a quick recap of our five weeks – it’s not been the dreamy holiday sweetness I had imagined in my head.

I had a planned c-section with Teapot – Peep had been an unplanned section following 26 hours of hard labor.  This experience, was obviously quite different – both better and worse.  The bad part was that I was much more awake, aware and un-drugged which means that I felt WAY MORE of the tugs, pulls, and general unpleasant elements of having major abdominal surgery while AWAKE.  But the good far outweighed that.  Because I was awake, aware and un-drugged, I could welcome Teapot immediately with the rush of emotions I missed when I birthed Peep (those came later the next day when we really had our first meeting).  Our mid-wife was on our side of the cloth coaching me and my husband through the surgery and bringing her to me immediately for skin to skin, and bless her little being, immediate nursing.  The whole thing was as magical as a c-section could be.

I was then wheeled to a room that was, frankly, an embarrassment of riches.  It was probably 500 square feet, had a fireplace, 2 tv’s, a couch, several chairs, a mini fridge and private bathroom.  (It had been built for end of life patients, but was transitioned to maternity, and I lucked out!)  We then began a 4.5 day baby vacation.  Within 3 days, we’d had 27 family and friends come visit.  My mom was staying with us and brought Peep in everyday to love on her sister.  Teapot slept and ate her way through it all being the most easy, lovable little thing possible.

All went well for the next three and a half weeks until the Saturday before Christmas when I woke up feeling awful.  By mid-day, I had a temperature in the 100′s despite taking ibuprofen.  I called my Dr, and she suggested I go to the hospital to get checked out.  Thus started my next hospital adventure.  In the emergency room, I began to vomit.  They were worried that I had an infection from the c-section or even worse, a ruptured uterus.  After a few tests (taking 4 hours) it was determined that my uterus was intact, but that there was something still in there that would have to be removed via surgery.  Meanwhile, I kept feeling worse and worse which they couldn’t determine whether it was caused by the ”stuff” in my uterus or if it was a strain of the flu.  I was admitted at 11:30pm and into a room at 4:30 am.  My husband had been home with the girls for hours and luckily for all of us, Teapot was a trooper – at three weeks old, she took to the bottle and to the sample of formula I’d been sent in the mail with no problems.  I had spent much of my time in the emergency room in tears fearing that she was at home screaming and not taking the bottle.

So I had surgery the next day and went home the following day which was Christmas Eve.  By then, it was determined that I did have a full blown stomach flu as the uterus showed no signs of infection. I was determined to have Christmas morning with my family – the thought of not being there with my 5 year old on wake up was too much for me.  The vomiting and diarrhea (TMI???) didn’t resolve until the day after Christmas (5 days total) leaving me exhausted and weak.  The only good thing to all of this was that no one else in the family caught this nasty virus.

So that was two weeks ago.  It took at least a week and a half to feel like normal…and now I’m feeling great.

Now I just have to figure out how to get blogging again while feeling like I’d rather be snuggling this little one!

Teapot Sleeping - 4.5 weeks old

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Teapot is here!

My little Teapot has arrived.  She was born November 30th, weighing in at 7lbs 5oz and looking the spitting image of her big sister.  Peep, as you can see in the pictures, is beyond thrilled with the addition of her sister.  We are now home and getting used to our new normal.  And, we are all, totally in love with this new addition.

New Baby - 1st week in pictures

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Can 2 Car Seats Fit in a Mini Cooper?

Can 2 Car Seats Fit in a Mini Cooper?We are 11 days away from meeting Teapot, and it’s starting to feel like Noah’s Ark around here – 2 kids, 2 kid beds, 2 of everything (actually, it’s not that bad, but you get the idea).  One thing that we also have is 2 cars since the subway conveniently stops at the doorstep of our town.  I have a Subaru Forester to do all my mom stuff in, and my husband has a Mini Cooper S since he spends most of his time in and out of the city.  I should mention here that my husband LOVES his Mini – it’s his first brand-new-off-the-lot-car and he’s kind of a “car-guy” so loves the sporty handling and the “zippy-ness” as Peep says.  The two of them go off on adventures in it all the time.

Since I have the bigger car, I’ve never worried about 2 car seats fitting into my back seat.  However, the Mini is another question.  We have been putting off trying to put 2 car seats into the Mini until now.  The fact is, Peep’s booster fits perfectly behind the passenger seat.  I’m short (5′) so I don’t mind moving up a little in the front and we can easily go places as a family.  My husband is tall (6’2″) so the driver seat is all the way back and is about one inch from the back seat. So given this, the question remains…can 2 car seats fit in a Mini Cooper?

The answer we found this weekend is – kind of.  The infant seat will fit behind the passenger seat if it’s all the way forward, and Peep can fit behind my husband if she puts her feet up a little, and he pulls forward an inch or so.  Not ideal for anyone.  But…it’s not for forever right?  And I’m sure Noah’s Ark got a bit tight in the large animal section right?

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No space for toys? Rent them!

With the holiday season upon us, there are many Holiday Guides being put together both online and in our own heads.  What should I get my child? What do they need and/or want? What can I get rid of to make room for new things?  I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a lot of extra space for new toys.  I am also very nervous about buying new things for Peep unless I know she’s going to love them and actually PLAY with them. (How many toys are sitting in your house not played with right now taking up valuable space??? Drives me crazy!)

So I started to look around the internet for toy rental companies.  The one I came across that I liked the best is called TOYconomy.  (I should state right now that I have not tried them out yet, I’m simply passing on the fruits of my research!)  What I liked about them is that you can pick the toys you want to try and there are a few levels of participation.  Many of the other options pick the toys for you that are “age appropriate” and often have only limited participation fees.  The toy store options are set up by age and the brands range from Melissa & Doug to Lego and LeapFrog.  The toys come fully cleaned, with batteries if needed and if your child falls in love with one of them, you can purchase it for a discount!

Here are a few screen shots from their website to help you understand what they’re all about.

TOYconomy Pricing

TOYconomy PricingTOYconomy Pricing

As I said, I have not tried this service (yet) but would love to know if anyone has or would they?

 

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Graco SnugRide® Click Connect™ 40 Review

Last week I had the opportunity to learn more about the Graco SnugRide® Click Connect™ 40 that was recently launched through an event hosted by Charlene of Charlene Chronicles.  What a great opportunity for a newer blogger such as myself to spend the evening learning about a great new baby product with a bunch of new and expectant moms.  I should also mention it was held at a MiniLuxe spa so I was also treated to a manicure – whoo-hoo!  Here we are, learning about the product:

I am familiar with the line of  Graco SnugRide car seats since that’s what we had for Peep when she was born.  But this new seat is different.  The Graco SnugRide® Click Connect™ 40 is the only infant car seat that provides rear-facing protection for babies from birth to 2 years old, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The infant car seat grows with babies from 4 pounds up to 40 pounds, so parents can keep their children rear facing longer, while making sure they stay comfortable as they grow.

I was anxious to get this new seat home and check it out. The first thing I played around with was the adjustable base.  This is really the revolutionary part to this seat. The base adjusts with 8 recline positions to allow the seat to grow with your child and give them more leg room as they grow to age 2.  There is also a harness system in the seat that allows parents to adjust both the harness and headrest with just one hand – without having to rethread the harness.  Both of these features are definite upgrades to the the base SnugRide we had with Peep.

Graco SnugRide Click Connect 40 - newbornGraco SnugRide Click Connect 40 - extra foot roomSince I still have a month to go before Teapot arrives, I don’t have a real baby to test this out on.  So, I found Peep’s doll Emma who is the size of a preemie (17 inches long) to help me out.  Here are two pictures of Emma with the Graco SnugRide® Click Connect™ 40 in my car. Notice in the second picture, that I have the base adjusted to the furthest recline position which would allow her a lot of leg room as she gets older.  There is also a “kick plate” that you can pull up and protect your seat from kicking toddler feet.

 

Other Benefits

  • I received the Mena™ design and it is a lovely scroll pattern that is clearly for a girl, but not overly “girly.” It is also available in a gender neutral design called the Moonstruck™.
  • The infant insert is extremely well designed to fit around your newborn.  Emma was snug and sweet and made me excited to see my real baby in it!
  • It fit in my car.
  • The seat without the base is 9.38lbs – not too heavy!

Concerns:

  • It is more expensive than the other SnugRide’s in Graco’s line.  These retail for $219.99 at Babies”R”Us either online or in stores while the base models start at $139.
  • I have a Subaru Forester, which I consider to be a big car.  When the seat was in the infant recline position, it easily fit in the back seat.  However, when I adjusted it to the furthest recline position I had to move the front seat all the way forward to get it to fit.  Not sure my 6’2″ husband would fit up there.  Our 2nd car is  Mini Cooper – same problem only more so.
  • One of my favorite features of our previous SnugRide was the fact that with an adaptor, we could also use our it with our stroller.  With this new Click Connect system, the only stroller you can use this seat with is the accompanying Graco stroller.

Overall, I’m truly impressed with this car seat.  Bravo to Graco for responding to the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics.  I have a feeling this won’t be the last type of seat to help parents keep their child rear facing until age 2.

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Graco SnugRide® Click Connect™ 40 Infant Car Seat - MenaThe Graco SnugRide® Click Connect™ 40– the first and only newborn to two-year infant car seat that actually grows with your baby from four pounds all the way up to 40 pounds. The car seat is designed for a parent on the go. The infant car seat can be easily removed from the base and used as a carrier when the infant is small, providing portability and convenience so you can easily move your infant in and out of the car without disturbing them.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently made the recommendation to keep all children in rear-facing car seats until the age of 2. Graco set out to make this product so parents can keep infants rear facing longer while still keeping them comfortable.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Graco. The opinions and text are all mine.

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Shared Kids Room Design Update

As I have written about, we have a 2.5 bedroom apartment.  Peep is currently sleeping in the 0.5 bedroom and the plan is that she and her new sister Teapot will be sharing the full 2nd bedroom at some point in the near future.  The original plan was to move them in together pretty soon after Teapot arrives, but Peep has since decided that she’d like to stay in her little room for longer.  I don’t blame her – she wants some things to stay the same.

So, that means that we will have an interim 2nd bedroom design.  Currently, the room has our guest bed, and junk in it.  Soon it will have our guest bed and Teapot in it.  An upgrade, to be sure!  Also, I will probably simply sleep with her for the beginning, so keeping the guest bed a bit longer will help us all get a good night’s sleep.  (Actually, my husband and Peep will get great nights of sleep on the other side of the apartment – Teapot and I will do the midnight get-to-know-you’s.)

Even though this will be an interim design, I want to set it up for when Peep moves in.  That mean’s picking colors and some artwork and a layout that will work in the short and long term.

Here are the design choices I’ve made so far:

1. Artwork: Fox with Sparkler – Coral & Tusk (this is a postcard my sister sent when we found out about Teapot); Knitty, Knitty – Ashley Goldberg (I love knitting and bought this for Peep when she was born – can’t wait to teach both of them to knit!) ;  A Girl Without Freckles…- Finny & Zook (I bought this for Peep when her nose became host to hundreds of perfect freckles. I am also a freckled chica who has learned to love them over a lifetime.)

2. Chair Ikea Poäng (our’s is actually orange, but it’s no longer available on their website). I’m not sure if this will fit in the interim room, but I’m hoping to squeeze it in.

3. Dresser - I chose this Ikea Tarva that will be for both girls, and also be the changing table.  Peep and I are planning on painting it in a similar way to the dresser shown which I found at the blog PoppyTalk.

4. Fabric – We have an extra door that goes to the front hall we don’t use.  I plan on hanging this fabric (found at a local store – I didn’t write down the maker – blame the pregnancy brain on that one!) over the door at the head of Teapot’s bed to cover the door, and give her a defined space.

5. Paint – I’m not sure this is a totally accurate gray, but we’re going with a light gray with white woodwork.

6. Crib – Out comes the trusty Stokke!  I can’t wait to have it back in our daily lives.

7. Layout – I’ve posted about this before – here is a look of the room with Teapot & the queen bed.

If you’d like to see more of my musings about a shared girl’s room, head over to Pinterest – my board is here.

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Organize! Coat Racks for Kids

With Peep now in kindergarten, I’m realizing that we need some updated organization.

One thing I’ve been looking at are coat racks for kids to help get things off the floor (which is where the backpack/jacket/lunch box seems to be dropped everyday).  Kids coat racks are a great thing for entryway items, but once I started to look at them, I realized they would be great in multiple places.  A corner in their room would work for those sweatshirts that never find their way back into the drawer.  Or, what about a dress-up coat rack?  Bag storage? (am I the only mom with a child that is obsessed with bags of all sizes and shapes?)  Really, anything you want off the floor.

Here are a few options (all retailing for about $100) that I like and are small.

Pkolino kids coat rackP’Kolino Clothes Rack for Kids:

This comes in white, orange, natural & green, weighs 19lbs and is 24″ x 46″ (WxH). There are no nuts & bolts for assembly, and plenty of branches in high and low spots for kids of all ages.  It’s fun to look at too!

 Land of Nod basic framework coat rack for kidsLand of Nod Basic Framework Coat Rack for Kids:

This is a great, basic coat rack to fit your kid’s needs.  It’s 13.75″ x 48″ (WxH) and comes in green, gray, pink and white.  There are two levels of hooks with bottom rubber grips to prevent scratching floors.

  Land of Nod Branches Coat TreeLand of Nod Branches Coat Tree for Kids:

This is a slightly different take on the traditional free-standing kids coat rack.  It actually attaches to the wall and is taller than the other two options above so it may suit an older child or function more for the full family. The dimensions are 19″ x 7″ x 63.5″ (WxDxH).   It comes in white only, but you do have the option for either a bird or owl on the top.

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International Babywearing Week 2012 – Local Boston Events

Happy International Babywearing Week!

Are you a babywearing parent? Do you live in Boston? Did you know there’s a local Babywearing group here?  Boston Babywearers began in 2004 as just a small group of moms, and has grown significantly over the years. The monthly meetings are free and open to the public. Parents and caregivers join to learn safety tips and the basics of wearing, while socializing with other families. Since there are many options, and the right carrier is a personal decision, the group offers over 60 carriers in a lending library. Attendees are able to try carriers during meetings and borrow their favorites to use at home. This ensures it’s a great fit for their body and needs, and gives them a chance to practice and be comfortable with a carrier before investing in their own.

To celebrate International Babywearing Week, Boston Babywearers has put together great events throughout the week.  To wrap it up (pun intended!) there is a bash on Friday with $3,000 in raffle prizes.  See below for the full list of events.

Babywearing Week 2012 Boston

 

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