My Nursery Essentials
Natalie Langston
BY:
Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamt of designing and decorating a nursery. When Gary and I were trying to decide whether or not to find out the gender of our little one – nursery was at the top of my list of reasons why we HAD to know. I’ve spent the past few months dreaming up a room special enough to be home to the most special person in my world and Gary helped me bring this to life. I don’t normally mention his business but we have done all of the upgrades in our home thanks to Renpro Renovations + Contracting. I’m so impressed with how Gary brought all of my visions to life, especially in the nursery and his work is always spectacular… wink wink!!
We’ve finally put together the finishing touches, and I can’t wait to show baby boy.
In the meantime, I gave the tour to Global BC. On Saturday morning I shared some of my Nursery Essentials tips. Here’s a few to kick you off: To tie your nursery together you’ll want to start out with a theme or vision that you can refer back to when you’re ordering items and including pieces in the room. We went with whites, greys, light blue with an accent of navy blue and of course a teddy bear theme! We also got some tips from Interior Designer Gillian Segal who is also a new mom providing us with some of her tried and true tips!!
Before we get into decorating, let’s talk about the health and wellbeing of your baby. One of the first things we invested in was blackout curtains. We got ours from Stylit Window Designs. Spend the money, it’s worth it when your baby is napping and to protect his or her eyes from the sun. Plus, Stylit makes custom blackouts so it’s a great place to show your own style — get colourful, add some pom poms or stay neutral like what we did to offset the other colours and patterns in the room. Stylit Window Designs was so lovely and easy to work with, and because they are a local company we were able to get our drapery done so quickly! I was blown away by how easy they made the process when all I felt was overwhelmed initially. Apart from your babies health, these will be super handy during a bright afternoon when you want your little one to take a nap.
With your babies wellness in mind, I suggest you install some warm and easy lighting. After chatting with Gillian, I had Gary put on a dimmer in this space to help when we need to wind down at night. When the light in the room is soft it provides a magical haven appeal that also provides a calming environment for you and your little one. And looking ahead when they get a little older, there is no fussing with cords when you have a dimmer setting. We also included a stylish glass side table lamp from Peridot Decorative Homewear + Design for some soft lighting next to the glider. I have a feeling this will be used a great deal when baby is feeding and mama needs to de-stress.
Up next, a comfortable rocking chair. These have been around for centuries for a reason — babies love to rock. We got ours from Nestled by Snuggle Bugz and we went with a modern glider in lieu of a traditional rocking chair, designed and manufactured by Monte. It performs the same function but fits better within our space. Not only can you rock your baby to sleep, it’s soothing for a new (and very tired) mom or dad too! Pro tip – get one with a removable slip-cover if you can, so that if baby has an accident, you can toss it in the wash.
Let’s get the basics out of the way — you’re going to need a crib and a changing table. We got ours from Nestled by Snuggle Bugz and they are designed by Nursery Works. I love this design because it provides a nice warmth to the space. You’ll also need a mattress, changing pad and nursing pillow. These are from Nook Sleep Systems, which are 100% organic and breathable – to keep baby cool, cozy and comforted. With their signature Pebble fabric, all of their pieces beautifully compliment one another for a stunning nursery.
Now let’s talk about style. Have fun with the space and inject some colour and pattern! Remember, this is a room you’re going to be spending a ton of time in. We chose to include wallpaper from Urban Walls. It’s super easy to apply and removable. Murals and shapes are good for keeping the baby stimulated as they move out of just being able to see white and black – plus, it’s nice for mom and dad to have something to look at while they’re changing baby 100 times a day.
Another essential that makes your life so much easier are these bundles of themed baskets from Basic Baby Co. We put one together for Kaitlyn and surprised her with it at the end of the segment!
They are practical, providing the essentials that you need and will actually use. They have a number of themed bundles – with all the basics, nursing, post-partum, play, bath time and so much more – and can be customized to meet your individual needs and delivered right to your front door for free. It’s literally your one-stop shop and takes the guess-work out of having to search for the best swaddles, or the best sleep sack. Preparing for baby can be overwhelming and Basic Baby Co has just gone and saved you hours and hours so you can do more important things like catch up on your sleep!!
While this next part isn’t a ton of fun, it’s a necessity; a changing caddy. A fully stocked diaper caddy is essential so that you are armed with everything you need for baby and you can take it with you from room to room.
You’ll need tons of diapers and wipes, we like to use the Pampers Pure diapers which are free from chlorine bleaching, fragrance, parabens and latex and we love the Pampers Aqua Pure Wipes that are made of 99% water and a touch of premium cotton. You can purchase the diapers at a Loblaws or Real Canadian Superstore near you.
You’ll also want to include some diaper cream, baby lotion, and a toy is always nice to have close by to help distract baby when you’re changing. It’s super essential to have everything handy when you’re changing baby so you don’t have to take your eyes or one hand off baby. I also recommend organizing the two top drawers of the changing table/dresser where you have the diaper caddy on with essentials that you can just grab easily, like onesies and sleepers for the current age of baby, wipes, diapers, etc.
Here’s a list of things to help make your caddy fool-proof.
- Diapers, of course.
- Wipes.
- Diaper cream.
- Hand sanitizer.
- Spray bottle, if you use cloth wipes.
- Changing pad, cloth, or receiving blanket to change baby on.
- A toy or two to keep your busy bee distracted.
Another essential that will help us mamas and dads sleep better at night is the Owlet Smart Sock. I can’t wait to try this, it’s genius. You put it on your baby’s foot and it tracks their heart rate, oxygen levels and sleep. The base station sits on the parents’ nightstand and glows green to let you know everything is okay but will notify you if these levels fall outside of preset ranges. 96% of parents report less anxiety after using the Owlet Smart Sock. It also helps to develop healthy sleep habits for your baby.
With all this talk about changing tables… you might be worried about smell. Don’t worry, I’ve got that covered. Your nursery needs a diffuser. Even with some of the amazing diaper pails out there (we got the Ubbi Diaper Pail from Snuggle Bugz), odours can be lingering around. Running a diffuser like this one from Saje Natural Wellness along with natural essential oils creates a nice smell in the room and a ton of other health benefits. Make sure you check your oils to ensure they’re safe for your baby. I get my oils from Saje, who has an entire department of baby products – Citrus Dream is a nursery favourite, lavender is quite calming, eucalyptus helps decongest and also acts as a humidifier which in turn adds moisture in the air for baby.
Make your room feel like baby’s new home with some art. I found the sweetest baby bear print on Etsy.ca from a mother and daughter duo and had it printed and framed with Poster Jack another Canadian company tieing in our teddy bear theme. We also incorporated the cutest little wood sign from West Coast Kids that I absolutely love for a little boy’s room and adds the perfect touch!
Add some texture to the space by layering your rugs like what we’ve done with a large nubbly area rug made in Morocco from CF Interiors and layering a sheepskin rug on top from The Cross. This is also great for tummy time and playing with your newborn!
Adding in some greenery is also a great way to inject some life into your space. Plants are so popular now as they provide so many benefits to our health and mental well being. I also like to brighten up the space with some florals and absolutely love picking up my flowers and greenery from Maple Ridge Florist. We went with neutral white florals and roses as well as a potted plant with a navy blue ribbon accent to stay on theme.
Lastly, a few other must-haves to keep you and the baby happy as clams.
- A beautiful mobile for when your baby wants to count sheep 😉 – We chose one from Pehr Designs that we picked up from West Coast Kids
- Install a distraction… I mean a projector – We chose a projector from Snuggle Bugz by Nursery Works which we put next to his crib for when we need to turn on some white noise or keep him stimulated.
Once you have all of the basics, then comes the fun part; adding pillows and throws, little tiny clothes and stuffed animals, and most importantly… your baby! After the initial excitement of getting to decorate a space, I was really overwhelmed by the concept of ensuring that our nursery was safe for our little one. Gillian really helped us make this space as safe and functional as it is cute. Hopefully these tips will help take some of the stress out of your planning.
Do you guys have pictures of your nurseries? A favourite item maybe? Send pictures, I’d love to see them.
xx n
Photography by Brooklyn D Photography
Essentials:
Crib Mattress, Changing Pad + Nursing Pillow
Striped Pillow in crib, Navy Blue Pillow on glider
Pampers Pure Diapers + Pampers Pure Aqua Wipes
Saje Diffuser + Citrus Dream Essential Oils
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