Create a Nursery in Your Bedroom

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NurseryMusts #CollectiveBias

When I was pregnant with Ryan, we were casually house hunting and living at my MIL’s house to build up our down payment. We weren’t sure how long we would be there after Ryan was born, but we did know that there was no real other room for him. So we set up a little baby zone in our room and it worked really well.

Once we realized that Owen was on his way, I knew I wanted to have him spend his first few months in the same room as me once again. Not only is it convenient for night feedings and the first few weeks when every cough strikes fear into your heart, but with Ryan just finally sleeping through the night, I didn’t want to force him to endure a crying newborn. (Or for said crying newborn to have to endure Ryan!) Thankfully, since I’d done this once before I knew exactly what was needed to create a nursery in your bedroom.

Creating a Nursery in Your Bedroom

Choose a sleep space. By this, I mean a. where in your bedroom you would like the baby as well as b. what he is going to sleep in. Things to consider: Who is going to be waking up most often to tend to baby? How easily accessible is that spot to that person to get to without bothering the other person too much? Will it be in the way day to day? Does furniture need to be moved? All of these are important to consider before baby is all nice and settled and you’re completely exhausted.

As for what to have the baby sleep in, I personally recommend some sort of play yard with a changing table and a bassinet. It’s the ideal space saver, and it can be used later as a play yard or a crib for overnights at the grandparents as well as for storage. While you’ll eventually need real furniture like a changing station and a crib, they’re bulky and can be expensive. If you’ll be sharing a small space with your baby, go for the play yard. You’ll thank me. (We got this one, and the entire thing is washable, which I love.)

Set up a spot for nighttime feedings. With both of my sons, I haven’t had a specific chair or rocker that I used for nighttime feedings, especially in the early months since we just don’t have the room. With Owen, I’ve just been nursing him while sitting on the side of our bed. It’s easy, I don’t have to move really, and the transfer is easy. With Ryan, who had colic, I was mostly walking the halls nursing him to sleep. Either way, moms need a convenient, reliable spot during those 2/3 asleep 3 AM feedings – a spot where she can comfortably and safely feed her baby without worrying about where XYZ is. I keep my nursing pillow, my Nook, and phone in case it’s a long feeding/rough night, and a full cup of water in a lidded straw cup. In the side storage compartment of the play yard I keep one section stocked with my smaller nighttime essentials : a washcloth, (even better, get a cloth diaper insert – super absorbent, cheap, and who cares if they get stained. A tip from my dad’s girlfriend, a mom of 3!) lanolin, nursing pads, a snot sucker, vaseline (for nighttime changes), saline mist. In the other spots, I put the necessary diapers and wipes.

Diaper Genie. When Ryan was born, we hadn’t bought a Diaper Genie and were using a plain lidded trash can. My mom randomly brought one over during the early weeks and it was a total game changer. No more taking out the trash multiple times a day, no more Cooper getting into the used diapers (ew), and no more stank. In fact, almost 2 years later we’re still using the same Diaper Genie in Ryan’s room. Since Ryan’s diapers are clearly the grosser of the 2, we’ve kept the Diaper Genie in Ryan’s room and were planning on using the trash for Owen’s diapers. Not ideal, but it was what it was. That’s why when I was given the chance to try out the Diaper Genie Complete I was ecstatic.

The new Diaper Genie Complete blows my old, beloved Diaper Genie out of the water. It’s the easiest system yet – this version has the most awesome foot pedal for one-handed diaper tossing, which means no squishing those nasty diapers down, and it’s taller design means no bending over. Any woman who’s just delivered a baby can appreciate that! Holding up to 270 dirty diapers, Diaper Genie complete uses the same 7-layer refill bags that are amazing at keeping the smell at bay as well as a new built-in carbon filter to help absorb and lock in even the stinkiest diaper smells – perfect for a mom of a stinky toddler!

It’s so easy to put together, as well – literally 3 steps and it was done! So easy, a toddler could do it!

Best of all, it’s available at every mom’s paradise – Target! Target is hands down our favorite one-stop shop for all of our baby needs, and it’s the #1 place baby registries. Target carries all of your baby essentials, from diapers to Diaper Genies to bottles – like the Playtex VentAire Wide that is designed to help reduce colic.

Organize the stuff. I highly suggest using the interior of the play yard to store your baby essentials – that way you’re not running around looking for whatever in the middle of the night or when your baby pees on yet another outfit. I use a medium sized gift bag for dirty laundry – it’s easy to just toss the laundry into the play yard, so having a spot to throw it quickly helps a lot (and it helps to have it already in one spot for laundry time). A neat stack of swaddles is vital as well. Next, grab a box or basket and place your neatly folded clothes into it – separate onesies/sleepers/pants to make life easier for you.

Decorate! While it’s probably not super reasonable to deck out your nursery in your bedroom, little touches go a long way! As the last step in creating a nursery in your bedroom, I “hung” these DIY Nursery prints I posted about a few weeks back above the play yard. I just taped them up so that I can move them once the baby is moved over to the big boy room, plus there is no risk of frames falling on your newborn baby!

Mommas – did you create a nursery in your bedroom? Have you ever tried a Diaper Genie? What were your #nurserymusts? Do you love Target as much as I do? Leave it in the comments!

Thanks to Amanda for letting me Think Out Loud and share these tips!

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