Creating a nursery in your bedroom is a lot easier than you might think! It’s a great way to save space and navigate begin a new mom to a tiny baby.
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. After we moved, we had the same set up for some time, even though he had his own room. We’ve done with same with each baby since.
Benefits of Having Baby Sleep in your Room
Not only is it easier, but the AAP recommends a baby sleep in your room for 6 months – 1 years after birth.
It’s easier because there’s less room to walk when abby wakes up in the middle of the night. Just reach over and boom – you can easily feed your baby or navigate a night diaper change.
Creating a Nursery in Your Bedroom
Creating a bedroom nursery is actually super simple. Believe it or now, babies don’t actually need that much stuff! I mention this in our Minimalist Baby Registry post, but babies really just need a few thoughtful items and some careful organization.
You don’t have to give up your entire room just to create a nursery.
Follow these steps and tips to learn how to create your own.
Choose a sleep space.
By this, I mean
- Where in your bedroom you would like the baby as well as
- What he is going to sleep in.
Things to consider when choosing the spot:
- 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.
What should baby sleep in?
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. But my favorite is that it can be used as storage.
While you’ll eventually need or want 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 actually covered a bunch of this in our post, Can You Use a Pack and Play as a Crib?
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Playyard combination I recommend:
We had this exact play yard with Ryan and used it again with Owen and had no problems with it with near-constant use over 4ish years. I cannot recommend it enough, plus the price is super affordable for all it does.
We got this one for Ella and it’s been just as great!
Set up a station for nighttime feedings.
With living in a small house with kids, we never had the luxury of a dedicated chair for nursing. In both cases I found myself sitting on the side of our bed nursing and then popping the nugget back into his bassinet when we were done.
This is why having the pack and play is such a huge help – the bassinet and changing table are right next to each other. You’ll inevitably be needing to change a diaper (or three!) before, during, or after a night feeding.
With this in mind, it’s really important to create a bit of a stocked nursing station for yourself. I always keep the compartment in the pack and play stocked with baby and breastfeeding essentials.
What to stock for your night feeding essentials:
In mine, I kept the following items:
- Lanolin for after nursing.
- A burp cloth for spills, spit ups, and other gross baby stuff.
- Breastpads to keep your bra fresh.
- Nasal aspirator, especially during cold season or with newborns. Both of my boys had amiotic fluid stuck in their sinuses for a week or two so we sucked them regularly.
- Saline Spray to help loosen boogies if they’re stuffy.
- Diaper rash cream or vaseline.
These are just the basics, and will definitely change as baby grows and you become more comfortable. But they were always helpful to have on hand for me.
In addition to having things on hand for baby, make a station for MOM! I used my nightstand and kept a few things to make feedings a bit easier.
What to stock in your bedroom nursery for mom:
- Full, lidded cup of water. Nursing and postpartum makes your THIRSTY.
- A long wired phone charger.
- A Kindle! Not necessary, but the ability to read and keep yourself awake with a super dim light is so so nice.
- A small snack. With a newborn, I was always starving in the middle of the night. I would keep a granola bar or something similar and easy to eat one-handed for midnight tummy grumbles.
I also keep a nursing pillow nearby. I love the Brest Friend, but this post on the Boppy Vs. My Brest Friend Pillow might help you decide.
Diaper Changing Essentials for Your Bedroom Nursery.
The best part about the pack and play is a small section for storing all of your diaper change needs.
I keep pretty printed diapers for Miss Ella, wipes, a soft towel to pat dry as needed, and diaper rash cream just in case. We also had a Diaper Genie with all 3 kiddos.
Do you need a Diaper Genie or a specified diaper pail? No. Are they SUPER convenient and make life easier? YES. Plus, if you have a dog that like to eat diapers (barf, like me.) then it’s pretty dog-proof.
Read more: Diaper Genie Alternatives
Organizing the stuff in your bedroom nursery.
I highly suggest using the interior of the play yard to store your baby essentials if you use the bassinet feature. That way you’re not running around looking for clothes in the middle of the night when your baby has a diaper explosion.
I used 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. 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.
We’ve also used those plastic Rubbermaid 3 drawer containers to store baby clothes in a cheap, easy way.
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 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!
Julie @ Running in a Skirt says
What a wonderful solution! Seems like a perfect little space for your little one.
Morgan says
It’s so convenient, especially in the middle of the night!
Emily says
I love those little tables/cribs that have room for almost everything you need. They are such a blessing, when I’m doing babysitting. 🙂
Morgan says
They are SUCH lifesavers, especially in the early months!
alexandra @ my urban family says
Love this idea, no matter how much space you have! And I’m looking forward to seeing how you set up for the two of them to share a room. I’m guessing I will have a similar situation in the future (far future ha).
Morgan says
Personally, I think it’s the best solution, especially since walking half asleep to another room sounds like a recipe for stubbed toes hah! Plus you can check every 2.3 seconds to see if he’s alive! And yes, I’ll definitely have to share how we some how manage them in one room, since it’s a teeny room as it is!
Kristy @ Southern In Law says
Your nursery prints are so cute!
Diaper genies are seriously the best invention. I’m helping a family out with their two little ones at the moment and they just use regular trash bags for the diapers and pile them up to take outside at the end of the day and my nose is not loving it, haha 😛
Morgan says
Thanks, Kristy! And YES to Diaper Genies – I can’t imagine not using one. While it’s not too bad with teeny newborn diapers, but man I can’t imagine not having it for Ryan’s diapers!
Heather @ Polyglot Jot says
so cute! What a great idea! 🙂 I’m not yet a mama but boy do i love target!
Morgan says
Target is seriously my best friend. Or, my wrost enemy since I spend WAY too much there, ha!
Cristi Comes says
So needed when you have a small space. especially. Actually we had a whole nursery and my kids ended up being in our room anyway so I should have saved the $ for the essentials. I wish this Diaper Genie was around 8 years ago! But I did love the one we had even back then. 🙂 #client
Morgan says
Diaper Genies are a life (and nose!) saver! I definitely think that even if I had the room, I would still want my babies in my room for a while – It’s so comforting!
Michelle says
Great idea especially for moms who have a small home and want baby in with them. Everything right there ready to go. Genius idea.
Morgan says
Thanks so much, Michelle! It’s definitely super convenient!
KC says
This is a wonderful solution for those with limited space or just wanting to have their baby in the same room. All of the elders in our families warned us about having the baby in our room all the time, so I’m thinking we will use the bassinet in our room for the first couple of weeks and then slowly transition him to his nursery which is next door to our bedroom. As a first time mom, there is so much information out there and I’m hoping I find what works best for our son relatively soon once he arrives.
Have a Great Weekend!
Morgan says
I think it’s important to kind of play it by ear and not pay attention to what other people are saying in terms of a new baby. Times change, and I think it’s very hard for the previous generation to accept that there are different ways of doing things. I think they feel that if we do it differently than they did, we’re subtly saying that their way is wrong. Just go with your gut!
Teresa says
It looks like a special space with everything you need close by! Speaking as a grandmother, we often need to use a corner of a guest bedroom for a baby area, so your ideas are helpful to us as well!
Morgan says
Yes! Those playards are so amazing for space saving, and they fold you so you don’t have to look at it all the time!
Latisha says
This is a really well written post with lots of great tips. I just delivered baby # 5 last Tuesday and you have given me some great ideas I can use. Blessings to you and your family in this season of new baby adventures. Thanks for sharing with TGI Saturdays.
Morgan says
Thanks, Latisha and congrats! My son was born 2 weeks ago, but he’s only #2 – I hope #5 went smoothly and you’re all doing well!!
Heather Leigh @ arrows and warriors says
I had to do that with both of my babies and it always felt great having them close 🙂
Morgan says
It’s so nice knowing that he’s right there!
Pam says
Great tips and solutions! Love the ideas you shared here! Happy to be visiting today as your neighbor at the Linkup at The Modest Mom blog.
Lydia @ Thrifty Frugal Mom says
What a great idea….and those prints are darling!
Hannah | Eat, Drink, and Save Money says
Wonderful tips! We had to do the same thing with my second. We just didn’t have enough space.