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Nursery Decorating Tips for the Attachment Parenting Family Watch TLC’s A Baby Story and I guarantee you almost every episode has one segment dedicated to decorating the nursery. This is an absolute right of passage for any red-blooded expectant American family. You’ll find that nursery decorating tips are always a part of any self-respecting baby magazine. But is a nursery really necessary? Nope. Nice to have? Perhaps. Let me propose two radical alternatives: no nursery or, (drum roll please) the “un-nursery”! For breastfeeding mothers, in particular, rethinking the nursery arrangement might be wise. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics has yet to embrace co-sleeping, they do advise, “mother and infant should sleep in proximity to each other to facilitate breastfeeding”. In my mind, close proximity is at least in the bedroom. I get warm, fuzzy supportive feelings whenever I come across research articles that support our family’s “attachment parenting” style, but I have to let you in on a little secret. I am super lazy at night and our co-sleeping arrangement has as much to do with fatigue as it does with bonding! There is nothing I hate more than getting out of bed at three in the morning. Having your baby in the same room, or in the same bed makes nighttime nursing infinitely easier. I sleep much better with my babies next to me. Getting adequate sleep is important for a new mother and may help to prevent postpartum depression. So, if you forgo the nursery, what are the alternative arrangements? Well, you could still purchase a crib and place it in your bedroom. The crib can be separate from your bed or placed in a “side car” arrangement where the crib is secured to one side of your bed with the railing down. If this arrangement is appealing to you, you may want to consider an Arms Reach Cosleeper, which is specifically designed for this arrangement. If you would like to have the baby in your bed and still desire a device of some sort, consider the Snugglenest or the Humanity Family Bed. If you do choose to co-sleep, by far the most important purchase I would advise in preparation for junior’s arrival is a king size bed! Choose a firm mattress and avoid “pillowtops”. Despite the periodic frenzy of warnings against co-sleeping in the headlines, co-sleeping is safe if you follow a few common sense co-sleeping safety guidelines (3). When the baby is older and begins to squirm around and eventually roll, it will probably be a good idea to put the mattress down on the floor for safety. I know, 70’s hippy flash blacks, but this really is a practical idea. With the mattress on the floor, you will be able to leave the baby on the bed for naps. A baby monitor will alert you to the baby’s stirrings and you can come in and scoop him up when he awakes. (Yeah, my advice comes with all of the requisite legal disclaimers.) Some families, though they co-sleep at night, do like to have a crib available for naptime. Our modern multi room houses are really a glitch in human history. Most human families have slept in close proximity. So, if you have an extra room available for a nursery, consider it a luxury, not a necessity. I do have some fun and pampering ideas about what to do with your luxury. Consider creating an un-nursery. An un-nursery defies all the laws of nursery decorating. No powder blue, no pink, no ponies. Your baby is born without a sense of style, so how about decorating the nursery according to your own tastes? Make the nursery a sanctuary for yourself while you are caring for your baby. Decorate it in a color scheme you like. Get a comfy rocker for nursing your baby. Place the rocker in a reading corner, stocked with your favorite books and magazines. Make sure to include some non-parenting books and magazines. Include a side table for a snack and your water bottle (a nursing mom’s necessity). Have a CD player ready with some relaxing music or audio books. I decorated my own un-nursery with some pretty mother and child artwork and a few religious items. If you do have a crib in the nursery, purchase a futon and place it next to the crib so that you can lie down while you nurse the baby for naps or at nighttime. The un-nursery concept does include some furniture for baby, such as a dresser or armoire. Even co-sleeping babies need a place for clothing and diapers! A changing table is nice to have as well, though it is just as easy to change a baby’s diaper on a bed. Mothers love to nest in preparation for their new arrival. I have found that my most important preparation has been getting ready for the birth and learning about breastfeeding. It is fun to pre-wash cloth diapers, pick out clothes, and to decorate a nursery, but those are material considerations and should be secondary. Look beyond the baby articles that give you “101 Tips for Decorating Your Nursery” and take some time to consider the truly important details of becoming a parent. Of course, we can’t be serious all of the time, so in between deep thoughts, have fun decorating a nursery or planning your un-nursery! Your Un-nursery Shopping Guide: Arm's
Reach Concepts Original Short Liner Bedside CoSleeper - Fern
This shopping guide is just to get you started. Happy shopping and congratulations on your new little one!
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