There are a few things I've learned over the years of practically living in the nursery in our home. It's housed both kids, and is currently still our baby-now-toddler, Nora's room (Liam moved to his big boy room when Nora took over). Over the last few years, I've come to relay on a few things and realized pretty quickly what I didn't need... I also enjoy making the most of this space, which has come to be one of my most favorite rooms in the house.
1. It's a must, people, it really is. The baby Diaper Pail should not be skipped. I've heard people say they don't have one - as they just use baggies or walk the diaper out to the garage - and I guess it depends on your home set up, but for us... from the newborn stage when there are like 15 dirty diapers to the toddler stage when the diapers are really smelly, this has just been an easy solution for managing the stink. Arm & Hammer's diaper paid by Munchkin does just that and is simple to use.
To transform the pail to fit in with our nursery decor, we partnered with Munchkin to bring you an easy DIY (that even my littles loved helping me with!). All you need is your diaper pail and washi tape in colors and patterns that go with your nursery. And because washi tape is easy to peel off, it'll be easy to switch up or transform to the next baby! Then line the edges and grooves how you wish to add pattern and character to your pail. Easy as that.
{See how much better that pail can look?!}
2. Books, books and more books. I can't tell you how thankful we are to have lots of options so we don't get super burned out on the same old ones. But even so, both kids have shown preference to a few select books, so plan b is to rotate them in and out so mix up the options!
Now that Nora is a toddler, moving and walking all over, I love to hang out in her room and play. She immediately goes to her book shelf to pull our her favorites and either toddles back to me to read them to her, or she'll sit down and read to herself. It's so cute.
3. My favorite part of the nursery since the moment it was created in preparation for baby Liam is the reading corner and recliner chair (it's like the mac-daddy of all chairs as it swivels, reclines and rocks). This chair was the most pricey baby thing we bought, but it's proven to be the BEST thing ever. I've slept in that chair through two pregnancies, with sick babies, I've nursed in that chair, cuddled one and then two kids at a time, and have read countless books. {Similar chairs here, here and here}
4. A few other items that we've come to lean on in the nursery...
Bag Balm for all dry skin and diaper rash: It's the only thing that has ever worked on both my babe's little bums.
Humidifier is a must! Each kid has this same elephant one in their rooms since it always seems they need it at the same time. And really, we've probably use a humidifier in their rooms 1/3 of the year.
Mommy's Bliss Sweet Slumber Mist smells like lavender, and while I'm not sure it actually helps my littles sleep, I love the soothing effect it has and certainly helps the smell of the room!
Blankets and more blankets. One of the easiest ways we transformed this room from Liam's to Nora's nursery was adding in blankets for accents, and now as she's nearing the safe zone for sleeping with a blanket - we are so happy to have this super cute Happy Habitat Mini (cutest patterns and perfect size).
We actually upgraded our Sleep Sheep for a sound machine when Nora was born, but love how easy it is to bring the Sleep Sheep from room to room or traveling.
What are some of your must-have baby nursery things?
This post is in partnership with Munchkin via Collectively, Inc, but all my options are my own.
