Layla Grace is a lovely online store with really expensive, really beautiful things.
They are holding a contest for the best nursery design.
I designed a nursery for a boy, it’s a very mature nursery that can easily convert to a little boys room or even a teens room! It’s a mix of modern, traditional and rustic. Based in neutrals with touches of blues and greens.
Please click on the image to go the actual contest page and vote for me, maybe I’ll win something!
or click here
Thanks! I’ll let you know if I win!
I read or heard somewhere along the way that babies “need” something to gaze at in order to calm themselves to go to sleep. Preferably on their right side. really? This must be why mobiles over cribs are so popular.
Babies spend a lot of time staring at the ceiling, while they are lying on the floor, being held in your arms or lying in their cribs, they are forced to look up. How often do you look up? Check it out. Pretty boring right? There are some really cute painted ceiling ideas on Pinterest,
but we have popcorn ceilings, so painting the ceiling in a lovely fun pattern was not an option. I wanted to have a few different elements hanging from the ceiling for my babies to look at and discover. The first hanging object I put in their room was their pretty bushed silver chandelier.
They like it, they would stare at it, especially when the lights were on. The second hanging object is the lamp over the couch in their room.
It started out with a red light bulb, which according to my husband is the easiest color on the eyes.
I believe this except for the fact that red is the only color that babies can see therefore are incredibly attracted to it. They would stare at it with eyes wide open. They especially liked it if they could see the actual bulb and the bright filament in the center of it. They never blinked, not once while looking at that red light. Recently I switched it to a regular white bulb and spruced it up by adding some of the left over white eyelet fabric that thier crib skirts are made from.
Next was the cute barn yard animal mobile I bought from gilt for over the changing table.
I had this grand plan for a DIY mobile that I invented in my head after being inspired by Nate Burkus and a mobile I found on a nursery design blog.
I started the project when I was in my second trimester. Then the carpal tunnel set in and there was no way any mobile was getting made any time soon. So I found this cute musical mobile that matched their room well enough for now.
It played a sweet little lullaby for about 90 seconds. It was pretty much useless as far as the musical element was concerned but it looked cute and I think the girls enjoyed gazing at it. I would give it a twirl before I left the room, otherwise it hung perfectly still. Eventually I found the time and the energy to complete my DIY mobile project and I created the rest of the yarn orbs needed.
Here’s how I did it.
I hung them using thread over the changing table, but they didn’t move at all and I really hated it.
I wanted an actual mobile that turned over their cribs. So down came the yarn orb solar system and up when the barn yard animals.
The musical mobile is back in it’s box in storage waiting for it’s yard sale debut. It took me several tries to get the balance right to make the mobile actual work.
Although it’s small I like how it looks and I think it’s really an interesting thing for the girls to look at. I hope to one day make another one just like it and connect both of them to a longer hanging stick (my brilliant husbands idea) but these things will all get done in time. I promise I’ll update you when they do.
Do you have a DIY home decor that you are proud of? Share a picture of it in the comments!
First bit-I have learned the hard way over the past two and a half months that pulling out the ruffle is an important step in diaper changing, it the last line of defense for poop from the outside world. I think even more important when you have twins, because while it’s fun to change babies clothing to a different outfit mid-day, every wardrobe change takes time, and time is something no parent of multiples can take for granted. So next time you are lending a hand with a diaper change be sure to take that final step and pull out the ruffle. Talia is our model for this twin tip.
Third bit-I finally got a throw pillow for the loveseat in the nursery.
I have had a hardtime finding pillows in just the right colors and style for the nursery. I found this one from fongstudio on etsy. When I ordered it I didn’t pay attention to the fact that it would be coming from Malaysia, and since I have an amazon prime membership, which gets me free two day shipping on most things from amazon (thrifty alert!) that I get for free because I signed up for amazon mom and get diapers delivered regularly using subscribe and save, I am not use to orders talking more than a week to arrive. So when it was taking longer than I expected it to I contacted etsy to see what was going on. I quickly got a response from the seller that the package is on its way in the stated amount of time, but unfortunately she gets some sort of demerit from etsy for a bad report. I wrote her back to apologize but I’m not sure it helps her shop. So if you are in the market for a pillow or need a unique gift for someone please visit her shop and support her. It won’t be here this year according to her shop policies, but maybe you know someone with a February birthday or someone in chi omega sorority, or just an owl lover?! Happy shopping.
Fourth bit- I made brownies.
Today Talia and Jordan are six weeks old! A month and a half already?! They are growing up so fast and we are having such a great time getting to know each other. I wanted to take a picture of the girls in the same setting each month so that we can really see how much they are changing and growing, but it has taken me six weeks to choose the setting for that photo, so here it is…
Decorating the nursery began way before there was ever a baby (or two) to even consider. I started searching the web for pictures of nursery inspiration. I would visit oh de la, pinterest, and kensipoo regularly to see what was new. I found ultra modern rooms, vintage modern rooms and eclectic vintage rooms all that I loved.
I imagined something like this would be great for a boy,
A fan in the corner to circulate the air, a frog from the shelf became a door stop, the fox toy bin is now a laundry basket, an industrial size hand sanitizer, and a closet filled with sets! An extra large nursing pillow and a boppy for late night solo feedings, these are the not so decorative, but very necessary things in a living, breathing, pooping, burping, fussing, don’t want to go to sleep at night nursery, and we still love how it’s coming along.
For the first two weeks after we came home from the hospital we were fortunate enough to have enjoyed the gift of a baby nurse from our parents. Pachelle arrived the evening we came home from the hospital and Sunday she left us.
I knew all along how helpful it was to have a baby nurse help out during those firsts few weeks from watching friends and family members bring home a baby or two, but not at the same time. But I never could have imagined how helpful she actually was. Pachelle tought us how to care for our newborns in a classic easy way that works with our life. She was a voice of reason and reality, and of hope, that we CAN do this. “Twins aren’t easy.” she would tell us, but there are two of us and I am lucky to have a husband who is so hands on with them, this I knew would be the case, it’s one of the reasons I married him. Pachelle may not have written any books on how to take care babies, although she is working on one about relationships, or have a medical degree in nursing, but she has 24 years of experience in taking care of twins, the first set were her own.
Pachelle was such a pleasure to have in our home, she brought a sense of calm to what could have been a very chaotic start to our new life. She set up and organized our new baby home and kept it organized while she was here, she would neaten up each room as we moved from one to the next with the babies. Pachelle had a way of making everything she touched beautiful. Like the way she tucked in the girls thier first night home.
And now the two weeks are over, she has gone to another family to help them welcome thier new baby. It’s just the five of us now, Safta is here to stay for some time, more on her later.
I just wanted to say, Thank you Pachelle, from my husband, our girls and myself, for teaching us all that you did.
FYI-the girls no longer share a crib, that didn't even last a week. They can cry at the top of their lungs and not wake each other, but a soon as the move and feel each other it's a party in the crib, so separate cribs it is. Talia on he left, Jordan on the right, for now at least.
Yesterday was the girls 3 week birthday! 3 weeks already, I can’t believe how fast the weeks go. So when do they start sleeping through the night? Just kidding. I actually really enjoy my time with them in the middle of the night. I may take two hours but it’s only for a short time in our lives so I am just savoring every moment.
To celebrate three weeks and the beauty of fall the girls got dressed up in really beautiful baby Zara dresses that Safta brought from home. We took pics in the crib, in the nursery and outside with Safta.