Don't be a stranger. Seen an interesting new product you'd like to share with others? A great store that just opened in your neighborhood? Comments to share about the Nursery? Send us an email, we'd love to hear about it!
We're also on the lookout for nurseries to share, so if you're proud of your child's bedroom or playroom, let us know!
And please tag your Flickr albums with apartmenttherapynursery, so we can link to your photos.
I'd like to see more posts on storage/space management. I'm having a baby in nine weeks and I'm already overwhelmed by all of the gear we'll need.
Can someone tell me how to send pictures to Flickr? Our son's room came out wonderful (at least we think !) It is a toddler room... and then we are currently getting ready our future daughter's bedroom and we'd love to do a post.
We also have a problem bathroom that I'd like to post back on the main web site.
Thanks Tracy
I would actually like to see fewer consumer-driven entries. I feel like everything is all about stuff you gotta buy for your baby. I know you just started this up but if we bought everything on this site, there'd be no room for it all. I just think it's going against Maxwell's anti-clutter/small space ethos.
Rhetorical question: Do you really "need" all that gear?
But my baby is due in 11 weeks and maybe I'm just in denial....
Thanks for the comments, keep them coming!
And Tracy, I'd love to work with you on creating a Flickr page (or posting your photos for you). Can you shoot me an email at amara@apartmenttherapy.com, and we can work on it? Sounds like it would make a great nursery tour!
Amara
Amanda, good question. I've already been paring down the list. Example: hooded duckie towels are adorable, but I can dry the baby with the towels we already own. Also, a changing table seems like a complete waste of money when I can use a dresser and get storage as well as changing space.
But since this is my first baby, it's hard to say what's essential and what's overkill. I've been talking to other mothers but what I'm learning is that what's essential to one mom isn't to another. My husband has been really good at putting on the brakes--his brain isn't bathed in hormones so he isn't as sucked in by the cuteness.
That is an excellent question: What do you actually need for a new baby? I, too, was overwhelmed with recommendations for "stuff" before my son was born.
How about we post that as a Good Question for Monday, and see what other people think are the absolute pared-down new baby essentials?
I have a ten month old son, and although Amanda you claimed your question was rhetorical, I can vouch that you really don't need a lot of what the stores/magazines claim you do. My advice: start with the basics and aquire what you need when you need them. We didn't use a stroller until he was 5 months old, a crib until he was six months, and his change table is an old desk with a plastic change pad from Ikea. Until babies are mobile, they don't need a lot nor do they take up that much space.
And Tracey, you need a Flickr account which is free. Their site explains everything else.
Li, your comment that "what's essential to one mom isn't to another" is a good one. The thing is until you have your first chid you just don't know what is essential to you. I did not get things like a changing table, bottle and wipe warmers, water temp takers, pacifiers (I don't like them)and even held off on a crib until my son was 6 months old. We all lived. I did get an electric steam sterilizer for bottles. Others would consider this a waste but for me, it was much easier than dealing with boiling large pots of water on the stove. I was against the hooded towels too but received three or four of them as gifts and my 3 y.o still uses them and my second, due in 8 weeks will too. The key is that you live and learn. Don't buy all the gear before the baby is born. See how things go. My kid never liked lying flat on his back so the gymini was a waste of $ A friend's son hated bouncy seats. We exchanged items and it al worked out fine.
In terms of high end gear again, live and learn. I did not get the $700 stroller and am fine with that decision. But 2 years in I ended up purchasing the $200 stokke tripp trapp high chair which I wish I had done from the beginning. Just take it all slowly, ask around and know that most babies around the world survive with a lot less. And use this site for inspiration, ideas, places to shop etc. Not as a must-get list for your purchases. At least that is what I do.
Here is my basic list for expecting moms (full disclosure: I am an uber minimalist):
- crib
- changing pad
- bouncy seat
- baby carrier
Later on you will need a stroller and a high chair, and then a twin bed, and that's pretty much it. I agree that the only piece that is worth splurging on is the Stokke seat. It's one of the only high chairs that allow you to have your baby at the dining table from day one, and you will use it for years.
I guess some people who tend to be more minimalist may consider this excessive, but I don't know what I would have done without my glider/arm chair. It is so comfortable for nursing, feeding, rocking. I love it. And I agree...no need for changing table, hooded towels, etc. Also, I probably wouldn't have bought any clothes for the kid either since we got so much as presents that he wound up wearing some things only once or twice.
amanda, I totally agree with you. Lots of posts at the Nursery are not about working with what you have, but acquiring cutesy stuff that looks great but is essentially useless. The vast spaces designated solely for children's use often featured here run contrary to Apartment Therapy's multi-use, small-space focus. And while I appreciate that "modern baby" is hot right now, it's not the only design style out there.