apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

People still using bumpers? I thought the SIDS police had come down against them...

I love the way the room looks, but please make sure you cut or tie up the cord for the blinds. When they start to pull themselves up, babies can get caught in them and choke.

Susan, I love your Jacadi mobile, they have the cutest decor. We lived with our daughter in our bedroom for 18 months and finally moved to a "two" bedroom this month, guess what, she's still in our room. I have not had time to design a bedroom space for her in her own room or in ours since we moved, but in the last place I started with one really minimal tasteful design with tons of organization and moved onto something more colorful as she grew because she needed more stimulation, there is a link to the final, somewhat chaotic end result (which is why we HAD to move) in my name; her stuff over took my home despite all attempt to stop it. Good luck with everything, it is quite a ride.

Mama mia: bumpers are alive and kicking, it's the comforters and blankets that are a problem with SIDS. There is some thought that re-breathing CO2 is a cause of SIDS, and therefore some people are afraid of using anything in a crib that cuts airflow, but for those people there is a mesh bumper, though there is no evidence that this helps. the major thing that is advised, even above not using blankets, is back sleeping, that has created a sea change.........

OY, sometimes commenters need a slap. She doesn't need your lame and scary advice about SIDS and shade cords. She posted a picture of her crib and talked about what we talk about here - APARTMENT LIVING! Bumpers are fine until they stand on them and the baby won't be pulling up for a long long time so either SHUT UP or admire the crib. yeesh. I love the crib and tbe bedding. Best of Luck!!!!

Julie:

I'm sure you've done your own research, but there is at least one SIDS organization that disagrees with you. They recommend parents avoid bumpers altogether.

http://sids.org/nprevent.htm

Susan, This is so lovely. The darkness of the wood against the white and the cool tone of your walls. The room is organized, beautiful and very welcoming. A lucky baby to wake up in such a space. Also, such an efficient and attractive use of all the space under the changing table; provides a place for all the material things a baby really needs for months and months. Best wishes to you and your little fellow.

Yes, bumpers are controversial. I may take them out. And the blind cords are behind the curtain and out of baby reach (certainly newborn reach) but will be tied up.

Nice layout, but you may have to move the baby in the summer when you are going to want to use that a/c.

And the crib won't be so close to the window/air-conditioner when I he starts sleeping in it and the cat won't be allowed to sleep with the baby...

In other words, I promise to do everything in my power not to hurt/kill my son!

(Can we move on?)

The nursery bedroom is beautiful, Susan! I love the green on the walls and the white both in the crib and your bed. I also love the painting over the changing table - it's perfect. Wishing you a speedy delivery and lots of wonderful moments with your little guy!

Congrats on your ankle biter and your crib. Take no notice of all the 'do as I say' nitwits. Enjoy your baby and your home.

Lovely crib. I'm glad you're planning on moving it after the baby comes. You'd be amazed how fast kids start pulling.chewing on things. Those nice, white curtains would be colored like bably slobber in no time. (Well, they will, anyway, but with the cirb away from them, you have at least six months before he gets mobile enough to befoul them.)

Good choice for rails. The smooth rails, like you have, provide six-month-olds little traction. :-) The Jenny Lind-style cribs are very popular, but turned spindles mean "ladder OUT" to more kids than you'd think.

Changing tables are a complete waste of money, but under-the-crib baskets are good for diaper supplies and toys, while a small dresser is great for storing all that bedding and the dozen plus onesies he'll go through every few days for the first four months or so. I prefer changing diapers on a towel on the floor (safe, cheap, convenient), but a changing pad can be placed on the dresser, too.

The room looks lovely.

For what it is worth, we always assumed we'd move out of our one-bedroom rental when our baby turned one, but have decided to stay put until she is three (or more). Yes, the space is tight, but we'd rather keep our costs low and be able to spend time with her while she is little. Raising a toddler in a one-bedroom is very do-able ;-)

Lovely! The colors in that room are soooo soothing and the dark wood of the crib works so beautifully in there! I agree that you might find some nice shallow baskets to slide beneath the crib for storing extra onesies, jammies, or baby supplies. The other option if you need more space is to perhaps free up a little square in the armoire for a container that can hold supplies. Congrats on the impending bundle of joy! ~Monica

I think you're doing it perfectly. I didn't have room for a changing table in my one bedroom, but having one with storage for diapers, cloths, etc would have been great. The crib skirt idea is great so that you can stuff extra baskets in there--wish I had though of that. If you find that you want the baby close to you for night feedings, we used a mini-cosleeper next to the bed until my daughter was 6 months old. It's great because it's petite and I think babies like the feeling of closeness and a small cozy space. Other than that, I think a one-bedroom is just fine for a long time and can add clever storage solutions of the baby things. Speaking of space solutions, there are a lot of really cool looking high chairs but we didn't have space so we bought a Fisher Price booster seat that fits onto a regular chair. It straps onto any chair, has a tray that goes in the dishwasher, travels to restuarants and in-laws, and my daughter is still using it today at the table (without tray) at 2 years old. Best 25 bucks I've spent.

Happy baby!

I love the wall color, too. :-)

>Speaking of space solutions, there are a lot of really cool looking high chairs but we didn't have space so we bought a Fisher Price booster seat that fits onto a regular chair. It straps onto any chair, has a tray that goes in the dishwasher, travels to restuarants and in-laws, and my daughter is still using it today at the table (without tray) at 2 years old. Best 25 bucks I've spent.

I think IKEA makes one that folds. Most are GINORMOUS now, though, so we went for the same solution you did. I ditched the tray as soon as DS was eating the same foods we were. He could be pulled up right to the table, and so he was really a part of the family and learned to eat politely and to converse politely from a very young age.

There are bonuses to this--it meant he never got the my-food-is-touching finickiness that kids get when they ARE served their own special foods that don't touch for several years and could be trusted to behave flawlessly at restaurants and to greatly enjoy both the food and company. At three, he even tagged along to a lunch with my editor and agent (because he had to--long story)--not something recommended with most children, but both they and the wait staff were stunned at how good he was with his your-welcomes and thank-yous and "may I have some more Coke, please?"s.

Doesn't this look like an elegant, simple, practical nursery for a 1 bedroom apartment which i assume what most of us have?

What a beautiful room. What is the green paint that you used? It's gorgeous.

i'm getting broody just looking at this.

so peaceful.

When i looking for kids bed - I found car-bed
"G – JUVENAL SPIDER RACECAR BED" :-) on
http://www.modernoonline.com . Cool furniture ?

When i looking for kids bed - I found car-bed
"G – JUVENAL SPIDER RACECAR BED" on
http://www.modernoonline.com . Cool furniture ?

Thanks for all the nice comments and helpful hints.

I'm also glad to hear that people are happily living with babies and toddlers in one-bedrooms. I think many of my choices were motivated by the fact that, if the room was going to be shared, I didn't want it to suddenly turn babyish. Instead, I wanted it to stay fairly adult-looking---at least for awhile, until as Colleen pointed out, the baby needs more stimulation in terms of color and gear. (I was also interested in keeping his stuff gender neutral, which was more difficult to do than I expected.)

As I said above, the crib will be pulled out away from the window when he arrives, probably more in line with the armoire.

The crib has storage underneath (hidden by the skirt). I can fit two under-the-bed soft plastic storage bags under there. I also have storage for blankets, crib sheets, clothes and toys in the (now two) baskets on top of my armoire. (I used these from Crate & Barrel--[url]http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1480&f=12844&viewall=1[/url] which are great.) I'm also lucky to have a number of good closets to store other gear. I'm worried about the baby stuff taking over eventually, but for right now things feel manageable.

I went back and forth on the changing table, b/c I tend to think of them in the same way Lydia does--a waste of money. I was leaning more towards a dresser with a pad on top. But, I guess I was (at least temporarily) convinced that it might be nice to have easy access to his clothes, diapers, etc. with the open shelves of this model. We'll see if that turns out to be true.

As for the paint color, I find it soothing too. It from Martha Stewart for Kmart and is called "Jasper". I painted the room about two years ago though, so I'm not sure if it's still available.

Susan,

We used my dresser with a changing pad on top when the little guy was in our room. The dresser was large enough for us to put changing supplies next to the changing pad and I gave up some of my drawers to fill with his clothes. When we moved him to his own room we did use a changing table. We bought a cheap one with open shelves which house some of his clothes but ended up putting a side table next to that because the diaper wipe container with a hinged lid was too tall for the shelves of the changing table when open! Did that make sense? We also store his diapers and some extras on the side table. In my opinion, a large dresser if you have one works great.

To dnd:
we had our crib next to the fireplace and never thought to move it when we lit a fire. I wish you were around to warn us against that because you can imagine it was not very good for the health of our baby let alone the finish on the crib.

Such a serene room with such a nice crib! Love the idea of storage underneath the crib - it'll be so nice in the middle of the night not to have to go rummaging around in a closet for supplies. Sometimes there are advantages to small spaces.

And for those who don't like the baby safety posts, no need to be so touchy. They were written in the spirit of good advice. Just ignore them if you don't like them. No need for shouting and telling them to shut up. 'Twould be a bad example for the kiddos (at least if this is how one acts in "real" life).

i think, though, that it's pretty safe to assume that these people do kind of know what they're doing and are not going to freeze their child in front of a running AC or let it strangle itself with cords. if we childless folk are aware of choking risks, SIDS, etc. you can bet the parents and parents-to-be are twice as aware.

i'd say the same of the weird tendency people have had to police SKGR's pregnancy of late. she's not a moron, she knows what kinds of things to avoid and that she needs to rest a lot. jeez.

Is there any other alternatives to a crib for a baby. Especially in the middle of the night after nursing the baby, the mother is too tired to get the baby out of the bed and into the crib.

any suggestions?

Very small space dweller: I had a crib but nursed my daughter in my bed at night, we used the "Sleep Nest by Baby's Delight" it was good, b ut until she about 6 weeks old i was so nervous having her in the bed that i ended up putting the sleep nest in the crib, which she seemed to really like. my sister, who lives in a big house never=the-less used a co-sleeper called Arm's Reach co-sleeper which is a small low crib that attaches to the bed (it can stand alone also) and she was able to use this until my neice was about 4 months old. co-sleeping is always an option (baby in your bed) if you're not to nervous abput it, it is safe, but sometimes it's hard to wrap your brain around it.

Dear very small space dweller -

we used a bassinet on wheels that pulled up to our bed. It had been my husband's father's, and so was quite old -- it is made out of twisted paper, like Lloyd Loom furniture. (and before the comments start, we had it professionally stripped and refinished to ensure there would be no paint flakes with lead drifting down on our child -- and the replacement paint was no VOC).

However, after the baby is able to sit up, this is no longer an option.

Another option is the stokke crib, which starts out as a small bassinet, and then expands to become a crib and then a toddler bed. Quite well designed.

opop, people are weird that way about babies. it's funny, huh? I have 4 friends who all had babies in the same 3 months and strangers would come up and lecture them or touch their bellies, etc. I was out snowshoeing with one of the couples when their daughter was 7 months old and we got cornered by this lady who was sure the munchkin was going to get frostbite because a patch of her leg was exposed to the air. 1., this kid kept kicking off the blankets she was wrapped in because mum and dad were giving off so much heat while we hiked, and 2.our group was composed of one physician, one immunologist and 2 neuroscientists... there was no need for lectures on the cold air. We were all observant and thoughtful people. Something about babies makes people think they can be presumptuous and bossy.

I have a more AT related question I'm sort of surprised hasn't been brought up... what happens if parents want to work on baby #2 in a situation like this? How does that work? Or am I being way too inquisitive?

regards,
trillium

>Is there any other alternatives to a crib for a baby. Especially in the middle of the night after nursing the baby, the mother is too tired to get the baby out of the bed and into the crib.

Yeah. Don't put her back in the crib.

If you aren't obese (the fat rolls of obese mothers can smother a baby) and if you don't smoke and haven't drunk any alcohol, it is actually safer to cosleep than to not. Researchers THINK it's probably because a mother unconciously monitors her baby's breathing in her sleep, and if there's a slight lag, she jostles the baby automatically to get it to start again.

In any case, it kept us sane. My DS slept in hospital bassinet for a total of 15 minutes before waking up and going, "Hey!!!! I'm used to warm and cosy!!!! This isn't warm and cosy, I'll have you know!!!!" For the next several months, he screamed without stopping if he was set down. Slings worked. Car rides were miserable. Strollers were impossible until he was more than a year old. When I was shopping, I had to keep on hand on him at all times or he would flip out. I weaned him out of our bed, and he was sleeping happily in his crib at six months--through the night, without waking to call us. I wrote half a book balancing him on my knees and jiggling him in the first months. Going to the bathroom was an act of great betrayal.

But he grew up into an extraordinarily independent toddler. I guess since Mom or Dad were always there when he needed them, he didn't need them all that much by that age!

Susan... well done... can I ask the make/model of your changing table, where you bought it? thank you!

We're doing a 900 square foot, 1.5 bedroom apartment with a baby who is now 9 months old, and we're planning on staying put for at least another year if not more. Her crib is currently in our bedroom. She started out sleeping in a Pack & Play with a bassinet and I thought she would transition to using it as her bed, but there no consensus about whether or not that's safe, and the manufacturer recommends against it. So I started the hunt for a crib that wasn't the size of a Cadillac. It took me FOREVER to figure out what the industry terminology for small crib is. Turns out, you have to look for "portable crib" or "mini crib" to hunt one down. We ended up with a Delta Luv brand crib that's actually smaller than the Pack & Play (Height 41.5", Length 39", Width 25") though plenty roomy for her. (She now sleeps with her head stuck up against the side of it no matter how much room she has anyway.) Here's a picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/poundstone/202579319/in/photostream/
(By the way, the flowers on the wall are cut from origami paper - a project from the last issue of Martha Stewart Kids magazine, and a heckuva lot cheaper than the fancypants wall decals. Although I do love the fancypants wall decals...) I thought it might be tough to find sheets for this size, but it's not: there are plenty of portable crib sheets available, and Pack & Play bedding works perfectly well too. The crib came with a mattress, but it was a bit flimsy, so I did upgrade, purchasing a $20 Serta? Sealy? foam mattress (recommended by the book Baby Bargains, which if you haven't taken a look, it's most definitely worth the time - basically a Consumer Reports for baby stuff.) Whew - long comment. Hope that's helpful to someone out there...

Susan...it's lovely.

For what it's worth my husband and our two and a half year old are in a 750 sq foot apartment. We know a handfull of other couples living in one bedrooms in Manhattan with toddlers. As they get older the toys and stuffed animals can be slightly problematic (we've just used shelves for the stuffed animals and have turned a section of the living room over to out daughter for her toys, table, etc.)

The other problem is when you and your husband want some time alone in that one bedroom without your child. Our solution and a friend's solution as well is to wait until the little one goes to sleep, set up the port a crib in the living room, and then tranfer him/her there for a bit. It's not romantic or spontaneous, but unfortunately very little is after you have a child!

Best wishes for an easy labor and delivery and a very healthy baby.

May

Susan, I loved the nursery the first time you posted it, but the pics are more fun now that your little one is here! What a cute little dude!!
~Monica

I looked at the photos of your little munchkin and wondering where did you find all of those cute clothes? Seriously, I've never seen such cute outfits!

-Rachael