Rachel's Nursery

I have been wanting to show off Rachel's nursery because I think it is just so cute. I also spent a good amount of time painting her room and am very proud of the way it turned out. I am not a decorator by any means, so I had to turn to some friends and family for their help. It is not completely done because I couldn't do some of the gender specific stuff beforehand. I also plan on putting up some pictures on the wall and her name. I have the letters painted, but they are not quite done. I must confess that my friend Katie has somewhat turned me into a garage sale/Craigslist person. All of the furniture except the glider is used. However, I am very proud of what I paid for the items, so I will tell you about each one.

I love walking in to see this.

Matt's parents bought us the glider. It is by Shermag and is very comfortable. I like to read her books in it. As you can see, there is a little nightstand next to the glider filled with mostly books I got at garage sales that are in nice shape.
This is an up close look at the pattern in her bedding. It is from JC Penney and is called Paisley Spalsh. I loved it because of the colors and versatility. The bedding has paisley, stripes, polka dots, and gingham. So, basically I can put any type of pattern in her room and it will still match. Great for someone who is not good at coordinating.

The lamp was purchased at a garage sale for $3 and the pink ribbon will be replaced by some kind of ribbon with the aqua blue in it.

It took me forever to find a dresser and I almost ended up buying a new one. I just was having trouble paying so much that offered little space. I finally found this one on Craig's list. It is an old piece that is heavy and sturdy. It came with the nightstand for $90. My Dad painted both white (thank you). He knew if he didn't then I would. I was not good about staying away from paints and such during pregnancy.
The changing table is by far the best deal in her room. It is from Pottery
Barn retailing for about $300 and I got it for $35 at the Fish Hawk garage sale. It is of great quality and also really sturdy. It got the bins when they were on sale at Babies R Us. I like the bins better than drawers. They really hold a lot of stuff and won't scratch up the table since they are canvas versus the wicker baskets. Another side note, I really am happy with my Diaper Champ. I read a lot of reviews before registering for this brand and am very happy with it. No smells until you open it to change the bag, but as soon as you close it, they are contained. I also like how you can use any kind of bag.
The dresser knobs that came with the dresser were old and ugly. My friend Katie and I were searching on Ebay for knobs and saw some really similar ones for $5 each. I was not willing to spend $40 plus on knobs, so we stole the idea and made our own. Katie is a master at being thrifty and can replicate expensive stuff well. Thanks for all your help. We also just made knob for the closet as well.
The closet got new doors (there weren't any on before) and shelving inside. (Thanks Matt). The stripes took awhile to come up with and then to decide on the color. But what took the longest was taping every single stripe, probably about 2-3 hours. Katie and I got better at them being straight as we progressed in the room, but you can't really tell some are crooked because of the furniture. Matt put up the chair rail for me and nice new baseboards. They are the taller ones, which were his idea and a great extra touch. You can see them in other pictures.

The crib was another great steal found on Craig's list. It turned out this person lives on our street and I actually knew her from youth group. I got it for $150 plus a really nice Sealy matress too. It is in great shape with just a few scratch marks.

I had just finished reading my Babywise book, which I loved, and they recommend getting your child used to their playpen for independent play time and sleeping. So, I decided she needed to start spending some time in her awesome pack n play. It is made by Combi and I really like it. It seems spacious so she will have room to play in as she gets bigger. She will start taking one nap a day in here because in a few months, this will be her crib for a week when we travel to St. Louis.

She went to sleep right away as if it were her own crib and she looks so at peace!

Another personal opinion as a new mom on Babywise. I absolutely love it. She has been on a three hour schedule since she was born. I didn't completely start implementing the eat/play/sleep cycle until she was about 1.5 weeks old. I really try to make sure she is awake after each feeding except her nighttime one. The goal is to wake her to eat during the day, but at night, let them wake on their own. She has very steadily gone longer and longer periods of time at night. For the last 5 nights straight, she has gone between 7.5 and 8.5 hours between feedings. That is awesome news for me and I am so proud of her! I am still getting up around 3:30 to pump, but that is faster than feeding her and putting her back to sleep. I would like our day to start at 7 am, but sometimes she wakes at 6:30 hungry and I feed her. I then adjust the rest of her schedule so that we get back on track. I have a bedtime routine with her that I use for naps and bedtime. I swaddle her and then hold her in the upright position over my shoulder. I don't do anything to her but hold her. No talking, patting, rocking, nothing. She cries for about 2 minutes and then calms down and goes limp. When she is calm and awake, I put her in her crib. She doesn't cry much anymore and if she does, it is only for a minute. She really is a good baby when it comes to sleeping! I love the flexibility, structure, and predictability with the Babywise way of thinking!