I never had the chance to hold a newborn in my arms. Actually, you can count on one hand the number of times that I was in contact with a baby. I must say that this freaks me out but I know that with my husband by my side, I will figure it out...and because our doula will also be doing a few postnatal visits! Because of our obvious lack of experience, working on the nursery was (is still) a challenge. It is not the first time that I write this but we are also a bit cheap! Well, not cheap in a negative way. Cheap in a "do we really need this?", "can I get it second hand?", "is there a better alternative to this expensive item?". According to this book, average American parents spend almost $7000 gearing up while expecting their first baby. So much cash!
Anyway, if I have enough energy and courage this weekend, we should pretty much finish Alice's "economical" nursery. Leaving me the joy to do a few crafts (burp clothes, pacifier holders, etc.) when my maternity leave will start next week.
So, I wanted to ask you, do you have any favorite nursery or baby craft related projects? I just finished the elephant pillow...total cost : $5 !!!
10 comments:
$7000?!?! holy cow that's a lot!
I'm just like you... I've never held a newborn, or a baby under at least a year old. I know my husband has so I'm in good hands, too.
It looks great, especially the pillow!
This room, our guest room for now, is going to be converted in a nursery if everything goes according to plan. We had this in mind when we did the walls. The crafts remain to be imagined and done, I will be so pleased to get to it in a couple of months.
That pillow and dresser are amazing! Love the kitty photo, he DOES look just like our kitty, Oranges.
What about some baby shoes? I have been looking into them for a friend of mine. You could totally make them from an old sweatshirt or sweater. Here are some patterns I saw that looked pretty sweet!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetpeapattern
I had been around plenty of babies, but there's nothing like the round the clock newborn care when you become a parent. My husband had never been around babies and he took to it pretty naturally - there's an instinct to protect them, I think.
I like your red dresser. Babies really don't require a whole lot of stuff! Most of that $7000 is probably because of tricky marketing.
Hi! I have made a bunch of projects from this webpage
http://www.prudentbaby.com/search/label/Sewing
there are lots of projects, but the baby ones are what I found to be the most useful! *_*
What a cute elephant pillow!
Don't worry - I had only ever held one baby before and my two did ok...
And cheap is good - most of the nursery stuff is only useful for about 6 months anyway. I cringe when I see how much people have spent on that stuff.
what exactly are these parent's buying with $7000?! that's insane! our biggest expense was our crib. everything (crib, mattress, bedding) came in at around $700. we've probably spent another $300 on accessories, decor, and clothes, but we're all done. i thought that was A LOT. maybe we're spending less because the nursery is in our bedroom?
anyway, i made some fabric frames to hang above the crib. it was a "cheap" way to add some baby art. i bought 5 stretched canvas frames from amazon and 5 different fabrics from wonderfluff and the whole project cost me around $60. plus, i have extra fabric to make pillows if i want. i thought that was pretty good for 5 pieces of one of a kind art. here's wonderfluff's website...
http://www.etsy.com/shop/WonderFluffShop
i like that the fabrics aren't so "baby", so the frames can be used for many years.
This is not quite a response to your question but two things you must get are the Ergo baby carrier (originally made in Hawaii until the founder sold her company in 2010), and the Moby. Wearing your baby helps sooth the child. The Ergo can be used up into toddlerhood so it's totally worth it. Take care!
I'm in love with that rocking chair..does it have any identifying marks (brand/style) so that I can troll the internet looking for my own version?
Fantastic!
We're trying to have an economical nursery too. We're using second hand furniture but painting it all white so it matches and I'm making as much of the bedding as I can. I LOVE the elephant pillow- I have some green gingham at home so guess what it's about to become?!
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