Second Time Around: Feathering the Nest

Let’s start this post with a few disclaimers. I am not an interior decorator. Our house will never be featured in Architectural Digest. I don’t even have a bed frame after five years of marriage! That aside, I’m here to talk about nurseries, and “designing” them, particularly for the oft-shafted second baby.

I get oddly compulsive about this project in the first trimester. I feel the need to pick a theme and color scheme for each potential sex of baby, look at ALL THE FABRICS EVER, and, as soon as we know what varietal of baby we’re having, start the sewing and buying and whatnot. It’s a form of escapism in the hell that first trimester can be. And as a two-time miscarriage survivor, I like to focus on being as hopeful as possible.

“But Brie,” you say. “Babies don’t NEED a nursery. They’ll just sleep in your room for the first few months anyway. And babies don’t care what their room looks like!”

To that, my response is: Well, yes. But if my mama taught me one thing about having two kids (especially of the same sex), it’s that you fight like hell to treat them with fierce equality. At 30 years old, I’m still not sure if she likes me or my sister better (Kidding! I know it’s equal. Right, mom?) And while there are things that unintentionally get slacked on for the second kid, THIS one I can control. My first kid got a lovely nursery that made me happy to sit in. Our second will have the same.

The beginning of the whole process is always overwhelming. There are a million ideas floating around on the internet, and it’s easy to pin everything to a Pinterest board and get overwhelmed all over again. So, my first tip: think before you pin. Click on the pin. Are you REALLY willing to pay $1,000 for that gorgeous egg-shaped crib? Does the space you’re working with have room for a Montessori-inspired infant play gym? No? Then put that dream to bed now and move on.

(For the record, I fully encourage splurges, but for me, the splurge was the $75 mobile and not something that will require a payment plan.)

Step two: pick a theme, colors, and fabric. Easier said than done, of course, but these are the backbone of your nursery and I find that the smaller stuff falls into place around them. When you’re dealing with the second kid, particularly, think about what you’ll be reusing (for us, a white crib and a gray glider) and make sure that fits first.

Re: choosing fabric. You can also make your life easier and just pick pre-made fabric stuff, like curtains and whatnot. I, however, am marginally crafty and can sew things that are rectangular or square on my $89 sewing machine, so I ended up making curtains, pillow covers and a crib skirt on the cheap.

With my first son, we went with a children’s book theme, an aqua/red/gray color scheme and a line of fabric called Celebration Remix.

picstitch

(Crib bumpers were for decoration only and were removed before a baby actually slept in said crib.)

With the second, we’re going with an umbrellas and rain theme, a navy/kelly green/mustard yellow color scheme, and a mishmash of fabrics mostly from the Michael Miller Bekko line.

picstitch (1)

(Raindrop fabric from Etsy, green/white fabric from the remnant bin at JoAnn Fabrics, yellow nightstand from Target)

Generally, I try to avoid things that are entirely babyish, and will grow with the kid a bit (or can easily be altered to do so, like putting different prints in the frames).

Once you have the basics chosen and in place, it’s time to figure out the little details. This is another place where Pinterest comes in handy – I pinned all sorts of decor pieces I thought would be cute and finally, when I was pulling out my hair, I picked some and bought them. I have weird commitment issues with buying art of any kind, which is only exacerbated by knowing I’ll spend six million hours in the middle of the night staring at whatever is on the wall in the nursery. But, hopefully, you’re less crazy than I am.

picstitch (2)

(In Omnia Paratus print from Etsy, raindrop mobile from Etsy, Here Comes the Sun print from Etsy, lamp from Ikea)

I feel like people always want a timeline on this, and my third piece of advice is don’t procrastinate. There is a perfect sweet spot for doing the hard work in the nursery, like painting or assembling an entire Ikea Hemnes dresser by yourself because you need to prove to your husband that you can, and that is the second trimester. First trimester is for planning. Second trimester is for Getting Stuff Done. Third trimester is for bribing your toddler to put your socks on for you because you can’t reach your own feet. I’m 32 weeks now, and the nursery is mostly done aside from a small Target bookcase I’m waiting for a good sale on to buy.

The final piece of advice I have? None of this is mandatory, babies don’t have any décor requirements beyond a safe place to sleep, so if this isn’t your thing, don’t stress. Have fun with it, make it your own, and before the baby comes, spend an evening in the glider reading sappy children’s books and bawling your eyes out thinking about the cool little kid that will come to inhabit the space before you know it.

Brieanne Hilton
Brie Hilton lives in the Northland is a stay-at-home mom with multiple side hustles in the Northland. Her oldest son, Charlie, is 7 and has his own pet-sitting business and outsmarts his parents at least three times a week. Her youngest, Patrick, is 5 and has cerebral palsy and autism, so she considers herself an expert on navigating the special needs life on way too little sleep. In her spare time (ha), Brie teaches group fitness classes, has a boutique in her basement, naps too much, and actively ignores the piles of laundry on the floor.