How soon did you set up the nursery?

[amo4piano]

I am 12 weeks and DH and I are tight on space and money! We want to start getting the nursery together piece by piece (first sell the stuff that's currently in there, then paint, then look for used furniture, etc.) so we don't have to worry about it later when I am big and not very helpful.

Are we jumping the gun? How soon did you all get the nursery ready and start buying furniture for it?

[Adaline'sMama]

1-2-3 GO! You have just entered the second trimester, where it is the golden time of energy like no other. Get it done before you hit the third trimester where (if you are anything like me) you will be uncomfortable, tired, and just ready for baby to come out!

[1love4ever]

We dont have much of a nursery.  The only thing I would really worry about getting is a dresser that you can put a changing pad on top of.  Other than that baby should be sleeping with you anyway, so I would look more for nice garage sale clothes, blankets, changing pad, toys, books, baby carriers such as a Moby, sling, etc(make sure baby will be supported in a sitting position, dont get one that hangs them by the crotch), and maybe a Bumbo, etc instead of worrying about all the expensive furniture and stuff.  You will not be putting your baby down much so I would not buy swings, pack N Plays, bouncers, etc, I think they are pointless and never used mine with my first baby and regretted spending the money.

Also, the third trimester is when I would be doing most of the setting up anyway.  this is when my huge burst of energy comes and you start "nesting" and really being into the baby.  You can see clear evidence that you are pregnant, and you have those almost constant movements making you want to get everything ready for babies arrival.

Also make sure you use VOC-free paint if you paint the nursery.

[RosieL]

14 weeks here and thinking of trying to convince DH to move everything out and start painting now. We have to remove wallpaper (kid room conversion is an awesome excuse to re-do a room that sorely needs it!). I want to be able to pain before it gets too cold to keep the windows in the house open. 

[birdhappy85]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adaline'sMama 

1-2-3 GO! You have just entered the second trimester, where it is the golden time of energy like no other. Get it done before you hit the third trimester where (if you are anything like me) you will be uncomfortable, tired, and just ready for baby to come out!

I agree with this post! Try to get a lot done in your 2nd trimester. Your 3rd trimester might come and knock you off your feet with discomfort and lack of sleep/energy, and then you might be overwhelmed with getting things together last minute. But with that said, you're only 12 weeks along and you have plenty of time. I put things together gradually and really didn't start until late in my 2nd trimester. Like you, we have been tight on money, so I made progress with the nursery whenever I found deals. I bought some used items on Craigslist and new items from stores only during sales or w/ coupons. Luckily my sister gave us her son's crib and changing table he no longer needed. My mom gave us a glider rocking chair they didn't use anymore, as well as an old cradle we used as babies ourselves. I bought a few years worth of baby clothes at a rummage sale, in great condition, for only $120! I only purchased cloth diapers when I found deep discounts and saved over $200 on my stash. Everything else we just added as we went along. We didn't buy a dresser because they all seemed so expensive, although I still might look at Goodwill one of these days. Instead, I bought these really cute waffle weave fabric basket/bins by Badger Basket from Target. They come in 4 different pastel colors, so I got one of each and they fit perfectly on the shelves of the changing table! I'm in love with them and might buy more. I'm storing our cloth diapers and clothes in there, as well as in the small closet. We also got a hanging pocket organizer to hang on the closet door where we can store more items, and I bought a giant tupperware container that can store older age clothes under the crib until baby grows into them. After my baby shower last weekend, I used a 20% off discount to Target and gift cards to buy last minute odds and ends and an area rug that should arrive tomorrow. All of this has been done over a 10+ week period. Gradual and pennywise is the way to go! We have spent less than $750 on everything, and the majority of that was on cloth diapers. Actual nursery furniture has cost us less than $100 with the help of freebies from family. Everything can be done very cost-effectively!

I have one really big suggestion, though! I would paint the nursery as soon as you can. That's really the most time sensitive issue in my mind. Everything else is fun to gradually piece together. We waited until I was 28 weeks along and there's no way I could've painted past that point. It was so much work. But more importantly, we used zero-VOC paint (Harmony from Sherwin Williams) but it still gives off some fumes - as I imagine any paint would - so you want to have enough time to air out the nursery before the baby comes along. I've left the windows open in our nursery for over a month now and the smell still bugs me a little. I just placed an air purifier in there to move things along and I think it's helping now.

Good luck and have fun!

[vivica2]

adalines mommy- i love your response! haha and i agree. :)

[McGucks]

Forum crashing.  We only have two bedrooms, so we never had a nursery (DH1, who is 16, has the attic bedroom).  Our "master" bedroom is small (11x11), and DS2 is in with us.  We tried a crib at the beginning, but quickly abandoned it for co-sleeping.

Many parents find that the nursery turns into the storage room if the baby ends up in the bedroom with the parent/s.  Other people decorate lovely nurseries and use them.  All I'm trying to say is that people do it all different ways and none is better or right.

[1love4ever]

Originally Posted by caedenmomma 

We tried a crib at the beginning, but quickly abandoned it for co-sleeping.

Many parents find that the nursery turns into the storage room if the baby ends up in the bedroom with the parent/s.  All I'm trying to say is that people do it all different ways and none is better or right.

This is exactly what happened in our case!  Nursery was so cute, now its just storage and a changing table/dresser.  We started with a crib for a few weeks but never used it.  DD does sleep in it for naps tho, now that she only naps once a day, but we didnt hardly use it at all til almost a year old!
 

[Sweet.Bee]

Our son slept with us for the first few months, so the crib didn't get much use. He eventually started sleeping there at night, then napping there during the day. I still found a separate room for him to be useful for all his clothes, his changing table, etc. Also, we rolled out a very large, soft carpet in there (we have wooden floors, and babies need some cushioning), and then he had a lot of space for tummy time, rolling, and learning to crawl before he actually started playing with toys.

This time around, we've skipped buying a crib for now (will get her one sometime later) and instead ordered a side bed attachment for our bed. Our son comes to us in the early morning, so we need a safe place for baby to sleep close to us without being crushed by a wild toddler. Baby will still have her own room. The changing table, closet, and cubby shelves are already set up; we still need to find another large carpet, curtains, a ceiling lamp.

I will be 27 weeks on Sunday, and we just started on the nursery last weekend. Earlier in the 2nd trimester, I changed our 2-year-old's room around (moved changing table and extra closet out to baby's room, moved a lot of toy shelves in).

I agree that energy is higher in the 2nd trimester. I'm approaching 3rd tri and getting tired again. Though we were procrastinators last pregnancy and didn't have our son's room set up until a month before he was born (we had also just moved), so it's still possible to get things done later.