When we learned that little H was on the way, we were obviously unprepared. I spent the first couple of months (not of my pregnancy, when I learned of my pregnancy, which was four months in - I KNOW!) in shock, unable to really do anything aside from be in constant shock and disbelief in spite of seeing his wiggly little body on the big screen. Eventually, I got my shit somewhat together and got to think about where the little stinker would reside when he arrived. We have two extra bedrooms, one just off the living room and one teeny, tiny, itsy bitsy room closer to ours. We decided to make the wee room for the wee one since it was closer and so that when he was wailing, we could still hang out in the living room. We're thoughtful like that.
With the decision of where the babe would sleep made, I then turned my focus on how the fuck we would make the room habitable for a tiny dude. Our nursery budget? $0. Seriously. As previously mentioned, I'm the breadwinner and I don't make much. So, in an attempt at being responsible for our offspring, I couldn't go balls out when it came to decorating as I normally would. This actually turned out ok, I think. See below:
We weren't going to paint the walls, that would've just put me over the edge, and I wasn't interested in a babyish theme that would dominate the small space, so instead, I opted for a mish-mash of bright colors that were at once playful and grown up, gender neutral and not matchy matchy. The little wooden hutch was in my room growing up and was in my closet in my parent's house until I hauled it across town to hold H's little collection of handmade toys and books. I'm all about home made stuff for the kiddo when I can. On the shelf, he's got soft blocks (thanks M5K!), a robot pillow, bear made from quilt pieces, wooden toys and then some books, some mushrooms and a pictures frame that remains blank until I get my ass in gear and professionally document the kid. Cost? $30 for the robot pillow and mushrooms, everything else was gifted and thrifted.
K's mom graciously offered to purchase the crib for us and suggested a convertible model that would carry H through the years. In an act surely induced by pregnancy insanity, I gave K the job of selecting the crib. Know what? I think he did a really good job. I registered for the Dwell Studio for Target rockets bedding set, which my grandmother purchased. I thought it was boyish without hitting you over the head. It came with a bumper and comforter, but those aren't safe for H yet. In the crib he's got a group of his very favorite things: sleep sheep, musical glowing seahorse, dinos and ugly doll. On the wall, I strung up a few things that were colorful and special to me in lieu of expensive prints. I included an ultrasound pic (this was creepy to me at first, but I ended up being really comforted but his little face in the images), pics of my mom and dad and me when I was a baby, the invite for my shower, my mantra, darling letter prints for K and me, a string of elephants given to me sometime (can't remember) and a tile that was given to me as a gift for an internship I did at Smith. The mobile is a flensted and the curtains are a work in progress.
The rocking chair was the same that my mom rocked my brother and me in. The beautiful elephant blanket given to use by some friends. The airplane lamp was K's when he was a kid. The nighstand is an old stool. The prints on the wall I picked up from Zulily for super cheap. The box fan is integral to H sleeping. The utility shelves were a last minute Wal-Mart purchase when I realized I was not driving my pregnant ass down to Ikea to get proper shelves and other storage. But, I think they work great to hold some cheapo basket from Ross that hold H's burp rags, diapers, nursing supplies and other necessities. We got the changing table from Craigslist one night for $25. I'd wanted a dresser from Ikea that he could grow with, but this was cheaper and I think we can remove the rails along the top and repaint when he gets older. Not pictures is the ottoman for the rocker, or rather, a wicker basket I found in our house that had a lid that I covered with a crocheted blanket given to us. Works just fine.
Like the other side of the wall, I used twine and clothespins to hand a few things to entertain H while on the changing table. Tiny clothing, sweet cards and pics of K with his dad (who passed away) and me with my mom (who has the same hairstyle today). This was really the only way to get art up on the walls that I could afford. Frames are expensive, yo!
Here's H during the photo shoot (you can see the ever present swing - it's seriously the best thing ever invented). He looks like a super chunk in this, but he's still actually kinda normal sized for going on four months. He's got some thighs and some arms, but they still fit through his clothes, so we're all good for now.
So, there you go. The entire nursery was probably thrown together for less than $200 over the course of five months. Not to bad with not much.
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