NURSERY: Ways to Support your Child to Settle in Quickly

Sending your little one off to nursery or any form of childcare can be a really scary and big step for parents, especially as it usually coincides with returning to work after maternity leave. Leaving your baby in someone else's care can be hard, but once you've found a nursery that you're happy with it can bring some level of reassurance. When we looked around at nurseries for Isabella we settled on two we liked in our local area and made enquires about her starting at both. Once we had access to all the relevant information (fees, holidays, policies, menus and structure of the day) we were then able to make a decision on which was best for us. We did in fact originally really want Isabella to go to a nursery a few villages away, but they didn't have the right days available so she ended up at a different nursery. It ended up being a blessing in disguise because she absolutely loves her nursery now, as do we. 

NURSERY: Choosing the perfect Blind with Order Blinds

Creating the right environment in your baby's nursery is so important and such an exciting part of preparing for your new arrival. As Poppy is our second child she will be moving into Isabella's old nursery when she is old enough, but there were some key changes I wanted to make before the that happened. As I've discussed a lot on my blog, Isabella wasn't a very good sleeper and didn't sleep through until she was 14 months old. Looking back I think some aspects of her bedroom didn't help, such as the squeaky wooden floorboards (making that Mission Impossible style exit even trickier) and the level of light. 

DIY PROJECT: Felt Cloud and Star Bunting Tutorial

As maternity leave started and the time came to set up the Babybay Bedside Cot I began to think about how to make the area next to my bed a bit prettier. As the Babybay is a co-sleeper it replaced my bedside table and all the little ornaments I had on there. I wanted to make the area a bit more baby focused and popped onto Pinterest for inspiration (check out my Nursery Inspiration board for lots of ideas). Something that I kept being drawn to were the endless photos of felt bunting hanging behind cots, under shelves etc. Such a simple idea, yet so effective. Instead of buying one, though there are so many beautiful ones out there, I decided to have a go at making one.

NURSERY: What to pack

 

Prior to Isabella's first session at nursery I wanted to ensure we had everything she'd need for her days there, plus some extra comforts. Going to nursery is such a big step for both parents and children, so anyway I could make it easier for Isabella I was going to do it. I didn't want to spend much money on the items I was sending Isabella into nursery with - I've heard enough stories about things get ruined/lost that I knew nursery wasn't the place for her 'best' outfits. 

NURSERY: The First Week of Settling In Sessions

This week I did something I had worried about, lost sleep over and just generally been dreading...Isabella's first settling in session at nursery. As I have now returned to work part time it was inevitable that she would be going to nursery, but the idea of leaving her with someone who doesn't know her very well scared me. I obviously know her so well, all of her quirks/habits/likes/dislikes/routine etc, so the idea of not being part of that everyday was horrible. The week before her first session I labelled everything, packed her bag and constantly spoke to her about making new friends at nursery (mainly to reassure myself than her!)

NURSERY: New Grey and White Star Additions

Grey and white stars is the theme we have in Isabella's nursery, it's not overwhelming but a few key pieces here and there. We went for a subtle grey/white on the walls, a feature turquoise cot and grey accessories - all of which a pretty gender neutral. Isabella won't be in her current bedroom forever, so we didn't want to make the room overly 'girly'. Recently we've picked up a couple of new additions to fit with the grey and white star theme and best of all they were bargains!

BABY: Nursery Tour

 

I've been meaning to do a nursery tour for a while now, as I love reading these posts - any excuse for a good nosey! We have been adding new bits here and there to Isabella's nursery since she was born, so kept putting off doing a nursery tour. It's still not completely finished but she'll be out of the nursery before I do this if I don't get on with it!

NURSERY HACK: Animal Wall Art

After many hours spent searching good old Pinterest for nursery inspiration I kept coming across beautiful animal art hanging in nurseries. There was one that particularly stood out to me, but unfortunately the art was from America, making post and packaging quite expensive! 

NURSERY: Stylish storage from Minene

As we were putting together our daughters nursery I was on a hunt for stylish yet practical storage solutions. Being on maternity leave is lovely but it has been pretty expensive so far, as I had plenty of time (pre baby) to casually browse the internet for baby/nursery items we just must have. So when it came to storage I didn't want to buy the first thing I saw, but instead actually see what the options are out there. Amazon is fantastic as the range is so vast and the prices are generally some of the best. I came across the typical wicker baskets, storage boxes and plastic boxes, all of which are practially but mostly lacked the style I had really wanted for her nursery. Then I came across a brand called Minene on amazon, which offered beautiful, stylish storage baskets and boxes - exactly what I'd been looking for!

After googling Minene I found out that the brand was sold in John Lewis, House of Fraser and on their own website, as well as amazon. I always search around seeing if I can find a product I like any cheaper, as sometimes stores will have offers on. At the time I looked the cheapest place to buy the storage boxes and baskets and it was actually directly on the Minene website due to their online sale.

The general style of our baby's nursery is grey with stars, so when I saw the grey with stars storage baskets and boxes I thought it was meant to be. But then the grey with strips design caught my eye and I feel in love with it. The polka dot interior of the baskets and boxes was too cute and the grey colour still fitted in perfectly with the nursery. Luckily, the small storage box in grey with stripes was in the sale, reduced from £14 to £10 and the large storage basket in grey with stripes was also in the sale, reduced from £26 to £20. How perfect?! They have such a beautiful range of their different sized baskets and boxes in the sale, so it's well worth seeing if you can pick up a bargain too. Unfortunatly some of the designs are sold out, but if you're not looking for a specific design/size then there will hopefully be something in stock you love.

What did/do you use as storage in your child's bedroom/nursery?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x

NURSERY: Mothercare Carnaby Cot Bed Review

Deciding on which cot to get is not as easy as I was expecting. So many questions - do we get a cot? Or cot bed? Should it be wood? Or metal? What is our budget? What will fit in the nursery? Will it be sturdy enough? How long will it last our child? etc. When we started looking at cots we were overwhelmed by the options and the cost of them! The cost was the main reason we decided to get a cot bed, rather than a cot. If you're unsure of the difference, a cot bed can be converted from a cot into a bed and therefore will last your child for a lot longer. A cot lasts up until your child is around 2 years old, while a cot bed lasts until they are around 4 years old. Therefore I thought that cot beds would be even more expensive than cots, which of course in some instances they are, but generally the price is similar.

So the search for a suitable cot bed began; we looked in magazines, on the internet, in high street shops and there was one that had stood out for us - the Mothercare Carnaby Cot Bed. We first saw it in a baby magazine and its bright turquoise colour really stood out from the usual wooden or white cot beds. We were originally planning on getting a white cot bed because the nursery is all very pale, so it would have fitted in nicely. But there was something about the style of the Carnaby cot bed that we thought would work really well, as a pop of colour in an otherwise pale room. 

The price of the Carnaby cot bed was the thing that was initially putting us off buying it straight away, so we looked into buying a nursery furniture set. Then after checking Mothercare app almost daily I saw that the Carnaby cot bed had been reduced by 23%, from £299 to £229. Still a lot of money but much nearer to what we were expecting to spend. Whenever anything goes on sale I'm always so tempted to make the purchase there and then (in case the sale ends), but with this cot bed being expensive still I didn't want to be hasty. I tweeted Mothercare to ask how long the promotion would be running for and after a couple of days they were able to tell me it's on promotion until mid April 2015. I'd recommend using Twitter as a way of finding out information about a product you like because, in my experience, the response is quicker and more informative. 

At the moment this cot bed is reduced from £299 to £254, so it seems to be reduced quite often - definitely worth keeping an eye on if you like it!

The cot bed came in one very heavy box, not that I was lifting it anyway as I was pregnant! I was amazed at how easy it was to set up, we made it up in about 20 minutes. I say 'we', it was mostly my husband - I was chief 'hand things to him' person. The cot bed is so sturdy, unlike many of the wooden ones we looked at in shops. We love the look of the cot bed, even though I was a bit concerned it would look like a cage with all those bars! 

You have to purchase a mattress seperately, which I thought would be another big expenditure. As this is a cot bed it takes a 140x70cm mattress, which is bigger than a regular cot mattress. I found a mattress with good reviews (#1 best seller on amazon) and the relevant safety features for only £36.77 - check it out here. I also bought a couple of cot bed sheets for only £6.79 (see here), that again is a #1 best seller on amazon.

Yesterday on social media I saw that Mothercare had their Autumn/Winter 2015 press event, where they we're showcasing some of their new products. Bright colours were prominent in the collections and there looked like there was a wooden cot in the same turquoise as this one.

Overall, we love the pop of colour the Mothercare Carnaby cot bed adds to our daughters nursery. The nursery is finished and ready for her when she's older :)

How did you decide on your cot/cot bed?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x 

NURSERY: Storage Ideas and Solutions

When it came to creating our daughters nursery I wanted it to be stylish, practical and organised. The practical aspect was especially important, particularly as she won't be sleeping in there for the first 6ish months. It needed to be a space that we can change her, get her dressed and I can breastfeed her. We looked at various types of nursery furniture, which came with a variety of types of storage - from drawers to shelves to a hanging rail. Though babies are only tiny and their clothes are small too, all of the things they need quickly take up a lot of space! We eventually decided on a shelving/changing unit and a wardrobe with two shelves in. Therefore the majority of available storage was shelves. We couldn't just pile her clothes, nappies, wipes etc on the shelves as it would have been hard to find anything and probably looked messy. Neither of which I really wanted for the nursery. 

I hunted around for reasonable storage boxes to put her clothes in, so that I could organise them and they would sit on the shelves neatly. If you're thinking of doing a similar thing make sure you measure the height, depth and length of the shelves you have. This allows you to find storage that will make the most of the available space, rather than buying a box that's big enough to fit on the shelf but then doesn't leave enough space for another box. It's just worth thinking ahead slightly.

IKEA was of course an obvious place to look, especially as we were already there buying the nursery furniture. I found the following storage containers that fitted perfectly on the Hensvik Changing table/cabinet.

^KASSETT Box with lid - white - 2 pack - £3.75^

^I can't seem to find these on the IKEA website, they were brand new out so may take a while to get on to the website. They were £3 each. The turquoise container is almost the perfect match to the colour of our cot bed - match made in heaven.^

 

 ^HYFS Box with lid - Grey - £3 each^

The following storage items I picked up at H&M (in New York but there's a similar one currently being sold in the UK) and The Range.

^Similar - H&M Storage Basket - £1.99^

 ^Again these don't seem to be on The Range website but we only bought them a couple of weeks ago, so I'm sure they'll still be in store. It's a three pack of white wicker baskets for £8.99.^

What did you use for storage in your little ones nursery?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x

BABY: Unisex Clothing Wish List

As I've discussed in a previous post (see here), I've been struggling to find unisex baby clothes and from speaking to other Mum's or Mum's to be they also had the same struggle. A lot of retailers must presume everyone will either find out the gender of their baby or not buy most clothes until the baby has arrived (again, that requires patience. Something I'm not particularly blessed with). I've browsed the internet and high street shops high and low, to put together a wish list of unisex clothes for anyone who has also been struggling...

Mothercare

1/2/3/4/5

Mamas & Papas

1/2/3

The Essential One

1/2/3

GAP

1/2/3/4/5/6

Which is your favourite item?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x