A Baby Story

Simple tips for decorating Baby’s nursery beautifully—all without breaking the bank.

Wanting to create the perfect baby space is as natural as needing saltines in the first trimester—and if you’re on a budget, just as discouraging. Very few of us can afford the gorgeous nurseries advertised in catalogs, yet with a little effort, you can create a baby space as special and beautiful as the baby you’re creating it for.

KISS (Keep It Simple and Safe)

Whatever you do, make sure your baby’s items, from furniture to first toys, meet current safety regulations. Paint should be non-toxic, and decorations firmly affixed to walls, especially near the crib. Curtain pulls or ties should be out of reach, and rugs should be securely affixed to the floor. Make sure you have a clear path from the door to the crib for those middle-of-the-night wake-up calls. And don’t forget the nightlight.

Remember that your baby, so new to the world, isn’t going to care about the latest designs or most popular characters. Instead of spending a fortune on matching character prints, find a cheaper, more generic style. If you simply adore Pooh, consider getting a few stick-ons or a framed poster, then use the colors in it to plan the rest of the room. Instead of a theme lamp, get a simple lampshade and add appliqués.

For furniture, consider your needs. Bassinets, while sweet, are quickly outgrown. Will you practice family bed sleeping? Forgo the crib and make the room something more suited for play. (You may even want to get a double-size mattress for fussy nights when your husband needs to sleep.) Is the baby’s room on a different level from the living area or where you spend most of your time? Instead of a changing table, invest in a couple of changing pads and baskets you can keep handy. Consider a crib that converts into a toddler and youth bed to save you money as your child grows.

Adaptability

Children grow quickly, and what’s darling for an infant doesn’t always match a toddler’s tastes or needs. If you don’t have the money (or energy) to redecorate every few years, be sure your walls, rug and furniture will grow with your child. Paint in a single color or simple design and rely on art for personalizing. Instead of buying a baby-specific changing table, consider a dresser with a wide top. Attach safety straps (one side screwed into the back and the other to the underside of the top) and add a changing pad. There are also some wonderful modular sets and convertible pieces (change tables that convert to dressers, for example) that can be worth the investment.

Bargain Buys

Because babies outgrow things so quickly, you’re bound to find some wonderful slightly used items at good prices. Check out flea markets, garage sales, and consignment shops, grandma’s attic, and friends who have moved on from this stage. Don’t go overboard buying too much. Babies don’t need as much as our consumer-oriented society would like us to believe; plus you’ll probably have a baby shower. Register at a department store for the baby shower and plan on getting things that don’t match, anyway.

Check that all items meet safety standards and contact the manufacturer to make sure an older item has not been recalled. (Often if it has, you can get a repair kit or a coupon for a discount on a similar item.)

What about that old Raggedy Ann doll you loved as a child but would never want your child chewing on? Put it in a shadow box on the wall. With a fabric background and an alphabet block, it’s a treasured heirloom.

Try out items before you buy them. Your dream of nursing your baby in that lovely bent-wood rocking chair may turn into a nightmare when you find out the seat’s too hard, it leans back too far for balance, and the arms are in the wrong place for cradling the baby.

What do you do once you’ve collected several lovely pieces that don’t match in style or color? Susan Welch Heeney, member of the American Society of Interior Decorators and creator of www.DecoratingStudio.com, says you’re on your way to “shabby chic.” “All you need to do to pull the different pieces of furniture together is to paint them in a soft white. Plus, in a shabby chic nursery, the different mix of linens will look fabulous!”

Look Up!

Babies spend a lot of time on their backs. Consider things from that point of view. Pretty mobiles of wooden ducks are just brown lines when seen from below. The white ceiling that makes the room look bigger to you seems very far away, and dull, to a baby. Heeney recommends painting the ceiling to “bring it down” to baby’s level, and to add decorations to give him something interesting to look at when naptime’s over and he’s waiting for you.

Paint

Paint is the easiest and cheapest way to change a room. Since babies prefer to be someplace warm and cozy, opt for darker (but not dark) colors. If you’re having trouble selecting colors, try this decorator’s trick: find a fabric or picture or baby item you love, and find paint chips for three or four colors that match it. Or take the photo of your dream nursery to the paint store and ask them to match the colors.

Be Creative

If you have a flair or just an urge for the artistic—indulge it in the nursery. Paint the mural you’ve dreamed of. Put nursery rhymes on the ceiling. Try stenciling. Make your own artwork. Your baby will love it.

Most pregnant women in the United States do not get the recommended amount of exercise, researchers say.

Pregnant women should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services guidelines. Moderate-intensity exercise causes light sweating or a slight to moderate increase in breathing or heart rate.

“Physical activity during pregnancy has a number of health benefits. It may help prevent gestational diabetes, support healthy gestational weight gain and improve mental health,” study author Kelly Evenson, research associate professor of epidemiology in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said in a university news release.

Evenson and a colleague analyzed 1999-2006 data on 1,280 pregnant women, aged 16 and older, who were interviewed for the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Only about 23 percent of the women achieved the recommended amount of exercise, the findings showed.

Among the other study findings: exercise achieved while going to and from work or school was reported by 23 percent; moderate to vigorous household activity was reported by 54 percent; and moderate to vigorous leisure activity in the month before they were interviewed was reported by 57 percent.

Women in the first trimester of pregnancy reported much more moderate to vigorous leisure-time activity than those in the third trimester, according to the report published in the March issue of Preventive Medicine.

Weaning, like other developmental stages, takes time, and some parents put off weaning because they don’t want to go through the crying, sleepless nights and angry demands of their new little family addition.

But at some point, bottle feeding, like all good things, must come to an end. You can start your child using a cup as early as six months, with the idea of having him or her fully weaned by one to one and a half years of age. Once your child can sit up alone, eat from a spoon and eat at regular times throughout the day, weaning is in sight. Weaning is important because children’s teeth can be affected by drinking from a bottle; tooth decay becomes more likely, teeth may not develop correctly, and the growing child’s nutritional needs may not be met if  he or she’s getting her food from a bottle. Babies grow teeth because it’s time for them to start eating solid food!

Check out these tips for weaning your child with little fuss!

1. Give your baby a plastic cup to hold and play with from an early age—3 to 6 months. You’re setting the stage for drinking!

2. By the time your child is 8 months old, give her a sippy cup for use during one meal. Don’t fill it up, but let her drink some juice or milk from it every day. Start with one meal each day, and after a week, add the cup to another meal. Don’t get rid of the bottle all at once; gradually substitute the sippy cup over time.

3. Teach your child how to handle the cup by showing her. Hold the cup for her at first, so she only gets a little liquid and can practice drinking without choking on it. Cups are different from bottles, and your child needs to learn cup-drinking skills with your help.

4. Don’t throw the bottle away completely. Sometimes, children need to bottle for sleeping or quiet playtime. Let an occasional bottle comfort your child. But once you’ve substituted a sippy cup for any feeding or snack, don’t replace it with the bottle. Keep the bottle for special needs.

5. Don’t rush. You may get your child 85% weaned, and worry about giving her a bottle at night. (Once your baby has teeth, bottles for napping or sleeping should only have water; milk or juice can cause tooth decay). Sucking is a primal instinct; children sometimes need to suck to feel soothed. Don’t throw out something that can help your child feel secure; some children may use bottles occasionally for three years after weaning, and that’s okay.

Introducing solid foods to a baby can be fun and sometimes challenging. We’ll help you determine whether your baby is ready and which foods to introduce first.

Most parents look forward to the time when they can introduce solid foods to their babies. Many infants seem even more impatient than their parents! You little one may be practicing; making chewing motions with her mouth and may no longer be satisfied with just the breast or bottle. Find out how to tell if Baby is ready, and what to do when it is in fact time to transition to solid food.

Before Getting Started

Before buying baby spoons and stock-piling baby food, keep in mind that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for approximately the first six months of your child’s life. And your pediatrician is the last say when deciding if you should offer baby food to your little one. You and your pediatrician will discuss if your family’s history (if you or any of your baby’s siblings have allergies) and whether or not your baby is ready to start solids before the six-month mark (some babies are).

The Taste Test

When introducing new foods to any baby, test each one for at least five days in a row to watch for reactions, such as rashes or diarrhea. It’s best to test early in the day in case a new food leaves the baby gassy or uncomfortable—something you’d rather find out during the day than in the middle of the night.

Is Baby Ready?

Before introducing your baby to solid food, look for these signs that she’s ready to take the next nutritional step:

• Your little one must be able to sit up unsupported and have good head and neck control
• Your baby should be showing an interest in eating by opening his mouth when a spoon is introduced
• Your child should be showing interest in what you’re eating

What to Eat

The first food most commonly introduced is an iron-fortified rice cereal, which is made into a loose, paste-like consistency by mixing it with breast milk, formula, or water. Most pediatricians suggest starting cereal at about six months. At first, your baby may push the cereal or spoon out with his tongue as if he does not like it. This is a natural reflex, and it may take him a little while to learn this new way of eating.

If your baby is doing well and gaining weight, your pediatrician may suggest you start pureed vegetables and fruits between six and eight months of age; pureed meats may be offered after eight months of age.

But, keep in mind that formula or breastfeeding should remain your little one’s main source of nutrition for his or her first year.

Different babies are ready to begin solids at different times. Follow your own instincts to determine when the timing is right for your little one. When you sense that your baby is ready, talk to your pediatrician about starting solids

Stuffed up baby noses aren’t much fun. On the positive side, most of the time a stuffed baby nose bothers the parents more than it bothers the babe.

Infants can’t blow their nose, as you’ve likely noticed. One of two things happens instead:

1. Drippy icky baby snot sliding down your baby’s face; and just about everywhere else.
2. Nothing. No icky snot, but your baby may be breathing harder than normal, or he may seem like he’s having trouble sleeping or eating. That’s a stuffed up baby nose.

Babies breathe hard as a rule, unless your baby seems overly congested, or irritated by the stuffed up nose you might not need to do anything. Sometimes a pediatrician will recommend saline drops to loosen the snot. Discuss this first with your pediatrician before trying it. You can also try bringing your baby into the bathroom with you, in a bouncy seat, while you take a warm shower. The steam can help loosen snot too.

A second option is the good old baby bulb syringe. Most babies I’ve met HATE bulb syringes, and no wonder. I don’t know about you, but if someone tried to stick something up my nose, I’d fuss too.

If you use a bulb syringe:

• Use a new one. An older syringe, like from two kids ago, may be breaking down.
• Only use it two or three times a day, or you can cause swelling of your baby’s membranes, which in turn might make the congestion worse.
• Use it gently – first expel all the air from the syringe, then while you’re still pressing down insert the syringe carefully into your baby’s nose. Only insert one half inch at most. Slowly release the bulb to suction. Squirt the mucus onto a tissue. Wash the syringe well when you’re done.

Icky business; it’s a good thing these babies come with big eyes and sweet smelling heads.