If you’re just tuning in, Renee is a local mama of 1 little boy and is chronicling her second pregnancy as part of The Belly Diaries. Click here to read the first post in her series, here to learn about the “cowboy big-brother”, here for her post on Hypnobabies, and here for details on her “babymoon”…if we can call it that! Enjoy!
37 Weeks {Nesting on a Budget}
It all began with a monkey lamp…
I was roaming the aisles at “Babies R’ Us” a few months ago and they were having a double clearance.
We’re talking MAJOR SAVINGS! I spotted this adorable lamp with a monkey on the pedestal and a polka dot shade. So cute— and, it was marked down from $49 to $10. SOLD!
Now, I wasn’t origninally planning on decorating a whole nursery. I figured I would keep the baby in my room and then, in about 3 months, move him to my son Luke’s room and Luke to a “Big Boy” room.
But, Luke is still sleeping in his crib and hasn’t attempted to climb out. I have no intention on moving him to a bed unless I absolutely have to. (We can move his crib into a college dorm room, right? ) So the more I thought about it, I realized I may need a nursery afterall.
If I could decorate a baby’s room on a budget, this would work out perfectly and give me even more flexibility on rooming arrangements.
Now I was on the hunt for bargains.
I already had a cradle from when Luke was born, but I wanted to get a second changing table.
“Swip Swap Scottsdale” on Facebook was my go-to.
I found my chnging table for $20 and all it needed was a touch of paint. Walmart had adorable baskets for $3 each that fit perfectly on the shelves. The diaper pail, I found on Craigslist— for a whopping $8. My biggest purchase was a new glider with ottoman. I thought I was lucky when I found the monkey lamp for 80% off at BRU, but finding a floor model glider on clearance saved me BIG BUCKS!
After saving on shopping, my next task was to see what I already owned that I could re-purpose.
Looking through Luke’s closet, I realized there were a bunch of accessories I never used. I had two quilts; one from his bedroom set that was too thick and heavy for Arizona weather and the other, a beautiful patchwork quilt a friend made by hand to coordinate with his bedroom set. A friend helped me make a pockets for the back side of both quilts and we were able to then hang them on the walls with cafe rods.
It is so nice to get to enjoy these quilts now that they are hung up. They not only add color to the room but are sentimental as well.
The “bedroom in a bag” also came with a dust ruffle that doesn’t fit our crib. Feeling confident I could make a valance out of it, I asked around to borrow a sewing machine (completely forgetting that the last time I used one was in Home Ec class, 20 years ago!) Fortunately, I have some talented friends eager for a fun project. We had a craft day while my son took a nap, and my dear friend reintroduced me to the sewing machine, right down to the basics of threading! I think the valance is my favorite part of the baby’s room because it was something I was able to make with my own hands…along with the helping hands of others!
So the baby’s room may not be Pinterest-worthy, but I think it looks nice and it didn’t cost me a fortune!
