Max's Nursery

Everybody says that the 3rd child doesn't get anything just for them. It's all hand-me-downs and no pictures. Well, Max is our 3rd and he is the only one that got a real nursery. When we had Wyatt we lived in a tiny rental house so his crib was in our room because that was the only place we could put it. Sure, all his stuff was new and shiny but we couldn't really decorate and make a cute nursery like you dream about.

When we had Carson, we owned a larger very old home, but the bedrooms were all upstairs in a really odd layout. Basically you got to the top of the stairs and were in the master bedroom, then turned a little and were in another room. Keep walking through that room and you were in Wyatt's room. There was also another bedroom you could get to through Wyatt's room but we used it as storage because it was in pretty bad shape. Carson started out in a pack-and-play in our room because Wyatt was still in the crib. My kids also all woke up every two hours for the first 6 months so it was easier to keep them close to me at night. Eventually Wyatt got a big bed and Carson got moved to the crib and into the middle room. I'm not sure why, but we just never really decorated any of our rooms upstairs in that house, so Carson didn't get a real nursery either.

Right about the time I found out I was pregnant with Max we bought the house that Roger grew up in, and this time I was determined to have a special place for the new baby. When my husband's parents lived in this house, the room that Max is in now was used as a storage room. It was painted an awful shade of blue, had old linoleum flooring, deer heads on the wall, and those awful gold-speckled ceiling tiles.  Needless to say, it was not a room I was willing to let any of my kids sleep in. Late last August when I was about 6 months pregnant, my mom and I painted the ceiling, the walls, trim, and closet doors in there and the room started to become a place where I didn't cringe when I opened the door. Later we had carpet installed and I really got excited about setting up the nursery. 

Wish I had taken these before we lowered his mattress. Skirt looked much better then.

We used the same crib that we had with the first two boys but I made a new crib skirt and matching curtains. It's funny that it has been less than a year since I made these things, but I would do them a lot differently now. I hadn't really gotten into sewing quite as much as I am now and I've seen many other ideas for baby decor that I would probably use instead, but overall I am pretty happy with it. I used this tutorial to make some sheets for the crib. It was so easy and I liked that you just used elastic on the ends, not around the entire sheet.

Two things that I still really like are the letters over the crib and his lamp.  I'm not really sure when we got the lamp, but it just had a plain, generic shade on it. My mom and I took the shade apart and used the old covering as a template to cut fabric for the new shade. It is a coordinating fabric in the same Riley Blake line as his curtains and crib sheet. Much better. I got some turquoise spray paint this weekend to paint the base of the lamp which I think will make it look a lot cuter, but I wanted to go ahead and take some pictures of it in case I ruin it!

The letters over the crib were inspired by a picture I saw online somewhere but I can't find it now. Helpful, huh? It was of a really cool kids' playroom with some alphabet letters on canvas. I thought it was Land of Nod or Pottery Barn, but I have searched and still can't find it. It was so easy but I love the simple modern look of it.

I knew we would need some kind of rocking chair in there, and judging by the amount of time I spend nursing at night, I knew it needed to be a comfortable one. I decided against the usual glider and instead got a cushy recliner. Not the cutest thing on the market, but it is so comfortable and we can use it in the living room or den after I'm done with it in here. I was really excited to find this bookshelf at Target. I had been looking for a relatively inexpensive white bookshelf and this one had good reviews and free shipping. Plus, it is called the Carson shelf, so I knew it was meant to be! Right now it holds bins with burp cloths and blankets on the top shelf and random nursing supplies and baby carriers on the bottom.

Taking these pictures of his room made me realize that I really need to put some other art up on his walls. A lot of times while I am sitting in there feeding Max I look around and try to envision how I will redecorate it when he is a little older. I've got lots of ideas, but they will probably all be different by that time!