Setting up Lil’ Tea Cup’s nursery was my favorite decorating project that I have ever done. I used to sit in there for hours on end – dreaming of rocking her in the glider and hanging her tiny clothes up –  imagining what she would be like. It was and still is my absolute favorite room in our home, and holds so many special memories already.

However, after she arrived, I also realized that I had made some rookie mistakes. I knew about securing photos to the wall, covering outlets and hiding wires, but there are so many things that I just wasn’t considering when I put her room together. This post is all about the things I have learned along the way.

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As you can see, even though the bones of the room are the same, quite a few things have changed in the past year and a half (don’t worry, I took that banner on her crib down right in the beginning, it was just up for her newborn photos). Before I get into more detailed photos of the changes, I want to point out one that is shown in the photos above.
Window Treatments – I was convinced that my daughter would learn to sleep in light, dark and everything in between. It took exactly one month for me to haul my butt to the store and purchase curtains with black out panels. I should have known better, as I like to sleep in the dark and can not take a nap in the afternoon with the sun shining in, but those gorgeous striped sheers were just so lovely. Well now they are just as lovely in our bathroom, so my daughter can take a nap in peaceful darkness ha! It is difficult to see in the photos but we also now have wooden blinds installed on the windows, just to block out the sun even more.

Changing Area – As you can see, Lil’ Tea Cup’s room is not very big. It was because of this that I decided that a buffet was a great way to go in terms of a changing station because it had lots of room for storage. I thought I had hit the jackpot when I found this one at a local antique shop because it was in fairly good shape, was amazingly low priced and fit perfectly into the “changing nook” as I called it. It worked perfectly for the first little while until I realized that I was not always completely prepared when it came to changing my little one. I did not always have all of her clothes( or back up clothes in the case of a diaper disaster ) ready to go and I would have to pick my baby up, carry her to the closet where her clothes were and try to juggle as I grabbed something else for her to wear. It is doable, but if your child is like mine, changing clothes was not her favorite thing and laying down twice made her downright angry. So across the room the changing station went – right next to her closet so I could keep a hand on her and grab whatever we may need. So much easier!

Note: If you look closely in the bottom photo, you’ll notice that the knob on the buffet closest to her crib has been removed. Those knobs were so secure that I could not turn them even using both hands. However, they were no match for toddler fingers. She managed to loosen this knob so much during nap time one afternoon, that I worried she would manage to pull it off completely next time.  So off it came. Be mindful of how close your furniture is to a crib because they WILL manage to get things loose.

Location of Regularly Used Items – Before I had a little one I had never used a humidifier. I assumed when we purchased one for Lil’ Tea Cup, we might use it once a month at most.  I originally had it placed on the top of the bookshelf in the corner of the room, where it was strictly sat for storage purposes (the slanted ceiling made this spot not possible for actual use). Then I found myself setting this thing up on stacks of books in the middle of the night, taking the lamp off the table to put it on there for nap time etc. It became very apparent that it needed a place where it could stay and be used without moving it. So I moved the bookshelf in front of an outlet and removed the decorative items to replace them with our hardworking humidifier, night light projector and the white noise machine. I call it the “sleep command center.”

Activity Area – When I set up Lil Tea Cup’s room, I pictured sitting on her floor and doing activities with her. I carefully stocked the baskets on her bookshelf with toys and added my favorite piece in the entire room – a giant antique metal bucket – for her stuffed animals. Turns out, we have never actually done it. Lil’ Tea Cup doesn’t really “play” very often in her room. We spend most of our time on the main floor of our house in the living room, so her room is really only used for changing, bed time routine and sleeping. Also that gorgeous metal bucket was removed when she started to walk and tried to carry it. I admit it – Mom fail on my part! Now I stock Lil’ Tea Cup’s book shelf with things we use when we are in here – books! We read before nap time and bed time each day in the glider and I love having them within reach without having to move much. You’ll notice her stuffed animals have been moved to a much more “toddler friendly” bin.

One more note: when you arrange you room make sure you are not comprising function for aesthetics. I loved the glider being by the window but it was right in front of the bookcase in the beginning. Great to look at, such a pain when you are reaching for a book with a baby in your arms.

Storage – This photo makes me laugh when I look at it. I hung up those hooks and thought that they would be enough. As you can see, they clearly were not. We have since added a back of door holder, my diy bow holder and had to move the hooks in order to hang our cloth diaper wet bag on them. You live and learn right?! You can NEVER have enough storage. Don’t worry about an empty basket, drawer or wall, they will fill up in no time!

And just for fun-  my favourite part of Lil’ Tea Cup’s room, I wish I could take a nap in there myself!

What things would you change about the way you set up your nursery? What did you live and learn?