Every pregnant mom-to-be knows the feeling: that urge to turn the house out and re-arrange it to make the perfect space for the new baby. An above average number of people move house when pregnant to have room for the new member of the family. Moving house ranks as one of the more stressful life events and so does being pregnant, so why do we go mad and combine the two, often only weeks before the baby's due date?
I have to admit to doing that myself, when I was pregnant with our second child, moving from a small rented apartment to our first house, which was just a little bit bigger. The craziness comes from our nesting instinct, some sort of hormone that drives us to prepare for the new baby and ensure its survival, so that it has a warm, dry place to sleep and shelter.
This is what urges us on to prepare a special room for the baby, makes sure we've got a cot and enough clothes, but in today's style-conscious world we are pushed beyond the essentials and often get into a frenzy of interior decorating, convinced that our baby needs the latest in co-ordinated friezes, curtains, carpets and so on to make it into the world unscathed. There are so many gorgeous fabrics and fun furniture that is easy to be tempted to splurge far more than our budget on a décor that will last only a few years, until our child decides that it is too babyish now he is a big boy!
We all know in our heart of hearts that the baby won't even take in the gorgeous pastel colors of the expensive curtain fabric, that her existence isn't threatened if the cot sheets don't match it, that really we're doing this for ourselves, in an attempt to feel ready for this huge transformation in our lives by transforming our physical surroundings.
However in reality the only thing that the baby will notice is Mom and Dad, their faces close by, their smiles and warmth. She'll listen out for the sound of their familiar voices for reassurance. As long as she has those things and is warm and dry, her physical surroundings are irrelevant to her well being.
So how can a thrifty, savvy Mom make best use of her budget for the baby's room? Why not save the money that it would cost to re-decorate with all the latest in designer frills and furbelows and use it towards buying good quality essentials?!
First of all your baby doesn't even need to have his own room for the first six months to a year, so if you are considering moving house just to get an extra room for the baby it isn't the end of the world if you wait till several months or even a year after the birth. Our first baby had his cot in the corner of our bedroom for the first year and it was fine.
Whether you envisage your baby co-sleeping or having her own separate space there are a few essential items to budget for:
- A sturdy, well made cot that will last through toddler-hood is the number one essential on the list. This is the item that you should spend your money on if you can only afford one good quality piece of furniture, and if you are planning more than one baby it will last them all and still be in good enough condition to be passed on to another member of the family. It should have a sliding side rail that you can lower easily one handed but be able to stand up to an active toddler clambering around in it. As I have said, a good cot will last through several babies, so if you are on a tight budget, look for a good second-hand cot and just replace the mattress (our cot was bought second-hand after having been used by one baby, then it did our three babies and has now been passed on to their newest cousin). A good quality mattress should be fairly firm, easy to clean and have guarantees that it passes all safety regulations. Even if you intend to be co-sleeping with your baby, you will still want a safe place for her to sleep undisturbed during the day and then the cot is ready and familiar for her when you decide that you all are ready for separate sleeping arrangements.
- A changing area. You need to make yourself an area that has all you need to change the baby in one place. If you have the budget then there are loads of special changing tables and combination chest/changers on the market, but this isn't the only option and outlives its usefulness in quite a short space of time. One of the simplest things to do is to put a single bed in the baby's room, put a waterproof sheet on it, then with a towel and changing mat it can function as the changing table. A small table or chest of drawers close by holds all the potions and lotions. A plastic bucket with a lid to put the dirty nappies in for disposal can tuck under the table. Move the changing mat and the bed is then easily available to lie down on to feed the baby, to cuddle on, romp on and once he has outgrown the cot it can become his first big bed.
- Soft lighting. You need to have a dim light, such as a plug-in night light that can be left on at night, so that you can find your way to the baby for night feeds, feed and change him and put him back to bed without having to turn on harsh overhead lights. A small angled lamp with a low wattage bulb that can be turned on and off easily is useful too, to help find the nappy cream when it insists on hiding in the middle of the night!
- A comfortable chair for you to sit on for night feeds, if you prefer sitting to lying down.
- Window covering. It doesn't need to be dark for a baby to sleep, but having a blind or some curtains drawn on a bright sunny day can help at nap time later on.
- Storage space for the baby clothes, which can be anything at all from a chest of drawers that can be used for your child's room as he grows up, to a series of plastic stacking boxes, depending on your budget.
As long as the space is clean you really don't need to redecorate, (it counts as a non-essential indulgence to the hard-core thrifty!) but if you can't resist the impulse choose a soft-colored paint for the walls that is soothing to the eye and that you will be happy with for boy or girl, so that you don't need to redecorate again later if you have another baby of the opposite sex.
Keep the space simple for now - you'll be amazed how quickly it will be filled with soft toys, mobiles and cute little extras as friends and family descend with gifts of things that they just couldn't resist buying!
If you are using old and scruffy pieces of furniture for storage in the baby's room you could use your nesting energy to sand them down and give them a fresh coat of paint and maybe indulge your creativity by painting them with flowers or butterflies for a cheap and personalized decorating buzz. Just remember though that you are doing this for your own entertainment and satisfaction, not because the baby needs it. All the baby really needs is you!
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