They say it takes a village to raise in a child. When it comes to my child, I need a village just to get her nursery in place.
That was last weekend’s project, and I’m pleased to report that, with a few minor exceptions, it really is done. I’m not so good at following through on projects, so I’m particularly proud of what we accomplished.
By “we,” I mean Brandon, our families and myself, although my part was admittedly very small.¿Mostly, I picked out paint colors and became BFF with the men we hired to do our painting, Phillip and Greg.
Obviously, the color sets the tone for the entire nursery, so picking just the right one was an essential job. You can’t rush these things.
I may or may not have agonized over it. Just like I’m still agonizing over bedding. Brandon pointed out that something that could potentially involve Winnie-the-Pooh is probably not worth additional stress. I understand his point, and in case you were wondering, we are not using Pooh or any other cartoon characters to decorate, but I¿may never decorate a nursery for a little girl ever again. I want to put some thought into it.
Seems that maybe I¿have reached the point of too much thought. Imagine that.
It reminded me of the day I had a nervous breakdown in the baby store. Actually, come to think of it, I seem to have a nervous breakdown every time I¿go in the baby store. I know I have said it before, but I will say it again — why, oh, why, is there so much stuff? I mean, seriously, the stuff.
While Brandon and his dad were battling with the furniture, I went with my mom, his mom and his sister to the baby store for some shopping. Ever since we planned it several weeks ago, I had been looking forward to it. I¿thought I was strong enough to handle the baby store now that we had some essentials, like the car seat, taken care of already.
For the most part, it was a great trip. We got a few more things crossed off the list, and I got an idea of everything that is available.
But therein lies the problem. Everything is available. How does a person really know what they need, or what the baby will actually use?
My poor sister-in-law offered to buy us a baby monitor, any monitor we wanted from any store. That should have been a simple task, and I guess for most people it would have been, but of course, not me. No, I¿finally just told her she would have to pick it because I¿could not handle all the choices. They have baby monitors with videos, motion detectors and probably NASA-developed GPS technology. There were about 20 different models at the store we visited, and it reminded me of when I first looked at “travel systems” — the name for car seat and stroller combos. I’m sensing a trend here. When it comes to picking out anything baby related, I become paralyzed and completely indecisive.
What if I¿picked the wrong baby monitor? What kind of mother would I be then? And furthermore, what kind of mother doesn’t know how to pick out the right baby monitor? Other people seem well-equipped for those kinds of decisions, but all I do is look at 20 different models and nearly start to cry.
So maybe you can understand a bit more why Brandon thought it was best if I¿didn’t spend too much time worrying over nursery decor.
But despite my indecisiveness and monitor-induced panic, we do have a room in our house that looks like it was made for a baby.
The crib is ready to go, and there are little pink clothes in the dresser drawers. The walls are freshly painted yellow because I already have two other yellow rooms in my house, and like I said, these kinds of decisions seem beyond my reach lately. I did come up with the idea of installing a chair rail, and Brandon, bless his heart, bragged on the chair rail like I had discovered the cure for cancer. A little positive reinforcement to build confidence and spur me to make a few more decisions.
Of course, now I’m going to stress about having painted the walls before picking out bedding, but something had to be done.
Is anyone else having flashbacks to last spring, when I couldn’t make up my mind about what flowers to plant in the front yard? That led to no flowers of any kind until the fall, when I bought two mums that I subsequently forgot to water and let die.
Luckily, the nursery seems to be a bit more successful than that. Chair rails and cribs do not require watering, just a little assembly. Overall, I’d say we are on the right track, and I’m glad we have so many people willing to help with things.
I’m going to try to get brave and maybe actually do something crazy like pick out the baby monitor. I¿think. Eventually. Just not right now.
That was last weekend’s project, and I’m pleased to report that, with a few minor exceptions, it really is done. I’m not so good at following through on projects, so I’m particularly proud of what we accomplished.
By “we,” I mean Brandon, our families and myself, although my part was admittedly very small.¿Mostly, I picked out paint colors and became BFF with the men we hired to do our painting, Phillip and Greg.
Obviously, the color sets the tone for the entire nursery, so picking just the right one was an essential job. You can’t rush these things.
I may or may not have agonized over it. Just like I’m still agonizing over bedding. Brandon pointed out that something that could potentially involve Winnie-the-Pooh is probably not worth additional stress. I understand his point, and in case you were wondering, we are not using Pooh or any other cartoon characters to decorate, but I¿may never decorate a nursery for a little girl ever again. I want to put some thought into it.
Seems that maybe I¿have reached the point of too much thought. Imagine that.
It reminded me of the day I had a nervous breakdown in the baby store. Actually, come to think of it, I seem to have a nervous breakdown every time I¿go in the baby store. I know I have said it before, but I will say it again — why, oh, why, is there so much stuff? I mean, seriously, the stuff.
While Brandon and his dad were battling with the furniture, I went with my mom, his mom and his sister to the baby store for some shopping. Ever since we planned it several weeks ago, I had been looking forward to it. I¿thought I was strong enough to handle the baby store now that we had some essentials, like the car seat, taken care of already.
For the most part, it was a great trip. We got a few more things crossed off the list, and I got an idea of everything that is available.
But therein lies the problem. Everything is available. How does a person really know what they need, or what the baby will actually use?
My poor sister-in-law offered to buy us a baby monitor, any monitor we wanted from any store. That should have been a simple task, and I guess for most people it would have been, but of course, not me. No, I¿finally just told her she would have to pick it because I¿could not handle all the choices. They have baby monitors with videos, motion detectors and probably NASA-developed GPS technology. There were about 20 different models at the store we visited, and it reminded me of when I first looked at “travel systems” — the name for car seat and stroller combos. I’m sensing a trend here. When it comes to picking out anything baby related, I become paralyzed and completely indecisive.
What if I¿picked the wrong baby monitor? What kind of mother would I be then? And furthermore, what kind of mother doesn’t know how to pick out the right baby monitor? Other people seem well-equipped for those kinds of decisions, but all I do is look at 20 different models and nearly start to cry.
So maybe you can understand a bit more why Brandon thought it was best if I¿didn’t spend too much time worrying over nursery decor.
But despite my indecisiveness and monitor-induced panic, we do have a room in our house that looks like it was made for a baby.
The crib is ready to go, and there are little pink clothes in the dresser drawers. The walls are freshly painted yellow because I already have two other yellow rooms in my house, and like I said, these kinds of decisions seem beyond my reach lately. I did come up with the idea of installing a chair rail, and Brandon, bless his heart, bragged on the chair rail like I had discovered the cure for cancer. A little positive reinforcement to build confidence and spur me to make a few more decisions.
Of course, now I’m going to stress about having painted the walls before picking out bedding, but something had to be done.
Is anyone else having flashbacks to last spring, when I couldn’t make up my mind about what flowers to plant in the front yard? That led to no flowers of any kind until the fall, when I bought two mums that I subsequently forgot to water and let die.
Luckily, the nursery seems to be a bit more successful than that. Chair rails and cribs do not require watering, just a little assembly. Overall, I’d say we are on the right track, and I’m glad we have so many people willing to help with things.
I’m going to try to get brave and maybe actually do something crazy like pick out the baby monitor. I¿think. Eventually. Just not right now.
