As promised in my last post, I am going to go deeper into the realm of nursery prep. For some mamas, co-sleeping and one bedroom for all is the answer to their prayers. If you are already in this camp, then this post will not neccesarily be helpful for you. It honestly may create more work pre-pregnancy. You know what’s best for you and your family. I will not be sharing my thoughts in this post about sleep habits. (Fear not, that will come up later.) In this post, I will help you to ready a nursery for your wee one, specifically the changing area. This post will even be great before your baby shower if you are struggling with what to include on your registry. Prepped and ready is the way to go. Feel less stressed and more prepared to tackle anything! Let’s talk changing area!
The Changing Area:
Diapers will be a way of life for the next couple of years. An area to manage messy diapers, dress, moisturize and powder baby. Staying organized and keeping everything within arms reach is key in this area of your nursery. Pretty, yet practical.
My changing area is made up of an unused dresser I had on hand and a rolling cart. I looked for months trying to find a pretty, white changing table but in the end I chose to save some cash and paint an existing dresser that was just the right height. 3′ is a fabulous height for most adults, right around the waistline. It’s not too tall that you will have to reach upwards and not too short that you’ll be hunched over. I spray painted the knobs gold, white washed the rest of it and slapped a changing pad on top. The drawers underneath were perfect for extra clothes, swaddles, burp cloths and socks. BOOM. DONE.
The cart I painted the same gold as my dresser knobs and it works perfectly to store all of my daughters bits and bobs. On the top layer I have a small amount of diapers and wipes nearest to me. In a round container, I store diaper cream, a “distraction” toy, teether, lotion, powder, alcohol wipes (for the umbilical cord when she was tiny). The next two bottom layers can be a handy collection of more diapers, blankets, swaddles or decorative objects. (When they start pulling themselves up, the bottom layers are too open to store anything away from little, curious hands).
Here are our favorite items in the changing area:
- Diapers. I really did want to use cloth diapers this time around but ended up using disposable. Pampers and BJ’s (Berkley Jensen) are the favorites! We tried sooo many different brands and had good luck with most of them honestly. If your child doesn’t have allergies or massive blow-outs, you could really just shop around for a brand that’s cost effective. I was able to get a large amount of diapers from my baby shower and from Facebook mother’s groups (extreme coupons or just mama’s who bought too many in one size and now were looking to sell their unopened boxes.) Before my daughter was born, her nursery closet was filled with diapers in sizes NB-4. The only diaper brand that didn’t work as well was the Aldi brand (Little Journey). They were very thin and not as absorbent as the other brands.
- Wipes. Again, we tried sooo many different brands and gifted many different options from baby shower gifts. One of my favorites is Wal-Mart’s (Parent’s Choice Shea Butter Baby Wipes.) They are extremely cost effective, smell great and they don’t dry out her tiny tush. I also love Water Wipes and Aldi’s (Little Journey). I tried to make them myself at one point but the wet paper towels stuck together and often my finger went straight through. Ew.
- Diaper Cream. My little one had some yeast issues so I use it sparingly. The brands we love with no allergic reactions to are ; Aquaphor, Seventh Generation Coconut Care, Babyganics and Grandma El’s. She had some issues with Boudreaux’s Butt Paste.
- Lotion. After bath, there is nothing quite as nice then spending some quality time with your little one. My first child loved this time and would lay back to savor the massage. My second child is a squirmy worm and could care less about dry skin or a soothing back rub. It is important to me for a lotion to be as pure as it can be. Skin is the bodies largest organ and absorbs so much of what we use like lotions, sunscreens, make-up, etc. My absolute favorite lotion is Puracy Organic Baby Lotion! It has a calming scent of Lavender and Grapefruit and is just the right weight, not sticky or heavy. Another favorite is Burt Bee’s Baby Lotion.
- Powder. California Baby Organic Powder. Again, this is something we have used sparingly but it was important to me to use a powder that’s talc-free and not harmful to my little bean. She has the sweatiest, stinkiest feet for a baby! Hehe, seriously soooo sweaty and it’s not even summertime. Our pedi recommended baby powder and no lotion to keep those tiny toes dry and stink free after a bath.
- Teether and/or Distraction Toy. Once your baby is big enough to be annoyed by diaper changing, then it’s time for a distraction toy. I have a small collection of these in the diaper changing area. It’s a great, safe object within hands reach that I can offer while I’m busy wiping and diapering. A few favorites are; Baby Banana Infant Training Toothbrush and Teether (little nubs create a fun and soothing texture for their gums.), Manhattan Toy Skwish Natural Rattle (she loved this one as a teether and one of the first toys she could actually grasp).
- Trash Pail. I hesitate to even write about this changing area object. In all honesty, we rarely use the trash pail. We have one next to the changing table but it’s rarely used. I normally change the baby, then throw the diaper directly outside if it’s messy and if it’s wet I throw it in the household trashcan that we empty each night. All of the diaper pail refill systems in my opinion are gross and expensive. I’ve heard wonderful things about the new steel pails but I just cannot get over the nightmare from my first child. My boyfriend and I refer to this nightmare as “the turd sausage”. If you have ever dealt with emptying a Diaper Genie, you will know what I mean.