Saturday 21 April 2012

Perfect for a Baby

Way back when Ewan was born, my Mum told me to enjoy my newborn baby because next thing I know, he'll be a teenager and asking for the car keys. I didn't listen and initially wished the weeks away. Don't get me wrong, I loved my new bundle but it was hard and literally everything hurt, my tired eyes, my cracked nipples and caesarian wound. In hindsight I wish I had sat back and enjoyed that newborn stage more like she so wisely suggested because I've blinked and oh my gosh, I have a 9 month old little boy. Where did my newborn baby go?

Ewan's room is currently set up exactly as it was when he was 1 day old and it's just the most gorgeous newborn baby room (if I say so myself) but problem is, he's not a newborn any more and I already feel like he's outgrown the decor. 

So you're getting a look at his room before I start morphing it into a little boys room.

Breastfeeding chair in the corner along with vintage ottoman, essential items in those early days because you spend so much time sitting with your new little bundle.
My bestie, Liv made this for Ewan before he was born. It's an origami paper mobile and it's just the loveliest mobile I've ever seen. It means so much more too because it was made with love especially for us. Great idea for those clever people out there that might want to copy it. The bonus is it won't cost a fortune, just your time.

I brought the Stokke sleepi cot second hand for half it's retail price, bargain (Got to love Gumtree)! The quilt was made by Ewan's Nan (who we call Nambi)  and it's impeccably made.


I went with an owl theme with green as the main colour because I didn't know if I was having a boy or a girl and those things seemed pretty gender neutral. Everything in the room has some sort of owl reference. The paper garland lights over the windows have a little owl on them, the tree on the wall (which is just a cheap wall sticker) has a wooden owl in it and the bedding has owls on it. The dresser is my old one from when I was a girl but it now has a lick of white paint on it. Nothing in this room cost much, it was mostly furniture we had but we made it a bit more "baby" through the bedding and mobile and other small touches.

Brand new baby items cost so much, it's a bit like wedding prices, they're always double what they should be! I think if you can do some clever second hand buying and scour your family's house, you can get away with spending a minimal amount. Plus you've got 9 months to do it so it's not like you need to rush out and buy it all at once. My other big tip if you're doing a baby room is to keep the walls white and decorate through your furnishings, that way you don't have to re paint it every time you want to change the decor.

Sigh. Well, as sad as it is that my baby is now quite the little boy, I'm excited about what I can do to his room to update it so it's a bit more grown up...like him.

Don't forget to check out my home's other rooms, the kitchen/lounge and bathroom. Or if you want to look at the shack (our "church") go here.

4 comments:

  1. I've missed quite a few posts I see! Ewan's room is so sweet, I love the owl theme and the crane mobile! I used to be able to make those, I had strings of them decorating my wall in Japan, but I'm not sure I could remember how now. I'm sure these things come back to you! :)

    I didn't know you'd had a c-section. I had to have one too, Hugh wouldn't come out even after vacuum assist! What a hellish time. I recovered pretty quickly though, didn't have any pain except when I tried to move in bed (wasn't bed-ridden at all), so I count myself lucky. It does make it extra hard though doesn't it? After all that work and then having an operation, and you get no chance to really sleep and recover!

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    1. OMG, you have hit the nail on the head in regards to the c-section. I found that people thought I'd "taken the easy option" by having the c-section. Little did they know that I had pre eclampsia and was really sick, then had a full 24 hour labor ordeal only to be taken into surgery because the baby was starting to show signs of distress. I had terrible trouble trying to adjust and recover afterwards, not because of the surgery as such but because of my illness, trouble with my milk not coming in, a baby that lost so much weight that we were in hospital for 9 days and he wouldn't feed and ended up with a gastric nose tube. Was a terrible time! I still get a sick feeling in my stomach when I think about it all! Sounds like you had a similar experience so I feel for you not having your parents around to help. Were Adam's available to help you much?

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    2. Oh wow Alex, I had no idea - that is a much more hellish ordeal than ours. We had what was technically a five day labour! Long story, but isn't it the way it goes that you do everything you can to have a birth with minimal medical intervention (I just wanted my midwife), and you end up with the most medically-intervention-ed birth you could think of! Though luckily for us the worst thing that happened to Hugh was being intubated (clearing the lungs of merconium - sp?) which gave him a sore throat and a weird cry that never really went away! Adam hasn't yet recovered, he still feels a bit ill thinking about it, but actually I'm already feeling quite chipper about the idea of having a second one. Not anytime yet of course. Amazing how traumatic childbirth can be, though also great that our brains are designed to forget the worst!

      I had a lot of trouble breastfeeding at first, too, and I think that was the worst part of it - I felt that, if only I could provide for my baby, I'd be able to get my equilibrium back or something. Thank god for the breastfeeding clinic, they were awesome. It took three weeks but it was so worth it (we had to give him formula at first). And even though Ewan had a rough start he's clearly such a strong, happy little boy now! They bounce back well don't they?

      Adam's parents were great, we ended up staying with them for the first 8 days because Hugh was born at the beginning of a heat wave and our flat is old and gets incredibly hot in summer.

      (oh dear, just had a thought that maybe I shouldn't be talking about all this stuff on your blog!)

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    3. No drama about this being on the blog, I don't care who knows!

      I don't know about my ordeal but yours sounds just as bad...a 5 day labor, phew that's pretty extreme!

      BF is the hardest part of having a new baby for sure. The labor ordeal for me was hard but forgotten in a way (like you said, I could go again, I seem to have forgotten about that part too!), it's everything that came after in those first 10 days that was the worst for us.

      Anyhoo, life goes on and as you said, Ewan is health and happy now so no harm done.

      I love him to bits and I know that's how you feel about Hugh. It's a life changer being a parent but truly in the best of ways!

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