Baby Furniture Essentials for a Small Nursery

I've blogged before about my lapse in judgement when I picked the smaller of the two available bedrooms to turn into a nursery. My organizing skills were put to the test, especially when it came to the closet. But recently, I've been getting some questions about how to fit all that baby furniture into a nursery that's lacking square footage.


The trick is to utilize the space with essential baby furniture and then get the extras if you have room. So what are the essentials? Well, obviously the crib and a changing table. Depending on how much room you have, will determine what type of changing table you can get. If you can spare the room, I would highly recommend a dresser/changing table. It will give you a lot more storage for baby clothes than a changing table that has one or two shelves.

I would also call a glider, or rocking chair, a baby nursery essential. I think I've sat in my glider more than my living room chair, since my daughter was born.

Everything else, you can get by without. You don't have to have an armoire, an end table or a dresser. Granted, these things will also give you extra storage space, but if you properly utilize every inch of closet space in your baby's nursery you'll be able to get by.

Recommend Reading:

How to Buy Baby Furniture for a Small Nursery
Tips for Organizing a Baby Nursery That's Small
Baby Nursery Space Saving Ideas

Baby Sign Language

Ever wonder what's behind the crying, the whining, the tears and the tantrums? You're a mom...of course you have! You can stop wondering sooner than later, and know what your baby wants if you learn to communicate with her. Even before babies learn to speak they can tell us what they want...and baby sign language is the easiest way to understand their needs.


I started teaching baby sign language to my daughter when she was about six months old. For the past two months I've only been concentrating on a few words: milk, food, more, mommy and daddy. I try to use them as consistently as possible. It will likely take months before she finally connects the need, the sign and the word. But when she does, she'll be able to tell me she's hungry instead of crying until I figure it out.

Yesterday, I got so excited as my daughter's little hand was making a motion that looked like the American Sign Language sign for milk. I immediately fed her...thinking she's picked it up already! I'm raising a genius! I called my husband and told him...I was so proud. Then, an hour after I fed her I noticed she was doing it again. She can't still be hungry. Later, I ran to the store and when I got back my husband said she'd been doing the same motion....and that it was more likely she liked making a fist and opening her fingers back out (like milking a cow), than it was that she was telling me she was hungry...still! Well, at least she's half way there. She's learned how to make the sign, now she just needs to connect it to her desire for milk.

If you think about it, many babies learn to wave "bye-bye" and blow kisses around 10 or 11 months old. Although these aren't ASL signs, it's the same concept. If your baby can learn to wave bye-bye or hi, why can't she learn a sign for "milk?" It doesn't matter if you and your baby use your own signs or ASL to communicate, just as long as you both know what you're talking...or signing...about! 

Early Baby Signs

Milk - make a motion like you're milking a cow
More - On each hand, bring all your fingers together. Tap all 10 fingers together
Food - Tap your lips with all five fingers on one hand
Mommy - Spread your fingers out, and tap your chin with your thumb
Daddy - Spread your fingers out, and tap your forehead with your thumb

It's never too late to start introducing signs to your baby. While some parents are concerned that teaching an infant or toddler sign language, will delay their speech, quite the opposite is true.

For more on how to get started teaching baby sign language to your little one click here.

Baby Easter Basket

So it's your baby's first Easter and you're wondering what you can fill her Easter basket with....or even if you should give her an Easter basket at all. Just because she's still all gums doesn't mean you can't keep the Easter tradition. Here are a few ideas for filling a baby's Easter basket.


Bunny Clackers Book - This adorable book is perfect for young babies. The ears are easy to grab and the pages are easy to clack together. The book retails for less than $5 and can be found on Amazon or your local book store.  My daughter has the fish clacker book....well had...she loved it so much it looks more like fish soup now!

Bubbles - Babies love bubbles. They're also a great way to encourage eye tracking and reaching. You can use them inside or take the outside now that the weather is getting warmer.

Toys - A new doll, a soft stuffed bunny rabbit or lamb (to stick with the Easter theme) or his very own whatever (truck, book, blocks) that he always seems to play with when visiting his baby friends.

Baby Einstein - Get your baby one of these adorable 30 minute puppet shows. Sure he's not learning as much as he would if you were interacting with him for those 30 minutes, but sometimes you need a break (think: dinner or a shower)! These are perfect for both of you!

Clothes/Accessories - How about a cute little spring outfit, a new hat or a cute pair of sunglasses for all those walks you're going to take now that the weather's getting warmer or a bathing suit going into summer? 

And even though your baby can't have chocolate, he can enjoy a little something sweet. Put one of Munchkin's Fresh Food Feeder mesh bags in his Easter basket. You can put a strawberry or slice of peach in there and let your baby gnaw on it safely.

Preparing for a Baby-Free Vacation

Exactly a month from today...I know I'll be a crying mess of a mom. My husband and I are going on an all-expensive paid vacation to a world class resort. "Why cry?" you ask. We can't bring our daughter. While that would be cause for celebration for some...I'm having a hard time leaving her behind for a week. I know it will be tough for her too...so here's how I'm preparing both of us for my baby-free vacation. 


The biggest challenge for me is that I'm still breastfeeding and I plan to continue nursing until my daughter hits her first birthday. That means I'll have to bring along my breast pump and try to stick to her nursing schedule (which thankfully is down to only four times a day). But even more challenging than that, is that I have to pump a week's worth of milk before we leave so my little girl has something to eat. As I said, she's down to 4 bottles/nursings a day and two solid food meals. But let's face it getting 24 oz a milk per day for 6 days is hard work. (Formula seems to disagree with her stomach, if that's what you're thinking). It's a lot of milk no matter how you look at it. So along with nursing her now, I'm also trying to collect extra milk for later. I get about 6 oz extra every 24-36 hours. Here's how I've been doing it:

- Four weeks ago (or 2 months before our trip) I realized I had no milk in the freezer and a daughter who was going to be away from me for a week...so I started pumping frantically.  Moral of the store - plan ahead.
- I can ususally pump 2 oz in the morning before I nurse my daughter first thing in the morning.
- I also pump about 3-4 oz every night before I go to bed, even though she's no longer  eating at that time.
-If we get closer to the trip and I don't have enough milk (it's looking like I will) I will get up in the middle of the night, probably around 2am, and pump then too. If I have to do that I'll probably be able to get about 4 more ounces.

The next issue is that, the week we're away, she won't be staying at our house. Most things can go with her...but the crib is not one of them. Some moms are luckily blessed with a baby who will sleep anywhere. I am not one of them. My daughter will have to sleep in her pack 'n play. She's done it before, but it's always a challenge getting her to sleep. To make it easier for her grandmoms I've been gradually getting her more comfortable with the pack 'n play. Here's what I've been doing:

-A few weeks before the trip: I put my daughter in her pack 'n play with some toys, while I got a shower. I did this for several days. 

-A few days later I moved the pack 'n play into her room and put her in it, instead of her crib, for naps.  I did this for several days and she seemed to do fine.

-I then moved the porta crib into the master bedroom (a room where my daughter is comfortable) and had her take naps in there.  She did fine with this as well. 

-After she got comfortable with that, I moved it into the guest room. This is a room that my daughter has never been in before. I wanted her to get used to sleeping in an unfamiliar place. She did fine in here too. 

-The next step is to repeat the locations (with the exception of the master bedroom) at night. 

By the time I'm done this rotation, she should be comfortable sleeping anywhere.

Finally, I keep a detailed "how to manuel" on my daughter. I've done this since she was born for whenever we have a babysitter. It's coming in very handy, now, that we're going to be gone for a week. I include a typical day, how meals work, what she likes to do, what works when the crying won't stop, how the car seat works and everything else you might want to know.  If you haven't done this start keeping a log and you'll start to notice patterns in your child's day. This is a good place to start your "manuel." 

Tag You're It...

Remember the kids game "Tag?" Of course you do..and now I'm introducing you to the blogging version. 



Here's how you play:

1. Go to the photos folder on your computer.
2. Go to the seventh folder of photos.
3. Go to the seventh photo.
4. Put the seventh photo on your blog along with a description.
5. Invite some blogging friends to join.

Okay, so my photo is kinda lame. It's a picture I took, of my front door, for an eHow article I was writing about How to make an Inexpensive Christmas Wreath. By the way, the article is about as lame as the picture, it's only earned me a .07...sigh! It obviously isn't hasn't done much to contribute to the nearly $200 I've made on eHow over the last few months. But I digress...Hopefully your picture will be much cooler. I was hoping to get one of my little girl or a beautiful shot from my visit to Italy, but no, I got the front door of my house! Oh well...

I'm tagging my friend Jen