Nick and I have been waiting a long time to meet our first baby, Cooper James Panetta. Since March, we have patiently gone through each day, week, and month, counting down the days, checking our weekly updates, visiting the doctor, picking up baby necessities, and checking off our to do list. Now, finally, tomorrow is the day we get to meet our sweet little boy. Read below for all the inspiration and details of his baby nursery.
The process of expanding our family took longer than expected and we hit more roadblocks than expected. When the morning finally came when I saw two pink lines after much waiting, I was thrilled. However, similar to our journey leading up to this pregnancy, not everything goes according to plan. I have had some hard lessons in learning to let go and not get so caught up in “the plan.” I think it was meant to be this way to prepare me for the chaos of motherhood.
A few weeks ago we found out Cooper had a different plan for how he wanted to make his entrance into this world. He decided he liked his head resting in my rib cage, and he wanted to be breech. Despite multiple check ups and an attempt to manually flip him, he very adamantly decided to stay put. Because of this, we are scheduled for a c-section tomorrow morning, at 8:30 am. Tomorrow I become a mother and my life changes for ever, for what I know will be the best.
A natural part of planning for a baby is the nesting process, preparing the nursery. As an artist and lover of all things interior decorating, I was almost more excited about this than the baby in the beginning. After all, baby was going to take 9 months of cooking to get ready, I could start the nursery immediately. Last weekend the last item went into place, and his bedroom is complete. Now all we need is a baby.
His room is located on the first floor of our house. I love that the first thing I see when I open his door is his crib. I can’t wait to go in, in the morning and see his sweet face greeting me.
Lucky for me I married a very crafty man, and he made the wood and metal sign with Cooper’s name on it. He salvaged wood from a home renovation down the street, a historic 1800’s home in East Lake, Atlanta, GA. It’s full of holes and character, exactly what I wanted to use for the base of the piece. We added some stain and paint, sanded it down, and finished it off with metal letters I ordered from Monson Metal Co. on Etsy. This piece was one of the first projects for the room, and the perfect decor to go above his crib.
I painted the room with a light, turquoise blue color, and a gray accent wall. The accent wall was a piece of cake to complete, even though it looks like a complicated process. I first painted all four walls turquoise, then taped off the thin stripe pattern using painter’s tape. After the tape pattern was complete and I made sure it was well stuck to the wall, I painted a layer of gray on top. Once the paint dried, I pulled the tape off, and touched up any rough edges.
I found the rug for a steal at overstock.com. I knew I wanted a large area rug to keep my feet warm for those late night feedings and for a soft surface for Cooper to sit, lay, play, and crawl on. The darker color will allow the inevitable stains to blend in and the light color pattern gives it nice contrast.
The crib and glider were purchased at Buy Buy Baby, the side table from Target, and the desk was a Craigslist find from college that I was able to repurpose in the room as a changing table.
After months of searching for the perfect size storage unit to go under the changing table, I once again turned to my handy hub. I purchased 7 baskets at 50% off from Hobby Lobby and he built the unit around them. In a small room, with a small closet, and no space for a dresser, we had to get creative with our storage. This unit now holds Coopers diapers, swaddle blankets, socks, mittens, hats, toys, baby care, and breastfeeding supplies. I finished off the sides of the unit by adding pieces of the fabric used in his bedding.
In addition to my handy hub, I also have a very artistic and crafty mom. She volunteered to make all of Cooper’s bedding and we found beautiful geometric fabric at spoonflower.com. I first fell in love the with triangle pattern, I loved the blues, greens, and grays. This fabric set the tone and color palette for the entire room. After settling on the triangles, I found a beautiful gray weather vane pattern for the bedskirt. Although the bumpers will have to be removed when Cooper first comes home, I can’t wait to add them back in, in a few months
Etsy was my go to place when the glider finally arrived and I realized I needed throw pillows. My love of all things Harry Potter finally found it’s place in a “I solemnly swear I am up to no good” pillow from Ander’s Attic. Shortly after placing the order for the first pillow I found the “Boy: a noise with first on it,” pillow, and had to have it. It arrived quickly after I placed my order with HeSheChic, and I was able to customize the color of the ink and size of the pillow.
The walls are filled with decor made by Nick, Dekanimal (from Etsy), and me. The Cooper sign is exactly what I envisioned for the space and I love the modern, geometric animal prints contrasting the antique Cooper sign style on the opposite wall. My encaustic clouds piece hangs next to the glider and the my encaustic alphabet hangs on the wall next to the door.
Since Nick and I first found out we were pregnant in early spring, we have been collecting items for little man. Plush sheep were discovered by Nick on the app “Geek.” Handmade creatures were found in a tiny shop in downtown Asheville, and books have made their way from each of our childhoods to the bedside table.
New books, toys, clothes, and everything we need have slowly filled the closet, storage unit, side table, and changing table. Nick and I are truly blessed to have such amazing family, friends, and coworkers. Thanks to their help we are set and ready for Cooper to come home.
Cooper’s first pictures will find their way to a post soon. Until then, bear with me while I take a short hiatus from blogging and focus on rearing my first born. Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog! Get updates straight to your inbox by subscribing below and please share with others! Thanks for stopping by.
We now have baby girl Kennedy added to our sweet little family. Check out her nursery here.
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