Preparing the Nursery

I am not the type of person to procrastinate.  If I know something needs to be done I want it done immediately.  I'm sure it drives Andy crazy!!  So, when we made it to 12 weeks in the pregnancy I was ready to start on the nursery.  It needed a lot of work!  We bought our house 4 years ago and we rarely go upstairs so we haven't done much in the way of decorating or remodeling so far.  The room we chose for the nursery was painted a very bright lavender and the walls and ceiling were in need of repair.  I also wanted to get new carpet....Andy did not agree with this but we ended up doing it and we are both happy we did.  Andy put up wainscoting for me and did an awesome job.  With the new paint color, wainscoting and repaired ceiling it looks amazing. 

Here are a few before and after pictures.... 

We have been so lucky to have such great friends and family who are letting us borrow things or buy them at very cheap prices.  I am borrowing a gorgeous crib from a friend and LOVE it!!  I decided on bedding from Pottery Barn Kids that had the pink and green colors I wanted.  

Here is the crib and a close up of the bedding......

As for a changing station, I did not want to buy a traditional one.  I wanted to buy a dresser that Abigail could use for a long time and function as a changer for now.  I looked a bunch of consignment shops trying to find something that was the right size and that had drawers that opened easily.  I finally found this at Vestavia Antiques & Interiors.  

Looking for a rocking chair was a chore!!  We looked everywhere and had trouble finding exactly what we wanted.  I don't think we were too picky, we just wanted a regular chair (either a glider with ottoman or a recliner) that we could both be comfortable in.  Andy is a good bit taller than me so chairs that had a high enough back for me were way to short for him.  We probably looked at about 10 stores in the Birmingham area with no luck.  We heard that Storkland in Vestavia sold chairs so we called to make sure they had them in the store so we could try them out.  We went on my lunch break (their hours are not convenient for 8-5 jobs) and tried everyone of them.....they have about 40 chairs in the store.  Finally we found one that fit both of us.  The only downside was that it took 6 weeks for it to come in which was hard for me and my need for instant gratification.  

Here it is in the room......I'm going to start now looking for a table and lamp to go beside it.

The last piece we needed was a bassinet for our room.  Again, I had trouble finding what I wanted.  Maybe I am more picky than I thought....  The bassinets in all the big baby stores are mostly made with plastic and have a lot of lace and frills on them which is not my style at all.  I finally looked on Craigslist list just to see what kinds of things are available and found one.  Its made by Eddie Bauer and matches my bedroom furniture.  I looked online to see how much a new one would cost and this style has been discontinued and is not available anymore.  I emailed her and got it a few days later for $60.  I am very happy with it!   

Now that we have all the big pieces in the room we can start working on the smaller projects.....I will post about them soon.