Since we are finished with the first year of sweet little Madeline’s life, I decided to take a look back and see how her nursery has changed as she has become more and more mobile. Let me preface this post by saying that I knew when I first set up her nursery, that a lot of this stuff would quickly have to change. 🙂 I had it all set up prior to her arrival, because I just knew that she was going to make her appearance earlier than her due date (which she did – call it mother’s intuition – LOL). A lot of my friends who already had children teased me about how much stuff I had set out, but I wanted it to look pretty for pictures! 🙂
Here are some shots of her nursery that were taken either right before her birth, or a little while after she arrived:
One of the most useful things we had in her nursery, at least when she was tiny, was a side table with a tissue box. It was great to have a place to set her bottles, my coffee, or any other necessities that you needed while feeding. I could also set my phone on it to charge while I played music for her. Having a tissue box was also very handy for quick clean-ups.
Prior to Madeline’s arrival, we had two tall bookshelves in her room that contained tons of books. I also had two beautiful monogrammed blankets hanging off of her crib, as well as a bumper. Before you get too worried, I took the bumper out once she arrived. 🙂
Here is another picture of her side table and one of her bookshelves (above). I had also put some cute stuffed animals on top of the bookshelf, for some added decoration. The brush and comb are monogrammed, and were a gift from my parents. The little shoes are also monogrammed on the strap, and were a gift that I received at my baby shower.
If you look to the left of the above picture, you will see a pretty little side table that my husband made for me to store extra diaper changing essentials (it was right next to our changing table). He even added little hooks on the side, to hold a mini hamper. It was really convenient, because we went through laundry like crazy for the first few months. 🙂 Unfortunately, the table was fairly lightweight, so it had to go as soon as Madeline started moving. Here is a close up of the table:
Below was a picture that was taken around Christmas (yes, we are wearing matching pajamas), when little Madeline was about six months old. She was a little late crawling, so I still had the bookshelves up. I also had the side table full of decorations, because it hadn’t become an issue yet. Since she didn’t really move, I was also able to put up her tree in her room. I am 100% positive that I will have to come up with a Plan B for next year, because little miss is now SUPER MOBILE and would most definitely pull it down on top of her. It was shortly after this picture was taken that her room REALLY started to change. Once she started crawling, it was GAME OVER on a lot of the stuff in her room – LOL!!!!
So, what had to go???
Here is what we are working with now:
The bookshelves definitely had to go as soon as Madeline started pulling up! They now reside in my guest bedroom, where I had a vacant space. Even with them mounted to the wall, I didn’t feel comfortable having them in there while she was so little. I also had to remove every book that wasn’t a board book. Anything with straight paper had to be removed because they would now be ripped to shreds in half of a second if they remained in her room. 🙂 I went to Home Goods and purchased some super cute little soft baskets to put all of her board books in so she can get to them as she pleases. Here is where they are now:
Oddly enough, one of Madeline’s FAVORITE activities is to empty out her book bin EVERY SINGLE DAY!!! It is so funny, because she will literally empty them all out, and then put them all back. Just in case you don’t believe me, here is some documented evidence – LOL:
She is so happy!!!
If you can’t tell from below, Madeline takes this daily activity very seriously! LOL! Please also notice that she only has on one sock. 🙂
Also, long gone are the days of having a pretty side table with a yummy cup of coffee. 🙂 I am 100% certain if I set a cup of coffee on her table, it would instantly be thrown across the room. LOL! I had to remove basically everything off of the table since she was very intrigued with whatever was sitting on the table and would START CHEWING ON IT – LOL. I also emptied all of the paper books out of the bottom shelf, because she was obsessed with stealing them. I have managed to keep a few on top, so the table wouldn’t be completely plain, but these books have recently targeted her interest, so they are going to have to be moved soon. I still have her tissue box there, but alas, I am going to have to move it soon too or it is going to be destroyed by my little munchkin. 🙂 Since a lot of the items were keepsake gifts (like the brush, comb and shoes), I had to store them away so they wouldn’t get ruined. I put her Easter basket where her bookshelf was, for some small stuffed animal storage. She likes to get them out of her basket, so at least they are easily accessible to her. I used her existing basket so I didn’t have to spend extra money on another basket – SCORE! Here is the table now (the poor little elephant has now become pretty ratty from the wrath of “Hurricane Maddie” – LOL):
When Madeline was first born, these three baskets held towels, bibs and burp cloths. Madeline had reflux REALLY BADLY (think projectile) for the first six months, so I went through insane amounts of these items. Luckily, those days are long gone, so the left basket can now hold all of the burp cloths, towels and bibs that I need. The middle basket now holds her matching outfits for daycare, and the right basket holds extra pants and shorts that aren’t a part of an actual outfit.
Since the table to the right of the changing table had to be removed, there was now vacant floor space. I discovered that this is a great place to store some of her toys, so they are somewhat hidden. She also enjoys their new location, since she can get to them during play time. I change the toys in and out, so she doesn’t get bored, and this has really worked well for us. Here is another look:
I have found that it is really convenient having books, toys and stuffed animals in baskets so they are easily reachable for my little munchkin! It is really fun to watch her scurry about the room and see what catches her attention for that day. I am curious to see how her room will transform again during her second year of life, so I will let you know! 🙂
Want to see more pics of Madeline’s room? If so, then click here and here!
P.S. Please follow our Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest pages for more fun ideas from One Cheerful Mom!
