I SORT OF remember a few years back when, in the middle of baseball playoff season, my wife yelled to me from the other room, “Forget about the game, we’ve got shit to do.” I’m being facetious, it’s almost impossible to forget that moment, it was my very first blog post on Dad or Alive and ended up being the first chapter of my book.
Even though we technically waited until just before Ava was born to strip the walls and shelves of my collectibles and action figures, suffocate them in bubble wrap and transform our home office (my former fortress of solitude) into a nursery, we still did a TON of planning. Every weekend leading up to the birth was a different destination, shuffling through stores picking up self-adhering butterfly mirrors, little pink moccasins that she would outgrow in a week and literally anything we could find that was just ‘adorable and we must have it’.
We were seriously over-prepared.
I can’t say the same for our latest addition, Mason. He kinda got screwed.
We recently moved into a new house last summer and while we knew he was well on his way, we still insisted on using his room as a staging area for some imaginary yard sale that may or may not happen several months from now. It looked like my Gram’s old junk drawer in her kitchen, except this was measured in square FEET, not inches. Old HVAC filters, broken doll high-chairs, a smashed wicker laundry basket, a pile of tools that I never took to the basement, you know…the usual landfill-type treasures.
I suppose my wife and I were trying to one-up each other in some sort of twisted procrastination contest. Either that, or maybe we were just tired. I’ll bet we’re not the first parents with multiple kids that just get beat down and run over after a few years. And maybe there was even an off-chance that we were just SO confident that he would arrive on his actual due date?
But of course, with my luck involved in the equation, the boy came a few weeks early.
It was okay though, it was a blessing in disguise. Not only because he’s a handsome little chap…
…but because we waited so long, the Eddie Bauer ‘First Adventure’ line, exclusive to Target, had made it’s debut in the stores. As some of you already know, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Target’s ‘Inner Circle‘ and had the opportunity to share my dilemma with them.
My wife and I took a few hours to finally clear out Mason’s soon-to-be nursery. I showed my friends at Target the blank slate that I had to work with and we came up with a couple great items that will serve as the foundation for a room he can grow into.
Allow me to preface the upcoming visual aids by mentioning that, as I get older, things get increasingly difficult. I used to be able to knock out a set of Ikea instructions (you know, the crazy Swedish names and illustrations) in like ten minutes, no sweat. Now I find myself having to take bathroom breaks and get up to ‘walk around’ because my legs are stiff and my back hurts.
Luckily this wasn’t the case with the Eddie Bauer Langley dresser.
This progression of pictures spare you the agony of watching me contort my body in an awkward fashion to tighten screws and insert wooden dowels, but compared to a lot of the other furniture I’ve put together, this was a relative breeze. The result was a really sturdy, well-crafted dresser that gives us a perfect amount of space to store his stained ‘hand-me-down’ onesies (he’s not getting EVERYTHING new, you guys).
Taking the first steps in creating a new room for your baby is exciting (SUPER exciting for mom, just ‘regular’ exciting for me) and I was lucky enough to have a little helper.
Even if the only thing she wanted to do was build a ‘rocket ship’ out of styrofoam. PLEASE tell me that thing will successfully leave the launchpad and make it’s way to my recycling bin…
The next morning, me and my helper (in the same clothes because why not) tackled the next big piece of the puzzle. The Eddie Bauer Langley crib.
This is the third crib I’ve put together in under five years and BY FAR, the easiest. In the past, I’ve noticed crib designs hiding access to hex bolts in odd positions, making it nearly impossible for me to get a full rotation on my wrench, so I end up having to do these little quarter-turns…parents, if you’d had this happen before, you’ll know immediately what the hell I’m talking about.
The crib took us about a half an hour to assemble and I appreciated the color descriptions within the instructions, ensuring that I had the mattress support in correctly.
No parent wants to toss their kid in the crib and watch he or she ‘Farley’ the thing and come crashing to the floor.
As my wife and I moved these two new pieces into place, I could see her head swirling with ideas. Also, the foam in the corners of her mouth were a dead giveaway. Because we chose white, we really have the freedom to find a color palette that we feel suits our son and add accents here and there to really make the whole thing pop.
I’m sorry, did I just say that?
The reality is that these are only two of the many great things that the Eddie Bauer/Target partnership has to yield. Whether you’re a new parent or an old(er) one like me, looking for baby’s first stroller or play yard or if you’re just trying to find an item to accessorize or compliment something you already have, they probably have it.
And maybe I can just help you get it.
Between now and Wednesday, April 2nd at 5pm EST, simply enter below for a chance to win a $300 Target gift card!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Best of luck and share this with your friends (unless you’re being selfish to increase your chances of winning)!
We went with a Winnie the Pooh theme and we did a lot of remodeling…took out the carpeting and put in hardwood floors, painted, added a wallpaper border, had matching furniture, bedding, and artwork.
Name on rafflecopter: Mary Happymommy
I had a nautical themed nursery planned even before we knew we were having a girl — I just would change the accent color from pink to green! We had to repaint and totally redo the room as it had been my office and walk-in closet. It’s now a beautiful navy and rose room for my Nella to sleep in 🙂
I’m with you, 3rd child got screwed! Older 2 got a room
makeover and bunk beds and baby moved into old nursery.
i planned a LOT for my daughter but not so much with my son because there wasn’t much time!!!
RAFFLECOPTER NAME- Courtney B
vanitizebaby@yahoo.com
Your helper needs a raise 🙂 Oldest, now 24, had the standard late 80’s teddy bear room, the youngest slept in the living room because the kid would whimper the entire night!
Our first was well planned with paint samples and furniture shopping…our second we bought a dresser about a week before I was due and brought up the changing table.
My kiddos didnt even have a nursery! So you are one up on us for that!!
My wife told me what to do and I did that thing.
I swear the boy’s room took one day and the girl’s room took 3 months. There is a great thing about building your child’s crib and they do not fall through the bottom!
Our last nursery was quite the ordeal. We have a three bedroom house and 3 kids. Someone has to share. We had to fit bunk beds and a crib in one room. And that quarter turn problem with the crib… my NEMESIS!
We put a ton of work into our nursery. Here is my blog post on it: http://www.fathernerdsbest.com/2014/02/the-baby-star-wars-nursery.html
My wife knew exactly the crib she wanted. We had to call five different Targets and drive two hours away to get one, but we finally found it. Putting it together was easier by comparison.
We did a fair amount of planning for my son’s nursery. I then did all of the actual work like painting and chair rail etc. 🙂
Looks great and pretty easy to put together although crystal powered assembly would be more convenient.
I’m not a mommy yet … so I’ve yet to design a nursery or child’s bedroom. Hopefully one day, though!
It was amazing to me how proficient I became at putting together kids’ furniture pieces. By the time our second came along, I barely had to glace at the directions anymore…
We put it together in one long day, although honestly it was pretty easy. Just very time consuming. Because at 7 months pregnant you need a lot of potty breaks. And my husband only said, “There is no way this is right”, 5 or 6 times. A new record for him. My nursery isn’t Target but our high chair is the Eddie Bauer/Target high chair and WE LOVE IT!!!
1 day. Easy peezy. I dig what you write and also really, kinda, totally dig Target.
The first one I spent 9 months planning and had countless pinterest boards. I’m 4 months pregnant now and havent given this one a thought!
I didn’t put too much planning into their rooms. I had general ideas on what I wanted to do, like the paint colors. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a theme or decorations because they grow so fast and then want things of their own.
We spent months to plan and remodel our nursery. It is almost like building a new room.
We did a little bit, but had to use alot of what we already had due to finances. I would love to redo it!
We had the crib up for 10 years until we took it down because we were “done” and then… oops. We actually gave away most of our baby stuff. I hope I remember how to put a crib together.
Not much since I only have a fur baby, a high quality bed underneath our bed and she decorates it herself by moving a suitcase now and then.
We did some painting and got new baby furniture. It took a few weeks to have everything done
Sooo much planning on my son’s room but that is because he has autism and no natural fear of heights or anything. I had to plan out everything from carpet,protection for windows so he won’t break them,furniture and lighting….just every thing. We are moving soon so I have to plan out his new room…stressful!
Word. You rule, Adrian.
Since i already have a crib from my first daughter, I’d make $150 for nursery room budget.
Lots! I actually start planning the second I find out I’m pregnant 🙂
We did all the rooms pretty plain and simple. Pink for the girl and blue for the boy. Same for bedding, etc – so not an extraordinary amount of time!
Rafflecopter: Carolsue
The first one was carefully planned out. I even did four small paintungs for his room which was animal themed. After that, things got handed down from kid to kid with only curtains changing. Glad we didn’t have more kuds, because that kid would really get the shaft.
Not much planning- we moved right after we had the baby- so started fresh in a new house, simple neutral tones and spots of color.
I love that you used ‘Farley’ as a verb. I’ve always used ‘Forrest Gump’ as a verb for friends who Forrest Gumped their way into great situations…
Not a lot of planning. We picked a theme and picked some colors and spent most of the time cleaning the spare bedroom out.
My son is one and his room is still not complete.
Crib construction is a test. If you can’t do it, you can’t have a baby, right??
Not much planning at all…the first one got all of the new furniture, we lived in an apartment so no paint but a few things on the wall…the second one came only 15 months later so he got the hand me down furniture and they shared a room! The third one was a surprise, and one of my greatest blessings, but she did get the shaft 🙁
We spent hours agonizing over the nursery. Which furniture would work? Which bedding? Which wall decorations? All the planning paid off as the nursery looked good.
How much time went into our kids nursery….not much. Everything but the dresser was a hand me down from family. Choosing a dresser probably took like 10 hours! My kids still have mismatched stuff. We are getting ready to move into a new home in a few months and I would love to give my little girls new bedroom stuff and decor!
I already have a crib from my first daughter, so I’ll go with $150 budget. thank you for the giveaway
I doing a lot of planning and research for our first child. I love looking on pinterest for ideas!
nursery looks great!!
We Spent Months Planning The Nursery, From Wall Design To Carpet.
For our first baby, it was a long learning curve. Even after our baby was born we had to rearrange and change things to adapt with parenting and nursing.
i spent months for my kid’s nursery. i just can’t make my mind.
We planned what we could, but didn’t have a separate nursery. So we decorated the area of our room. Thanks for the giveaway! DamianMom at yahoo dot com
We planned to go around $150, thank you for the chance.
We spent a lot of time for our sons nursery and then again for their toddler years
We wanted a jungle theme so we went to a few different stores and found the items we wanted. We weren’t too picky, but it did take some time.
We were young when my children were born, so I had my mother and mother in law sew the bedding which came in kits that i purchased from many locations of a certain chain fabric store.
None at all, it’s WAY low on the priority list!
there was a lot of planning! lots of couponing, and saving, always looking for the best deals and finding ways to be creative! it took a long time to get it the way I wanted it to look!
I didn’t do too much planning. Just some painting and help from friends!
Not very much planning went into my kids nursery’s. We just did what we could with what money we had, what was gifted to us, and what was on sale.
Once we choose his bedding, everything went really fast. We just chose colors, etc. based on that, but didn’t spend a huge amount of time.
Entered the rafflecopter form as “Wild Orchid”
Thanks for the chance to win!
wildorchid985 at gmail dot com
We way over-planned with our first but kept it more simple and repainted with the next two!
We had the very basics when we set up his “nursery” in the corner of our bedroom. I learned very quickly that babies, although tiny, will soon take over your whole house anyways. 🙂
Erikamontes79
I painted it, does that count?? 🙂
We have kind of thrown it together as the years go by. My husband built a shelf, we bought a headboard for his twin bed 🙁 within the last 6 months.
My first daughter had it all. Beautiful pink room with a canopy hanging from the ceiling, fairies painted on the walls, matching dressers, perfectly hung tiny clothes. My second daughter got the hand me downs, but no paint or fuss. I was too practical by then!
We dont have a lot of space or $ for the 1st kid so we didnt put that much into the nursery – we got the essentials
We lacked the space and funds to do it justice, but we had a crib and a bassinet.
when my daughter was a bit younger, I put a lot of planning into making her room girly and pink. Now that she is a tween, and soon to be teen she’s added her own style to her room. We’ve chosen some new bedding, will be painting the walls a different color this summer, updated the curtains and bedside lamp, and gotten a new area rug as well. Hubby plans on refinishing her hardwood floor and really making it shine and look great in the months to come. Granted, the room may not look so much like a little girls room anymore-but she will still be my little girl even though she’s added her own decorating style/touches to her room to give it a new look.
I did a good amount of planning for my son’s bedroom.
Thomas Murphy
rounder9834 @yahoo.com
I did most of the planning and then showing hubby – we got a nursery bedroom set (crib, dresser, chest) mattress, changing pad, and I bought a bedding set (blanket, bumper, sheets, curtains, etc.) Then some decor pieces and a glider – we spent way to much $$$!
We didn’t plan a nursery. With our first, he either slept in our room or the living room.
I did not plan mine too much. I just threw things together as I went along
We waited till after our son outgrew his grace sleeper for the pack n play. Then we finally went out to but him is crib at walmart. Unfortunately it was missing bottom screws. Which we called and they sent the wrong ones or they just never fit to begin with. Since we told them the ones our manual said. Our son is almost two now and we just took one of his cribs sides off to make into a big boy bed. >_< Wish us luck! It was that or worry throughout the night if he was climbing over it and falling out. Which is what he did and that made us decide it was time to take it off. Now we need to start thinking about another crib for baby number two. So this post was helpful to read through and get some ideas.