virtual nursery: our purchases/wants so far!

So far we have been very limited in what we have been "allowed" to purchase for Little Bean. Although we are almost 9 weeks out, we have been very strict in our purchases and aside from a BUCKET LOAD of hand-me-down clothes (in perfect nick, some with tags still on!) and our major items, Baby's room is pretty empty...

I was placed on a shopping ban. Yes, me, Mrs I-Need-Everything-Organised-ASAP, was told I was not allowed to buy anything for Little Bean until after our baby shower...

Needless to say, it's been killing me.

Currently, we have Baby's bassinet, pram and capsule, nappy bag, glider and a small side table. With the exception of about 4 little outfits early on in our pregnancy and a few decorations (like paper pom poms - more on that later!), that is all we have purchased and currently have at home. We have also paid for Baby's cot and change table, however they are on back order and due to be delivered in about 2 weeks (AFTER the baby shower - it's killing me people!!!) We also plan to purchase a little wardrobe in the coming weeks.

Everything else in baby's room has been given to us. We were given a second capsule, barely used, which will be in the Hub's car so we don't have to keep switching. We have been given an Angel Care baby monitor (again, barely used!) and 2 different musical seats for baby. And then there are the clothes. Oh my, the clothes!!! Going off tiny baby sized clothes, the girls are winning...but once we get to the bigger sizes, it's about an even boy/girl ratio! I don't think we are going to need to buy this baby any clothes for quite some time, whatever their gender. I'm hoping to get a lot of teeny neutrals at the baby shower and then Baby's wardrobe is set :) We are so blessed to be surrounded by so many giving friends and family members...who want us to have special pieces from their own children's wardrobes, pieces that are full of memories and they don't want to just throw away. It means a lot to us. (those of you have been following the blog for a while will be familiar with the story of our Best Man's triplets. If baby is a girl, she will be wearing a lot of pieces that were meant for little baby April. While some people may find that strange, we know just how much it would mean to our Best Man and his wife, to see our little angel using things that were bought with love for a little person who never grew into them. And it's our way of keeping her spirit alive.)

But! Back to the Nursery. Since our furniture is delayed, it has meant that other than the glider, I have not been able to set up Little Bean's room at all. All the clothes are currently sitting around in the little stripey fabric boxes that I plan to use for storage. Baby's pram and capsules are still in their boxes, waiting for our cars to be detailed so we can have them installed. We're hoping to set up Baby's bassinet in our bedroom this weekend, but I've been reluctant to do so since although it's the only item I CAN set up, I don't want it gathering dust before their precious little head goes in there. So instead, I thought I would share with you some of our concepts for the room, a little at a time.

We are currently renting, so painting isn't an option right now (maybe when we have been here a little longer our landlord will let us!). Therefore, we are trying to make the most impact with the bedding and accessories we bring to Little Bean's room. We are going with a grey, white and yellow colour scheme, with clouds and hot air balloons as our "theme" (limited pieces of this will be included in the room since neither of us want to go too over the top with a theme!). If Baby is a little girl, we are likely to add lavender or turquoise to the mix, with birdies. If Baby is a boy, possibly navy or turquoise, and airplanes!

Today's board is the basics for Baby's room. The bare minimums. Soon, I'll create a board with the decor we plan to add, a Baby Shower items post and hopefully at the end of all that, a reveal of their actual room! Since creating this board, I think we have found the wardrobe we want to get, but for now, here are the essentials we have gathered for Little Bean's first room!

1. Crane Drop Shape Cool Mist Humidifier in White - This is a piece we haven't purchased yet (see above ban). It doesn't appear available in Australia currently but my oh my, when I saw it I feel in love with it's simple, sleek look. Much nicer (and decor friendly) then any of the ones I've seen available here currently! I plan to order it from Amazon after the shower. But boy, with the flu I had over the last week, I really wish we had already had it!

2. Cloud b Sound Machine Soother - I love how snuggly this little sheep looks! Many friends have raved about womb/heartbeat/white noises to help baby settle, and I love that this one is so cute and attaches to the side of Baby's bed. A friend has offered to buy this for our shower and I cannot wait to see it!

3. Mothers Choice Mesh Coco Bassinet in White - Our Little Bean's first bed! This will be in our room all too soon, ready for Baby to sleep in and close enough for night time feeds. One of my best friends and bridesmaid had this bassinet for her little one when she was tiny, but in the teak colour, and the first time I saw it I fell in love with it and knew I had to hunt one down for my babies when the time came! I love that it's nice and study, and wooden, and should last us through all our babies, however many that may be!

4. Childcare Wooden Glider in White/Mushroom - This chair...oh my, this chair! My husband thought I was nuts for wanting a "breast-feeding chair" when we have a perfectly good couch. But everyone else who has sat in that chair can completely understand why I bought it! It is heaven in seat form. And I am sure that when the day comes that nothing will settle Baby but sitting in that glider on their Daddy's chest and rocking, he will love it as much as I do!

5. & 6.Canterbury Sleigh Cot 3-1 with drawer & Canterbury Baby Change Table - We purchased these items brand new from an Australian eBay store, in a package (however, they can be bought individually) after seeing the awesome change table my cousin bought (same one, but in the darker wood). I'm reluctant to buy furniture from eBay stores, however knowing that my cousin had purchased from them without any problems and the fact I couldn't find a similar style of change table in any local baby stores pushed me to use these guys. We're still waiting on delivery since the white was out of stock, but if anyone is interested in our experience with the store, just ask! I'll be sure to let you know after we receive our items. I'm really looking forward to these, the cot also comes with a free teething cover, and I love that our change table converts easily to a regular set of drawers (great for those toddler years!) without any damage to the top of the item from the change mat. I do love me some furniture that works double duty! And our stripey boxes will look GREAT in those empty slots!

7. Gray and White Dots and Stripes Crib Bedding - This is another piece we are going to have to order from America! It is almost impossible to get any gender neutral bedding in Australia that isn't brown, cream or jungle animals. You would think yellow would be an easy neutral to find, since in my head yellow is much more neutral then green! but nope, everything seems to be pink, blue, green or creams/browns. So, we turned online again. Unfortunately, this store doesn't ship to Australia, so we are going to be hunting someone down to receive our items and forward them onto us. Luckily, Baby's Ouma (hub's Mum!) has recently moved to the good ol' US, so we plan to ship the item to her and pay for her to re-post it on to us. We (read I) cannot wait to have this bedding (along with some yellow sheets and a yellow change mat cover!) to set up, but since we have had no cot, we've put this order on the "wait til after the shower" list, in case anyone wanted to pitch in for it (we have some family who love to know they have helped buy bigger things). I do have some grey and white striped sheets ready to go in case the bedding is delayed for any reason!

So! That's the basis of Little Bean's Nursery. The next level, decor, is even more fun then shopping for the basics - I have SO many things that I have found to buy for the Nursery that I'm going to have to do a cull of my etsy favourites before I order...otherwise it would be full of so many fun things that there would be no room for Little Bean! I'll be sure to share some of the must-haves that I'm dying to buy in the next week or so, with links for any Mamas or Mamas-to-be out there looking for decor themselves!

Until then, I'd love to hear your feedback on Little Bean's room and your own experiences with setting out a Nursery - what worked, what didn't, what advice can you give? This little Mama thanks you in advance!