The Nursery: Maternity Leave Bucket List Completed

The final "to do" on my bucket list - and really so fitting that I saved it for last.

Here's my story on the nursery...

The nursery is not just a room, not just a place, not just a diaper changing station and crib.  To me, the nursery represents a leap of faith.  One that ends in way I thought impossible, insurmountable, not meant to be.  But in actuality, a leap of faith that ends with life.  Beautiful, sweet LIFE.  Life, simple huh?  Not really.

26 weeks+ pregnant, every day comments: "So, I bet you have the nursery all set.  What does it look like?"  Well, it looks like an office.  With a few miscellaneous pieces of furniture.  Gray walls.  Some paper-work organizing stuff.  A bunch of books.  There. Is. No. Nursery.  There's an office.  Yup, it's a nice office.  If and when Isla comes home to live with us, then we'll work to convert it.  What?  "If" and "when"?  Who thinks like this?  I do.  It's the thought that consumed me during most of my pregnancy.  The "ifs" and "whens" that made me so vulnerable, so guarded.

There would be no nursery.  The nursery was a mythical, foggy, distant (if ever) place in our house.  It eluded me.  A place that not all babies get to know.  A place that our old house was privileged to hold our Gavin, and devastated to the core to not be used for our Grace.

I think that's why it's the last thing completed on my maternity leave bucket list, with just a day to spare.  Even after Isla was born - alive and healthy and beautiful - and came home with us (chills still to type that), I couldn't quite bring myself to transform that room.

Practically speaking, she really didn't need it right away.  No baby really does right?  So why do we spend so much time prepping it ahead of time anyway?  She'll never remember that the cutesie decor wasn't adorning the walls and that her crib wasn't made just perfectly.  She slept her first 10 weeks away in the pack-and-play in our room anyway.

Emotionally, I think I just couldn't quite let myself believe she was staying.  Not that I really thought she was going anywhere.  But at times when I'd look at her, I'd think that if I pinched myself, it would all be a dream.  And that there would still be no nursery.

But she's here, even through the pinches :)

So, I finally tackled the transition on Sunday.  Brad and Gavin were off to Michigan's Adventure with friends, so my mom headed over to help me with Isla and the room project.  I had been thinking for many weeks what I wanted it to look like and finally acted on purchasing some things on Etsy.  I still get so geeked to be buying little girl things.  It almost feels sinful.

We now have a nursery.  To some, it's just a room, a physical space.  But to me it represents so much more.  I'm very proud and BLESSED to have this room in our home.

Here are some photos:

 The center piece of room, a wall decal that took a day to hang (and caused me to have carpal tunnel pain in my wrist for three days!)

 The room is mostly greens and browns (things from Gavin's gender neutral nursery), but I added some hints of pink here and there.  I'm proud of the letters I made for this bookcase.

 Oh, all those leaves!  Spring has sprung in Isla's room.

Our original nursery decor includes these cute bunnies.  Gavin had a bunny decal on his wall, I miss that little guy!  Now Isla has bunnies and birds.  And a hint of butterflies ;)

And one more photo, that I'm late posting.  Isla Rose at two months!