When you are expecting a baby, there are few ways to prepare. While you can’t really know what it’s like until the baby is born, it is necessary to do what you can to make sure you and your partner are ready. The cliché is that women become mothers when they feel the baby inside of them and men become fathers when they see their baby. A great way to speed up the process is to design the nursery together. When you make the effort to curate the baby’s first room and environment will put into context that they are a person who will be entering your lives. Here are some tips to design a nursery that will be a great place for your newborn baby to start their life.
Determine the Sex
First, before you design your baby’s nursery you should find out your baby’s sex. While sex and gender are different, it’s been popular lately to do a gender reveal celebration. Once you know the sex of the baby, you can plan a party if you’d like or announce it quietly. There are plenty of gender reveal ideas to choose from. Not only will it be fun to announce the sex of your baby, but you can also talk about name ideas and other details with your friends, family, and other parents. Once you have revealed the gender of your baby, you will be able to design the nursery in a way that suits you.
Decide if it will Be Gender Neutral
Of course, if you want the nursery to be gender-neutral, you won’t have to wait until you know the sex of the baby. Either way, if you are designing a neutral nursery you will go with a non-gendered color palate. There is a lot of argument on the subject of gender and sex, as well as how they relate to each other. A lot of parents these days don’t want to assume their gender identity, but it is up to the parents how they choose to design the baby’s nursery. Should you choose to be gender-specific, you can design with the colors and themes of that specific sex.
Choose a Theme
It is also an option to choose a theme for your nursery. You can design it with a subject in mind. While it isn’t necessary to specifically design the nursery with a specific theme, it could also help you narrow the focus of the nursery and make it cohesive. However, you choose to design the room, choosing a theme will make it a lot easier for you to get the job done.
Paint or Put Up Wallpaper
With all of these details in mind, you should paint or put up wallpaper. Most people have historically chosen blue or pink walls depending on whether or not it’s a boy or a girl, this has changed quite a bit. Choose a gender-neutral color or wallpaper that will be non-specific to whether your baby is born a male or a female. It’s up to you whether or not you want your baby to be socially normative or without the socialization of gender. Wallpaper that is child-friendly but neutral is a good, easy option.
Purchase the Necessary Products
You will also need to purchase a crib, baby bottles, a nightlight, and other products that are necessary for when your baby arrives. You can host a gender reveal party or a baby shower to get some gifts that will help you when the baby is born, but whatever else you need to buy should be purchased ahead of time. Talk to other parents about what you will need right away. You won’t want to go out and buy the items when you are taking care of a newborn.
While there are many preferences, choices, and options when it comes to your newborn’s nursery, you should design it ahead of time and make the environment where your baby will spend its first months and years. Whether you want to raise your baby in a gender-neutral or a gender-normative environment, planning ahead and creating the nursery will help you prepare for the baby’s arrival and first days outside of the hospital.
