BUNDLE OF JOY
Special delivery
Adding the touches you and your baby will appreciate By Chelsea M.K. Stack
B
ecoming a parent brings a lot of change. Whether you’re welcoming your first or are a seasoned parent with the fifth on the way, things will inevitably be different. You will have to budget for another mouth the feed, adapt to a new schedule with probably little sleep and need a place for the bundle of joy to sleep. While that last one could be a headache, Amanda Avery, owner of Fredericksburg Natural Baby, advises to think long term in decorating a nursery to minimize the need to change the room often. “Try to find quality pieces that will still be fun for the kid once they’re in their toddler years,” she said. “Parents think they need all of the extras, but what you actually use and appreciate in a nursery are very small things. It’s more of the special moments that you’re going to remember and focus on, so find items that are going to help you with those moments, not having a picture-perfect nursery.” There are five items that every new parent should consider getting for their child’s nursery. A low-lit lamp tops the list, followed by a nice, comfortable chair. The third thing is a swaddle blanket that can
be hung behind the crib as art. The fourth is stuffed animal characters on the wall, followed by photos of mom and dad. “I really enjoy stuffed animal character heads on the wall. You can take them off the wall, play with them and talk about animal sounds. Those are becoming trendy, and you can coordinate them with your nursery theme — like foxes and owls for a forest theme or farm animals for the Hill Country area,” Amanda said. “You wouldn’t think of putting pictures of yourself in their nursery, but it helps them get to know you when they are alone in the nursery — especially black and white, because it’s easier for them to distinguish those colors.” She also suggests putting an extra bed, like a day bed, in the nursery for mom or dad to sleep on. Amanda said the most basic nursery can cost $2,000: $600-2,000 for a crib, $150-300 for a changing table, $200600 for a nice chair and $50-300 for a swing or automated moving chair. Last year, Amanda said the popular trend was woodland themes and that she’s seeing that same theme this year, too. Arrows, teepees, real wood accents and Native American themes have been popular. She said unicorns have been trending for girls and odd animals, such as sloths, hedgehogs, abstract penguins, etc. MAY 2018 | TEXAS
Hill Country CULTURE 49