The story of the nursery

For some shallow women like me, the excitement of a positive pregnancy test is closely matched by the shortly following realization that we get to put together a nursery.

Let's think about that for a minute. In the nine months that follow, it's our responsibility--even our duty--to clear out one whole room of the house and make it as cute and inviting as possible.

We had two rooms to choose from. The tiny room Matt was using as his creature/weird stuff room (if he can fit it in the room, he can bring it home was our rule, with only a few exceptions) or the guest/den-like room. We opted for an arrangement that would have our guests sleep among Matt's creatures/weird stuff by combining everything into the slightly larger guest room. Don't worry--if you're squeamish, we'll move the scariest stuff out of the room when you come stay with us.

In the meantime, I needed to find cute baby bedding. I discovered, to my utter joy, the market was flooded.

I got started as soon as I could possibly justify searching for bedding online, which was at about 2 months. A more prudent woman would've waited at least until she knew whether the baby was a boy or a girl, or even until after the baby was born, but I wisely foresaw that if I waited, I would rule out roughly half of the bedding sets available. Instead, I wanted to have the excitement of picking out two bedding sets (because choosing baby bedding is just about the most fun a girl can have) before we discovered whether we'd need to gravitate toward dinosaurs or ladybugs (or whatever).

Then came the decision: what would our theme be? As Matt bemoaned the fact that no one makes baby bedding in a snake or spider theme, I began the tedious process of weighing the options. After much internal deliberation that Matt probably has no idea I went through, I/we decided on farm animals.

[Disclaimer: The I/we construction used represents the fact that I made the decision and Matt agreed. In the realm of baby bedding decisions, I think we both prefer it that way!]

I then promptly fell in love with the first farm bedding set I found at Babies R Us, setting myself up for sure disappointment because I certainly wouldn't be able to buy anything for at least 2 1/2 more months, during which time the bedding was likely to be rotated out, and this was slightly girly bedding, anyway.

The set features fluffy lambs, happy bunnies and cute little chicks frolicking under apple trees in green pastures. So you can see why it caught my eye.

Fast forward a few months to the day of my ultrasound. A girl--what luck! Immediately after lunch I rushed to Babies R Us to see if they still had any of the lamby bedding left. More luck--it was being clearanced out! I got excellent deals on the adorable mobile (what baby wouldn't love to drift asleep watching stuffed lambs, bunnies and chicks circle above her?) and lamp (what baby wouldn't love to be read to amid resin lambs, bunnies and chicks encircling an apple tree?).

I then proudly found the big bedding set, including such essentials as a window valance and dust ruffle, on ebay for cheaper than the Babies R Us clearance price.

I was giddy with relief and excitement. So giddy that another disclaimer needs to be disclaimed here: I would've been thrilled about a boy, as well, and I'm sure I would've found bedding that was just as cute (well, maybe). I was, of course, very relieved and overjoyed to see that my baby was healthy. Being able to bring home the bedding I loved was far secondary to the idea of being able to bring home a healthy baby!

We began to slowly stock the nursery in earnest, often with donated furniture (thank you!!). Recent additions have included the crib and crib mattress, which enabled me to, after months of waiting in something that resembled a blissful agony, finally set up the bedding.

I've posted pictures. You'll see that it's still something of a mess, but rest assured there will be a place for everything, and everything will be cute.