Hello there! Well, we are officially “ready” for our baby to arrive. I’m not sure what else there is to do to help us be prepared, so I’m declaring us officially ready to play The Waiting Game :) I’ve been excited to share photos of our baby’s nursery with you, and today is finally the day. Once we decided to move to Los Angeles I started gathering inspiration for decorating the nursery. Since we are keeping the gender a surprise until delivery day we wanted to keep the nursery colors neutral while highlighting our favorite color: orange.
When we were apartment hunting, back in September, we were hoping for a bright/spacious apartment to help each room feel as big as it could — especially our bedroom since it’s going to be a shared bedroom for the three of us.
And I think we did a good job at finding just that :) In the end we settled on cream/gray/orange to fill our baby’s nursery, and I am LOVING how it turned out. We have been blessed with many gifts that have helped us decorate + furnish our nursery. It’s been very heartwarming to include them in our decor as they’ve arrived on our doorstep.
Want to see more of Baby Whitley’s nursery?
Zack was amazing and mapped out our bedroom on graph paper, and yes — it included miniature pieces of our furniture so we knew how to make everything fit in our shared space. Our bedroom is a cozy mix of our furniture + Baby’s furniture. The light-colored hardwood floors, freshly painted walls and an extra-extra-long window make this space seriously beautiful.
We placed Baby’s cradle next to my side of the bed. Having a real baby cradle next to my bed is like my childhood dream coming true… oh my goodness. Once this heirloom cradle is too small for Baby we’ll either move the crib or the changing table to that area of the bedroom, but for now the cradle is next to my side. Bauer has been sleeping next to the cradle at night, which is adorable :) He takes his role of big brother very seriously.
^ Family heirloom cradle, made by my grandfather in Indiana // Orange + white bunny blankie, one of the first things I bought for Baby Whitley // Duck stuffed animal is a gift from my parents.
^ handmade orange + gray baby blanket c/o Showered with Love
My grandpa — my dad’s father — made this cradle for his very first grandchild and since then ten more grandchildren have slept in here. Below are the the nameplates of all eleven of grandchildren {my cousins} who’ve been rocked to sleep in here, and on the other side of the cradle are nameplates of the great-grandchildren that have slept in here. Once our baby arrives the great-grandchild number will jump to three ♥.
I love the bright, fun variety of nursery art we’ve hung. Here’s a mix of art we’ve purchased + art that’s been gifted to us {specific details are below this photo}:
^ Wall art: Butterflies, Ikea | You Belong With Me c/o Livy Love Designs | Be Still & Know c/o Pen & Paint | Do Small Things With Great Love c/o Pen & Paint | customized/embroidered maternity silhouette, Mrs. Pate Makes | “loved” embroidered hoop c/o Home For Hire | stenciled/wooden art c/o Little Penelope Lane | Elephant print c/o Mandipidy {see more nursery art photos here}
Another element we had in mind when searching for our Los Angeles apartment was having ample storage. We didn’t bring much with us when we moved here, but we knew our home would fill up with things quickly. And even though we’ve really limited what we’ve bought/registered for to mostly “needs”, we knew having a baby would fill our home with many extra things.
Another nursery gift we received is our changing table with matching crib from cupcakeMAG. We seriously LOVE the two large storage bins that are under the changing table, talk about space savers! Both have a divider in the center so really it’s like having four storage bins. Each side of the changing table also has a rod for hanging a blanket and a super sturdy bucket near the top, for smaller items. In the left bin we placed a few stuffed animals sitting; in the right bin we have baby wipes, lotion, diaper rash ointment and a baby aspirator :)
^ Stokke Care changing table c/o cupcakeMAGÂ // White diaper pail from Ikea
^ Bottom bins hold baby toys, extra blankets + gender-specific clothing we’ve received
^ Top bins hold newborn diapers that smell like powder {awwww!}, extra wipes, burp clothes c/o Graceful Baby Boutique and tiny bath towels + washcloths
^ Wooden bird rattle c/o Little Alouette {did you see our giraffe teether also by Little Alouette?}
^ The cutest duck blanket c/o my mom ♥
Another helpful space saver solution for us is using this Ikea bookshelf {we have it in High Gloss Gray} as a dresser/storage for larger items. Three bins hold newborn, 0-3 month and 6-9 month clothing. Other bins hold extra packs of diapers; extra crib sheets/crib mattress pads; and extra blankets. This bookshelf will also be great transitional piece as baby grows and we use it to store more toys + books than clothes + supplies. The white storage cubes are also from Ikea.
Here’s the main view when you walk into our bedroom…
 ^ Learn more about our adorable, custom Baby Be Blessed dolls here // A peek at our “take baby home” hospital outfits {one’s all pink, the other is all blue}
The only things left to do are practice patience, pray for a safe/healthy delivery, and say THANK YOU to everyone that gifted us with an item for our nursery. Thank you, thank you…
Praying for a wonderful delivery- so excited for both of you! And I love that cradle!
Such a sweet place for baby. Not long now…
Praying for the delivery and you and Zack as you start this new phase in your life together. So very, very happy for you both!!
The nursery is so awesome!! I love love love the colors!! Positive vibes for a wonderful delivery! Can’t wait to find out if the baby is a boy or girl!! :)
@Michelle @LoveMichCollection, Thank you Michelle!!!! :)
I can hardly handle it! So cute :) Love it all!!!
Everything looks so nice, you guys did a great job!! L O V E the pink and blue outfits on the changing table, thats a great idea :) wishing you a safe and easy delivery and GOD bless your family of 3. Psalms 127:3. XOXO
@Lola, Aren’t the outfits adorable??? I finally put them in the hospital bag, haha — I could totally see myself leaving them on the changing table because they’re “just too cute” to take off ;)
Love it! Such an exciting time!!! You know, my grandpa made a bassinett/cradle very similar to the one your babe will sleep in. My lil Zion is sleeping in it now, but my sister’s babies and my cousin’s babies and one great grandbaby have all slept their first months in it too. I have already sent your link to the family to see if they love the name plates as much as I do. I think it’s a great thing to do since it’s being passed along in the family and i’d love to add something similar to ours. Blessings in your last days of pregnancy. Life is about to be the best it’s ever been. Promise. ox, Cindy
@Cindy Windsor, BIG HAPPY GRIN — :D
It looks so sweet! I love it! Y’all have done a great job!!! Now, you just need the little baby!!!! Eeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a sweet little space! Hope the waiting game isn’t too long and baby arrives safe and healthy very soon!
@Lisa Marie, Thank you Lisa! xoxoxo
Beautiful, beautiful, Maggie! So excited for baby Whitley to make his or her debut soon! Praying for you!
that cradle is awesome! such an awesome piece to have handed down to you, and i love that all the names are on the side so cool!
I am really exited for you and Zack and can’t wait to see baby, I followed your pregnancy posts from the start. I think it is so sweet of Bauer – he is also practicing for his role. Good Luck,
@Susan Combrinck, He is! And he takes his role very seriously. So cute! :) He’s a good pup to have around ~ he’s been good practice for how quickly our lives will change once Baby is here. It’s going to be amazing.
Oh, sweet Maggie! Your baby’s space is filled with such love! My father made a cradle for our kiddos, too, and it is one of our most cherished love gifts! Looks like you are all ready for the big day! Enjoy this special time!
LOVE!!!!!!
So excited for you … what a wonderful, cozy, blessed space you’ve created … and that cradle – beautiful! Enjoy, celebrate, breathe in this time and each blessed moment to come. xoxo
@Mela Kamin, Thank you Mela friend!!! ♥
so excited for you! I am 10 weeks behind you (due with our first the end of May!), so it’s like getting a sneak-peak of what’s to come. But can I say that when I realized that you only had three weeks left, which meant I only had 13 weeks left, I kind of had a small panic attack! :) I shared this little detail with the hubs and he panicked with me- ha! so much I want to do, so little time!
@Heather, Awww! Well congratulations to you my dear! Yes, isn’t it crazy how some things make us panic a little? I am just pure excited right now. I feel like we’re as ready as we’ll ever be — the hospital bag is packed, we know how to get to the hospital (haha!), I have started my maternity leave with work. Now we wait :) What a test of patience though… ;) I’m excited for some quiet time leading up to our firstborns birth. I’ll be praying for you Heather! xo
i love the room its beautiful!
everything looks great! I LOVE the cradle – that is so special to have a piece with a heritage. My mom and sister are coming this weekend to help me start on the nursery for our baby girl and I can’t wait to get everything together.
@Autumn, AHHHH! Girl time! I love it :)
So cute and I love that changing table and cradle!!
Nursery = PERFECTION! A wonderful combination of everything that baby Whitley represents … many BLESSINGS and an abundance of LOVE and JOY!
It’s adorable! I love the colors and the vintage feel!
Sarah
http://www.etsy.com/shop/owleyevintage
We have a little white crib that was purchased for my grandfather when he was a baby for $1.25. I am not sure how many kids, grandkids and great-grandkids have used it, but it is a whole lot! We should have used your name plate idea, what a great idea!
that cradle <3 so precious. you guys have done such a great job maximizing your shared space! i'm definitely using your tips for my little home :)
Beautiful and love the cradle!
Who doesn’t love vintage?! I love the vintage baby cradle with the name plates. I wish I had something with great memories.
Your so cute! Love your adorable style and nursery! I have followed you for a while on IG, but just visited your blog, I love it! I MUST treat myself to one of those fabulous headbands you make, A-DORABLE!! Good luck with your new bundle of joy! <3
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