Congratulations on the newest addition to your family! You’re probably excited, but maybe a little nervous about when the baby comes. You’ve decided to share a room with them, either so you can watch over them closely, or because you don’t have a lot of space in your house. Check out these Parents Sharing Room With Baby Ideas to help figure out how you’re going to accommodate an infant in your bedroom.
1) DIY Changing Table and Dresser Combo
Since you’re sharing one bedroom with your baby, you’ll want to limit the space they’re taking up and separate the baby’s things from yours to keep things organized and easy to find. One way to keep things compact is to build a changing table and dresser combo using woodworking plans from Peachtree Woodworking Supply Inc. This way, all the baby’s clothing and changing needs will be in one convenient place, and you won’t need to make major changes to your bedroom.
2) Share the Bed
You’ve probably heard good things about co-sleeping, but what about bed-sharing? People talk about it a lot, and you’ve probably heard that it can be dangerous, but also that it can be a great bonding experience. So, which one is true? As it happens, there are benefits and risks to sharing the bed with your baby. This article from KidsHealth has information on the pros and cons of bed-sharing and how to do so safely, so check it out before you decide to share a bed with your little one.
3) DIY Accent Wall
If your baby will be sleeping in your room, but you still want them to have their own designated space with colorful patterns and baby furniture and decorations, you can designate the baby’s area with an accent wall. Use the instructions in this video by Adrianna Pryor to learn how to paint an accent wall using sponges. You can use the same colors as her for a girl or choose your own colors. If you don’t want to have to repaint later, try using colors that work for a baby but also fit your bedroom decor.
4) Bedside Sleeper
You’re sharing a room because you want to be close to your infant, but you’ve heard that sharing a bed can increase the chances of SIDS or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Instead of separating them by putting them in a crib, get them a bedside sleeper like this one from Walmart. This way, you can be close to them and monitor them during the night, but you don’t have the risks that come with sharing your bed.
5) Crib Mobile
Many mobiles attach to the ceiling, but if you’re setting up space for your baby in your own bedroom, you might not want to drill holes and attach hooks to the ceiling to hang a mobile. Instead of damaging your ceiling for a temporary piece of decoration, get a crib mobile like this one from Amazon. Since it attaches to the crib instead of the walls or ceiling, it won’t cause any permanent damage where you hang it.
6) Sterilizer
Babies are messy and don’t have a great sense of hygiene. Their toys get dirty easily, and if they go on playdates, you’ll want to wash everything once they get home to lower the chances of them getting sick. You can get a sterilizer like this for the nursery so that you can easily clean any of your baby’s things. You can even clean your cellphone and tablet so that you can bring it from outside to entertain your baby while you’re changing them without worrying about getting them sick.
7) Chair Beside Crib
You’ll need to add new furniture for your baby when you start outfitting your room for them, but you’ll need some new furniture for yourself, too. It’s a good idea to add a chair next to your baby’s crib, either by moving an existing chair or buying a new one so that you can have a place to sit closer to your baby’s crib. This way, you can sit with them while they’re sleeping. Or you can rock them or spend time with them, then move them to the crib quickly when they fall asleep.
8) DIY Build Co-sleeper Crib
You want your baby to be close to you, and having them in the same room is nice, but you want them even closer while they sleep. After all, co-sleeping can reduce the chances of crib death and might make you feel closer to your baby. A co-sleeper crib is a crib that attaches to your bed so that there’s no barrier between you and the baby, but there are still bars keeping them from rolling onto the floor. You can build one using this video tutorial by DIYTyler.
9) Medium Colors
While nurseries often have pastel colors, you might not want your bedroom to have a color scheme that’s better suited to a baby. That said, the colors in your room might not be suited to an infant, and you don’t want them to be bored or overstimulated. Instead, try using neutral colors in medium tones like the owner of the blue bedroom in this picture did. This way, you have colors that work for both you and your baby.
10) Bedside Cart Organizer
You’ll need to find a way to organize your baby’s things, since they should be separated from yours, and the baby won’t have their own room. Try making a separate organizer in a cart so that you can move it when you need to and so that it’s separate from your own things. You can use this video by Katherin Moyano to get ideas for organizing a cart with all the supplies you need to tend your infant.
11) Convert Crib to Co-sleeper
You’ve heard good things about co-sleeping, or you or a family member has done it before, and you want to sleep near your baby, but you know that sleeping in the same bed has risks. If you already have a crib or know where you can get one for free or cheap, you can use these directions from Peaceful Parenting to turn it into a co-sleeping crib. This gives your baby more space than bed-sharing and provides rails so that they don’t fall from the bed, and it’s cheaper than buying a new co-sleeper crib.
12) Playpen
Your bedroom probably has some things in it that you don’t want the baby to get into, whether it’s hairspray, deodorant, or choking hazards. While you’ll need to babyproof your room, you can reduce the chances of the baby getting ahold of something by mistake if you give them a separate area to play in. Think about getting a playpen like this one from Amazon to provide a safe and secure place for the baby to play.
13) Crib Hanging Caddy
You need to organize your baby’s things, but you probably don’t want to use up all your closet space to do so. To keep your baby’s things separate but organized, you can get a hanging caddy like this one from Amazon that goes over their crib. That way, you can make your crib the baby care station, with changing materials and a changing pad, and keep your baby’s things contained in one area rather than letting them take over your bedroom.
What are your plans for sharing a room with your baby? Did any of these ideas help you plan ahead? Please let us know in the comments below.