Prepping Our Bedroom for Co-Sleeping with A Newborn

Our little girl’s nursery may still look like the inside of a storage unit, but her space for the first few months of her life is ready! We have spent the past couple of weeks prepping our bedroom to welcome a newborn once again. It is starting to feel real that she will be here sometime in the next month or so—although at this point, I might be okay if she decides to arrive late like her brother.

Here are 5 ways we are prepping our bedroom for co-sleeping with our newborn. 

1. Upgrading Our Bed

If you are a part of the private Momma Society Facebook Group, you probably read that my husband and I have been sleeping in a full-sized bed for years. Seriously! Somehow it just seemed to work for us---that is, until this pregnancy. With pregnancy insomnia and my tossing and turning keeping us both awake at night, we decided it was time for an upgrade.

With one little one who likes to crawl in bed with us on weekend mornings and another one on the way, we decided a king-sized bed would be our best bet. Two words: Game changer. The extra space has been much appreciated during this 3rd trimester and I am certain it will be even more appreciated when our little one arrives. Kicking ourselves for waiting this long to upgrade!

2. Adding More Pillows

One thing I remember vividly about our first weeks with Brody was hunting for extra pillows in the middle of the night—extra pillows for my back, extra pillows to put under the nursing pillow etc. There never seemed to be enough pillows. This time, we are ready. Four fresh pillows in varying degrees of firmness are stacked on our bed.

I had been hunting for a pillow with more back support for nursing and almost splurged on the Back Buddy, but I decided to try out a more budget friendly alternative first. So far I’m impressed with the firmness and comfort of this bed rest under $20. I am hoping it will be equally great for nursing.

3. Finding an awesome Co-sleeper Bassinet

Mom’s bed is pretty important, but so is the spot we lay our little one to rest each night. You might remember the co-sleeper from my must-haves list for baby #2. I am so excited to use our babybay with our sweet little one. I remember how hard it was to lift Brody in and out of the bassinet in the middle of the night. The bassinet sat much lower than our mattress and required me to get out of bed most feedings to gently set him down. When you’re sleep deprived, a 7-lb baby feels like a ton of bricks.

With the babybay co-sleeper I am looking forward to hopefully staying half asleep while I nurse and being able to reach over and soothe our little one in the middle of the night. The adjustable height will be much appreciated!

4. Setting-Up the Diaper Changing Station

With Brody, my husband and I tag teamed the nights. I would wake up and feed Brody then my husband would change his diaper. We quickly discovered that having and organized diaper changing station in our room was a necessity. It helped us keep all of the baby care tools handy and organized. This time around, I also decided to put a hook on the wall to hold my diaper bag since I am at the diaper changing station re-stocking it frequently.

We also keep our laundry bins here. We use 3 separate laundry bins—one for whites, one for colors, and one for reds. We sort our clothes as we put them in to save a bit of time when it comes to laundry. Brody knows to put his dirty clothes in the baskets at the end of the day and we’ll be doing the same with our little girl. Now if someone can teach me how to fold laundry more than once a year that would be great :)

My Diaper Changing Station Essentials: Diapers, Wipes, Thermometer, Nose Frieda, Boogie Bulb, Diaper Rash Cream, Oogiebear, Extra sleepers

5. Prepping the Nightstand for Nursing

Similarly to the Diaper changing station, our nightstand has been converted into a nursing station. I had quite a bit of overproduction for the first few months with Brody, which resulted in going through nursing pads at about the same speed as I can devour a bag of sour gummy worms (ahem, fast), so the drawer is loaded with nursing pads, nipple cream, and burp cloths. I have a few more items I need to add to the drawer, like chapstick and a nipple shield (just-in-case). A nightstand with a drawer really helps keep our room tidy while leaving all of our gear at arms reach. These white nightstands were a mega bargain! I swapped out the hardware to give them a little upgrade.

My Nightstand Essentials: Nipple Cream, Nipple Shield, Burp Cloth, Nursing pads, Chapstick, Water Bottle

Sources:

• Bed
• Mattress (amazingly comfortable!)
• Lamps (similar)
• Nightstands (under $35!) + Hardware
• Duvet Cover (bargain!)
• Pink Velvet Throw Pillows (bargain!)
• White Flokati Pillows
• Bassinet c/o
• Laundry Bins
• Diaper Bag c/o
• Diaper Pail

Mommas--Fill me in! What am I missing? What made your nights with a newborn simpler?