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When should you set up the nursery or child’s room? This is a very personal decision, so you need to do whatever you feel is best for your family.
My husband was adamant that I not set up the nursery until after we were matched with a placing mother because he did not want me having a constant reminder of a literally empty crib in our house. However, I know other people who go ahead and set up the nursery before they are matched. Decorating a nursery with only a few weeks’ notice that a baby was coming was hectic — fun, but hectic.
One big question is whether to decorate with gender-specific colors. If you match with a placing mother who is pregnant with a girl, do you paint your nursery pink and then risk having to paint it blue if the placing mother chooses to parent?
I covered my bases by choosing a gender-neutral nursery theme that I really liked. The theme I chose was the moon and the stars. The pattern had soft pink, soft blue, mint green, and baby yellow, so it could easily have been used for either gender. Also, the dust ruffle was pink on one side and blue on the other, so that could have been switched around to accommodate either gender.
You might want to wait to purchase a Diaper Genie or equivalent until you are matched in case the product is improved during your waiting time. If I had purchased a Diaper Genie right away, I would have bought the older version. The newer version, which came our shortly before my son was born, had a larger opening, was easier to use, and used a different-sized refill.
If you plan to purchase a used crib, be sure to take a can of soda along with you. The slats for older cribs used to be placed farther apart, so babies were at risk for getting their heads stuck in between the slats. Modern cribs have slats that are much closer together. If you can fit a can of soda between the slats, then they are too far apart. See Is Your Antique Crib Safe? for more information.
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With our baby we decorated ahead of time, choosing Noah’s Ark as a theme and doing the walls in mint green.
With my boys I waited until I met them and found out what their interests were. There were 4 and 5, so they had clear opinions.
A word of caution on older children- putting too much stuff in their room can be very difficult for some kids. They’re used to not having much so too many things can be overwhelming.
GREAT point about your caution when adopting older children. I did not think about that, but you are right. Thank you for sharing this.
- Faith