Rory’s Nursery – Changes We’ve Made
Rory is three and a half months old now (cue the tears) and I feel like it’s finally time to discuss some of the changes we’ve made to her nursery. I debuted her nursery back on the blog in April, but since then we’ve made some adjustments to make it more functional for everyday use. Of course, I wanted it picture-perfect for those nursery reveal photos…but what does it look like day in and day out? Today, let’s dive into those details.
First, We Have Window Treatments!
I know we’ve all been waiting a long time to figure out what the heck I did with that arched window in her room. Well, the day has finally come! I shared the entire saga in this blog post about trying to figure out how to cover the arch in her room. We decided to go with Roman shades on the bottom and a custom pillow on top to squeeze into the arch. I placed the order back in March and it was supposed to be ready before Rory arrived in April. Then, the pandemic happened and the custom drapery place I used (Urban Workroom if you’re local) had to shut down for months.
So, I was left with bare windows and a need for privacy in the nursery because I was basically walking around topless those first few weeks as I figured out breastfeeding. Plus, I wanted the room to be as dark as possible at night for Rory. I ended up buying these super cheap temporary blinds for the windows and they worked out great. They gave us privacy and kept the room super dark. As for the arch, I actually had the template for the pillow that the drapery place gave us to try out in the arch. We stuck that in there until the final pillow was done. Here’s a look at the final pillow for the arch…
I just stuff this pillow into the window gap every night (and sometimes during the day for naptime). It actually works beautifully! It blocks the light, doesn’t look terrible, and can be taken in and out. Here’s what it looks like with the pillow in place…
I knew I didn’t want anything to permanently block the window because it brings in the most gorgeous light. When I’m not using the pillow, I shove it under the crib.
The Roman shades are fantastic and they slide up and down easily. For the most part, I keep these down because Rory naps so frequently in here and it’s kind of a pain to bring them up and down every two hours when you’re holding a squirmy baby. 
Oh, and did you notice the window bench cushion? It makes for comfy additional seating in here. 
Sometimes if Finn is feeding Rory a bottle I’ll sit on the window bench and chat with them. I know as she gets older we’ll be spending lots of time reading here and looking out the window.
Overall, I think we made the most of these wonky windows and I know Rory is very happy with her dark room. The kid sleeps like a champ!
Nursery Updates – Changing Table Area
The changing table area has the most changes (pun not intended, but ha!). 
We ended up adding this tray on top of the wood dresser after the top of the wood started to get damaged from wipes and diaper cream. It’s actually a pastry board! Now we always keep our wipes and diaper cream brush out and in reach for changes. The marble tray protects the wood so it will be looking good when Rory is out of diapers and this just becomes a regular dresser.
I also added this diaper pail next to the dresser and it does the job. Her nursery smells great because this thing locks in odors!
We use these waterproof changing liners on the changing pad so we don’t have to change the sheet quite as often. They’re super soft and are easy to throw in the wash.
The Side Table
I spend lots of time feeding Rory in this chair and we wanted to have all of the necessities within arms reach. 
We keep bibs, burp cloths, and extra wipes in this small caddy on the floor near the glider. That way if we’re sitting in the chair we can easily grab what we need without having to get up and go into the dresser. Gamechanger.
On the side table, I have this little bottle holder that my friend gifted me. It’s great because you can plop the bottle in it and it won’t tip over and fall to the ground. We also have our Sonos speaker and a coaster on there all the time.
Dresser Drawer Organization
Finn is in charge of Rory’s clothes because the man loves to shop online! I swear, we have clothes arriving every week for that tiny little girl. He is also super organized and has come up with a system for her drawers that is much better than what I shared back in this post. 
We ended up buying these drawer organizers and they work wonders to keep things separated and organized.
On the right side, we have Rory’s “day” outfits. We mostly throw her in a soft onesie when hanging around the house, especially because it’s so hot outside. 
On the left side, we have her footed pajamas and long-sleeved outfits. This is our go-to drawer for bedtime. 
Finn is constantly going through the drawers and plucking out items that no longer fit and replacing them. He keeps these drawers in tip-top shape and I’m so grateful. When we have items that no longer fit, we put them in the closet. Which brings me to…
Updates to Rory’s Closet
Someone gave me the tip to put an empty storage bin in the closet. With it there, we can easily toss in items that Rory has outgrown, instead of putting them back in the drawers. We’ve stuck to that and I’m sad to see that this bin is already all full! It’s crazy how fast they grow. We have lots of preemie, newborn, and 0-3 month clothes that no longer fit. We’ll probably go through this bin and keep our favorites (for a potential baby #2) and donate the rest.
Rory’s clothing collection has also grown a bit, along with all of her bows (we get most of them from Baby Bling and they’re too cute!). 
But overall, I would say her closet looks pretty similar to when I debuted it here on the blog.
Baby Monitor & Sound Machine
As for the crib area, that’s where we have all of the tech! We originally mounted her baby monitor (we use the Owlet) up in the built-ins to look down on her, but we didn’t get the best view, so we decided to put it on the crib instead. This arm holds the monitor and we can get a great view of Rory’s face to see if her eyes are open, if she spit up, if she is crying, etc. It works fantastic and I can’t believe how clear the picture is.
We’ll eventually move it as she becomes more active in her crib because I’m sure she will start to grab for it when she gets a little older and we don’t want it to pose a safety risk. But for now, it gives us peace of mind to have a great view of her while she sleeps.
We then moved her Hatch sound machine underneath her crib so it’s right near her head where she sleeps. We have the time on the machine face the glider so you can see what time it is when feeding her. The sound machine is awesome and I highly recommend it. We keep the noise at around 50% and it’s so loud (although I did bump it up to 75% on 4th of July to drown out the fireworks!). If you need to block out noise, it works wonders.
Future Changes?
Right now, Rory’s room is mainly used for eating, sleeping, and changing diapers. We don’t play in her room (although we do read books in there at bedtime) because I want her to associate her room with sleeping (which has worked out well so far). Instead, we play in the living room. I think the setup in her space is working really well for us and I’m excited to see how this space evolves as she grows up. It was a special room back when I revealed it, but now it’s even better, knowing that it’s pretty AND functional!
Oh, and if you want any sources for this room head to this blog post where I share a link for each and every item!
Casey
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Hey there!
I’m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.
