Top Five Big Nursery Essentials

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #VTechBaby #CollectiveBias I hope you enjoy reading my top five big nursery essentials! These will probably be the most expensive and the most useful things you will purchase for baby.

I started designing the nursery in my head months ago. I started designing it in real life a few weeks ago. It has slowly been coming together. I just added one of the final touches, a VTech Safe&Sound DM271-110 Audio Monitor with Open/Closed and Motion Sensors (fancy name for a really awesome baby monitor, definitely one of my nursery essentials). We wanted to give it a try with Zoey to see how it works before the new baby comes.

Originally we had thought that we would keep Zoey and the new baby in separate rooms, which is one of the main reasons we chose a four bedroom house. The more we thought about it though, the more we really wanted them to be in the same nursery. I felt like sharing rooms with my siblings growing up brought us closer together and I want Zoey and this babe to be little besties. She is so excited to meet him so I have no doubt they will be! Since they are sharing I decided to go with a color scheme that I felt was boy and girl friendly. I love the combination of mint and coral so I have been trying to stay on that theme. Today I thought I would share with you a couple pictures of the nursery, as well as my top five big nursery essentials. These are probably going to be the most expensive things on your shopping list, but they are the things you really can’t live without!

My Top Five Big Nursery Essentials

1. A baby monitor. Like I mentioned above we use the VTech Digital Audio Baby Monitor and absolutely love it. We got it to test on Zoey before having the new baby and I wish we had gotten it so much sooner. I cannot tell you how much better nap time and bed time has been since we started using this device. It has a two way talking system so she can talk to us and we can respond. When you have a toddler with 100 excuses to not go to sleep this saves you A LOT of time running back and forth. Before I had to run upstairs to her room whenever we heard talking. Now I know whether what she is saying requires my attention, or if I can respond through the VTech Digital Audio Baby Monitor, or if I can just let her be. Zoey absolutely loves the nightlight feature, it reflects stars and planets onto the ceiling. The goodbye portion of nap time used to be the hardest part. Now she knows that the “star lights” don’t go on till we close her door, so she is eager to kiss and wave goodbye. Anyways, you can purchase that here on Amazon. The rest of the items on my list are very generic, so I will let you do your own shopping for them. This was the only thing on the list that I felt needed to be a specific brand!👆🏼This is the child unit. The clean white design is ideal for a stylish nursery. The top is where the stars are projected from.👆🏼This is the parent unit, don’t worry it isn’t actually that hot in Zoey’s room! We were just getting it set up and it was regulating the temperature still when we took the picture. On the back there is a clip that attaches to your belt or jean pocket, super convenient for running around the house while listening for your baby to wake up. 
2. A bassinet! Before you need a crib you will need a bassinet. This isn’t necessarily for the nursery, but I thought I would include it on the list since it is so essential. A good bassinet can sleep your baby up to six months old, which means you can put off buying a crib right away if you want to take more time with that decision. The one below won’t last six months for us, but I love that we can keep it in bed with us!
3. A changing table. I didn’t get a changing table with Zoey because I thought it was silly to have a whole space dedicated to diaper changing. What I realized was that babies, especially new borns, need to be changed ALL THE TIME. With back pain from nursing and pregnancy, bending over on the floor wasn’t ideal. A good changing table has drawers, an area for diaper and wipes and even a laundry hamper. Really you aren’t just paying for a place to change your babies diaper, it can be much more functional than that! As you can see ours has plenty of storage space and a laundry basket.
4. The crib. Eventually you will want a crib. We bought one for Zoey when she was eight months old, she was (and still is!) a pretty tiny baby and didn’t need one right away. When I got Zoey’s I looked for one that could convert to a toddler bed, a twin size and then a queen. We used it in the toddler formation for awhile, but it has gone back to being a crib for this new baby and Zoey took over our old queen bed.
5. A good carseat. Also not really for the nursery per say… but so vital to bringing home your new baby. We got Zoey a rear facing, non-convertible carseat, so at a year old we had to buy a new one. For this baby we got a rear facing that can convert to a forward facing seat, so it will last him a good 3 years!

Most everything on the list is an obvious essential, but the one thing I really could not live without is the VTech Digital Audio Baby Monitor. I only wish we had gotten it sooner and used it with Zoey since she was little. Not shown in the pictures is an open door sensor that came in the box. We haven’t set it up yet because Zoey has not figured out how to use door handles (and I am not in any rush to teach her!!). Basically what it does though is lets you know when your toddler has opened a door that they shouldn’t. You could put it on the office door or their bedroom door. I love that this monitor really transitions from baby to toddler with the extra features like this.

So that is where we are at right now as far as getting ready for baby. What are your nursery essentials? XOXO