Less Is More: What I've Learned About Nursery Nesting After 3 Babies #SearsMom

Baby B is *kind of * sleeping through the night now. It feels wonderful. Sure, I love those soft and quiet moments with only her as I nurse her in the stillness of 2 am, but I also love sleeping. I love the feeling of a clear head that I have after a good night's sleep. I feel like I have more patience with all three children when I have a good sleep. It's a welcome change after so much newborn-induced sleeplessness! Now that Baby B is 7 weeks old, I'm reflecting on how quickly the newborn stage goes and has gone with all three of my children. It's gone in a blink, and all of the sudden they're toddlers. Then, they're on their way to kindergarten like my oldest is this fall!

One of the things I've loved embracing with all of my babies is preparing their little nurseries for their arrivals. Whether it's been an actual, good-sized room (like Baby B now has), or a safe haven of a nook in our teeny hallway (like Little A had in our Garage House), I've enjoyed creating a space that's just for them. I like to take the time to make special little things by hand for my little girls, and to make sure that they have everything that they (and I) need. One of the biggest things I've realized after nesting for three? Less is more. Really! When it comes to nursery prep, you really don't need as many things as you may think for you and baby to be happy and comfortable!

Investing in a few large, good quality pieces is a good idea, but all of the little doo-dads and thing-a-ma-bobs that we're often marketed are usually unnecessary. After prepping a nursery space 3 times, here is my list of nursery essentials for a newborn:

1. Bassinet / Moses Basket: A newborn doesn't need a crib just yet, and all of my girls loved the coziness of sleeping in a little Moses basket.
2. Change Table: I didn't have the luxury of having one of these when we were in our little house, but I was able to invest in one now that we're in our big one. It's such a nice thing to have for storage and ease! We bought one from Sears that will also work as storage in a 'big kid's' room afterwards.
3. Closet with Shelves or a Dresser: I found that I only used on or the other. Baby clothes are so teeny tiny, that you don't need a tonne of storage space at first.
4. Noise Machine: When Babe's old enough to start sleeping through the night, this is a wonderful tool to help them fall asleep. It's also great for naptime when you have a bunch of other noisy kids in the house! I like the Cloud B Sleep Sheep.
5. Baby Monitor: I didn't use one in our little house, but I sure use one in our big house! I love a video monitor to accompany the sound.

For me, those are really the top 5 things a nursery needs. All the rest are fun extras if you can afford them (and sometimes it's fun to splurge a little on a newborn)!

You can find all of my top 5 nursery essentials at Sears. We purchased our latest piece, our awesome change table, from Sears and we couldn't be happier with its quality and functionality.

From April 18th to May 1st, you can earn a cash card when you spend the following amount in the Baby’s Room at Sears:

• Spend $200-$299.99 on nursery furniture, baby gear, and infant fashions and get a $25 cash card
• Spend $300-$399.99 on nursery furniture, baby gear, and infant fashions and get a $50 cash card
• Spend $400 or more on nursery furniture, baby gear and infant fashions and get a $100 cash card

The offer is valid in stores and on sears.ca (I bought our change table online). Cash cards are redeemable May 2–21st.

I enjoy a sale or a promo like this when I'm buying big pieces; it's the perfect time to get something that will last for a very long time! (For apparel and footwear, Sears also has the Kidvantage program. The Lifetime Wear Out Warranty covers children's apparel and footwear as long as a child in the family continues to wear the size. If the item wears out, Sears will, at its option, either repair it or replace it with the identical item in the same size, or if it's unavailable, a similar item of equal value in the same size.) So, now's a great time to shop for something wonderful for Baby at Sears.

Tell me: what are YOUR top 5 nursery essentials for a newborn?

Disclosure: I am part of the Sears Mom Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.