To Sleep Like a Baby
Tilda Swinton sleeping in a glass vitrine, "The Maybe" by Cornelia Parker, Serpentine Gallery. Although beautiful, probably would not pass the AAP's safety inspection for infant use.
At around week 28 of pregnancy, we started to put together the nursery for our impending bun. In our partition-less NYC apartment, there was no nursery to speak of, rather, a designated "baby area" for the crib, and changing station. As with everything else in the apartment, it was located just feet away from our bed. This turned out to be very conducive to new baby night life. We knew we did not want to co-sleep (I am a night traveler, roaming all 4 corners of the bed throughout sleep) so the proximity of the crib was the closest thing to co-sleeping during those first few months of round the clock feedings. Bonus: no baby monitor required.
Little W, just days old in her no-frills crib set-up
It doesn't take much to create a calm, beautiful "baby area" (or nursery, if you have), anchored by an unobtrusive crib. We chose the Ikea Sniglar since we knew it would be safe after going through the type of rigorous testing necessary of a crib that has sold in the millions, and aesthetically it was nicer looking than anything else out there. The solid beech wood gives a soft, neutral warmth to the nursery, and the spare design isn't trying to be anything but a crib. It also converts to a toddler bed when the time calls for that. And it comes at the impossible price of $69.99. The mattress we like is the Vyssa Sloa, and plain white jersey Len fitted sheets, also from Ikea. A little spartan perhaps, but kept with our apartment's white decor. Adding to the all white theme, we added white noise by way of a Marpac "sound conditioner," a necessity for followers of Harvey Karp and want to have a machine to do their "shusshing" for them. This godsend allowed mama and papa to watch Game of Thrones on full-throttle volume while the little one slept contentedly close by with the Marpac also on full-throttle.
Add a few sleep sacks (we like the plain, organic cotton ones from Giggle for Halo in both the swaddle-a-ble version and the regular one after the first few months have passed), and baby is set to sleep, all for about $200.
From Top Left: IKEA Sniglar crib, $69.99, ikea.com, GIGGLE Better Basics Halo Sleepsack Swaddle, $29.00, giggle.com. GIGGLE Better Basics Halo Sleepsack Wearable Blanket, $29.00, giggle.com. IKEA Vyssa Sloa Matrress for Crib, ikea.com, IKEA Len Fitted Sheet, $9.99/2pk, ikea.com, MARPAC Dohm-SS Sound Conditioner, $44.95 drugstore.com