Ceiling Fan and SIDS Prevention

I mentioned on my 8 week Baby Countdown To-Do List that we wanted to install a ceiling fan in the nursery. (Note: as of tomorrow I am at the four week mark and haven't gotten as much done on my list as I had hoped. But I did get a few things taken care of. More on those later.)

While talking to a friend who has a 9 month old daughter, we received a lot of great advice when it comes to pregnancy, birth, and post-partum parenting. I took tons of notes from his words of wisdom and one of the things that stuck out to both of us was the idea of using a fan in the nursery to help lower the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Apparently the stale air of a room that isn't well ventilated causes a big risk for SIDS, and something as simple as putting a fan in the room can make a world of difference.

I did a little research online myself. If you are parent-to-be, check out the following articles I found:

Ohdeedoh

Parents.com

NY Times

When posting pictures of the nursery, I rarely take any high enough to see the ceiling of the room. As you can see below, we just had a simple light fixture. I actually really like the light fixture, so we may install it in the guest room, which gets little to no sunlight and is in desperate need of a lighting solution. But that will be a post-baby project.

The fan we chose was from Lowes. We checked out Home Depot first, but didn't find anything we wanted that didn't cost close to $100. We knew we wanted one that was flush mount to the ceiling, had a 52" span along with 5 blades. When we saw this fan for around $35, we knew we hit the jackpot. Since the room is small itself, I wanted something that was white and somewhat discreet that would blend into the white ceiling.

Harbor Breeze Armitage Ceiling Fan from Lowes


Yesterday afternoon, my father-in-law came over after work and helped Jordan install the fan.

These pictures aren't the best, but if I showed you the rest of the nursery you would see that the crib, floor, and every other inch of space was covered with boxes, clothes, blankets, a diaper genie, and other miscellaneous items that have yet to be put away from the shower.


I'll admit the room doesn't look drastically different from the last time I posted about the nursery here, but I have tackled some mini projects and do plan to do a few things this weekend. 

DIY Nursery Sachet

My mom hosted her baby shower this past weekend. It was a wonderful day.  We lucked out with perfect weather, even though they were threatening thunderstorms. Surrounded by my family and closest friends, I couldn't have been happier. More about the shower in another post. I snapped some shots of my mom's owl-themed party that I'm dying to share with you all!

Two of my favorite gifts I received were given to me by my aunt - these pieces of jewelry personalized with baby girl's name, Lucy James.

They were ordered from nelle & lizzy

One of the first things I noticed when I opened the jewelry was the strong scent of the dried lavender that is packed inside the boxes. I loved the smell so much that I knew I wanted to keep and reuse the lavender somehow.

I found a pair of simple white socks that were a part of a diaper cake we received and knew they would be the perfect pouch needed to make my own lavender sachets for the nursery.

 I found some scrap rainbow colored ribbon that was part of a shower gift that I kept to use for something crafty. I cut the ribbon in half and used each half to tie around and seal the socks to keep the lavender from spilling.

I used a piece of teal scrap ribbon leftover from the pom poms I made to string the sock sachets together and tied a loop to hang. 

The smell is still strong enough through the socks for the lavender to come through, but not as overwhelming as when the boxes were originally opened.

Gotta love last minute DIY ideas. 

(please ignore my wrinkly skin!)

Paint Colors

Per a reader request, I've compiled a list of the paint colors we have used in our house.

Living Room, Kitchen, Entryway - Glidden "Cafe Latte"

Dining Room, Upstairs Hallway, Nursery -  Martha Stewart "Sharkey Grey"

Nursery Stripes - Martha Stewart "Lamb" and "Sharkey Grey"

Nursery Closet - Martha Stewart "Enamelware"

Master Bedroom - Glidden "Natural Wicker"

All other rooms (powder room, guest bath, laundry room were painted before moving in so we don't have the names of the colors. 

Living Room Shelves Update

Still a work in progress, but I've made some progress on the living room shelves. 

You saw this sneak peak in my last post:

As a refresher, here they are a few weeks ago after being installed in place of the bookshelf:

After playing around with a few frames and decor pieces from around the house, the shelves look like this today:

They still need work. Frames need photos, the bottom shelf needs work, and I think I need to add another splash of color in there somewhere. May need to swap out some of the dark frames for a white frame or two. But for the time being, I'm happy with the progress.

Trend: Monogrammed Decor

I'm noticing a trend in my own home: monogrammed pieces.

I'm loving anything and everything monogrammed and the little personalized touch they bring to my home. Each time I go to shop I'm instantly attracted to any monogrammed pieces that I see. I'm already anxious to find some more little treasures.

All the above pieces have been purchased from Anthropologie or Urban Outfitters (with the exception of the faux zinc letters I made). Some have yet to find a permanent home (namely, the 'L' hook and gold metal 'd'), but I'm having fun moving them around until I do. 

What trends do you have in your home?