Baby Chew Two Nursery Tour
It honestly still feels surreal to be doing this all over again. C and I always thought Chase would be our only one. But thanks to God’s grace, we get this incredible blessing to welcome our daughter. Since she is going to be our second baby, there are a few things I’ve learned from Chase’s nursery that I changed this time around.
Disclaimer: Decorating the nursery is one of the things I look forward to and love doing, so please don’t feel guilty if you never got a chance to create one for your baby. It’s certainly not necessary. It’s my way of showing my love to my little one, my way to bless her and treasure this season, and everyone does it differently.
Say hello to her room
We’re still trying to keep her name a secret, although recently Chase has been telling the correct name to people haha. For the longest time, he would spout random names so we weren’t too worried, but we shall see. Haha! This room used to be Clement’s office, which is just beside Chase’s bedroom. So, we still have some remnants of Clement’s stuff here, including the helmet shelf (even though he no longer has a motorcycle haha). We’re just leaving it there because it’s too much trouble to remove.
Earlier this year, Chase graduated from his crib with the toddler attachment to a twin bed, so we moved the crib to baby girl’s room. We added this super cute canopy that we got on Miss Lemonade by Numero 74. I’ve always thought canopies were fun and as they get older it becomes a little hide and seek thing - will see if we will regret this decision or not haha!
I changed the bedding to a lovely floral pattern by Garbo and Friends from Luca Elle Boutique - this modern boho brand from Kelowna that I love! Garbo and Friends have the best patterns and had to get this little bed pocket for it too.
Diaper Station
I know we’ll be here very often in the first year. We are using Chase’s previous diaper changer - Keekaroo Peanut. Personally I liked that the surface was completely wipeable. Lately I’ve also been loving Zara Home’s items, including this Ash Wood Storage Unit. I wanted to get a cart from Ikea but this one with the canvas trays just felt so much more homey. I haven’t really filled the other shelves in it but the first one’s got the diapers and Kirkland / Costco wipes. We love using Naetal Skincare’s baby butter and if baby girl’s skin is anything like Chase’s, she’ll need this! Vivian, a good #momboss friend of mine, makes this herself with the best ingredients, perfect for baby’s sensitive skin, eczema and just overall care.
Book Shelves
I created something like this for Chase’s room too, but Ikea didn’t have the shelves available (rolls eyes - everything’s out of stock these days) so I got something similar from Etsy here from a local company. When Chase was little, I filled his shelf with some of the books, so I am displaying some here, but as Chase grew older, we put his artwork up as well as his shadow box that had his birth information on it. I’m sure these shelves will change over time. Also loving this cute little doll house rattan bag from Olli Ella that I got from Maude Kids Decor. They have an amazing collection, including Dinkum Dolls that I think baby girl will love. Also got baby girl a Cuddle and Kind doll - Chase loves his Hudson and Noah which were gifted to us, handmade in Peru. Wanted to continue the tradition a little bit.
Some of these books are Chase’s fave’s and some are my heirlooms, like the Little Miss Sunshine which is now around 30 years old since I got them. Baby girl’s name is related to sunshine, that’s why I picked it for her shelf.
Cozy Cuddle corner
If there’s one place that I ended up in a lot the first time around, was the cuddle corner. I had an Ikea Rocking Chair last time and to be honest I didn’t love it, so I got a Sundays Furniture Movie Night Condo Corner Couch because I saw my friend Belinda Love Lee have one and asked her if she loved it or not! I got it in the Brie and the best part of this couch, even though it’s white, is that it’s completely washable. Chase has already bounced in this tons of times and have cozied up with me for some book reading. I am intending to share bedtime together with baby girl and Chase, so this cozy chair will be our hang out I’m sure. It comes with three pillows that I can stack which is great for feeding. That little storage box with wheels from Ikea will be a little toy / blanket area that can grow with baby girl. Chase enjoyed helping me put it together.
Also loved this Mushie Bunting Garland cause it had all the cozy, warm vibes. Doubles as a bit of a mobile that baby girl can look at. Behind the chair, I am reusing my Urban Walls Arch decal that I used during my filming of the Creative Calligraphy Course from my business Written Word Calligraphy. It’s a bit crazy but the creation of the Written Word Academy was part of my transformation as a mother, shaping my business so that I could spend more time with Chase and also opened up the space in our lives to welcome yet one more member in our family. So yes, it did take us forever to decide whether or not to go for Baby 2 but the 2-year development of Written Word Academy was part of the story too.
Wall decor
As an artist of course I had to create some special pieces for my baby girl. The first one is Proverbs 31 - this verse I am blessing my daughter with.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity,
and she laughs without fear of the future.
26 When she speaks, her words are wise,
and she gives instructions with kindness.
Her name is also inspired with these words. Recently I’ve been reading this book from Stormie Omartian about praying for our children and these are the words I bless her with. That she may grow up with a heart that is strong for the Lord, a warrior, yet she is also filled with joy - a ray of sunshine to those around her, and that when she speaks, her words are seasoned with wisdom and kindness. It may seem like a rather impossible to have a blend of these characteristics but this was the wife of noble character described in Proverbs that we would love her to become one day.
I also had been spending time working on tapestry - I’m determined to do the same things I at least did for Chase for baby girl :) This time around I used more neutral yarn shades, coupled with lots of texture, to match the aesthetic of the room. I really loved how it turned out!
Last time during the newborn phase, I remember missing a little table beside the rocking chair that would hold the milk bottle or burp cloths, etc. so this time around I repurposed one of my pop-up shelving for this very reason!
I got it on Etsy by this California company called rldh and styled it with some faux pampas grass I got from Crate and Barrel. Underneath it, there are containers I got from Muji a while back that holds the burp cloths and sleep sacks! When I had Chase I really underestimated the fact that while you’re establishing your milk supply you really need to keep yourself hydrated and filled with so much nutritious stuff to help your recovery and to create amazing milk for your baby. I have this pretty on-aesthetic one from Bink Made but my fave one is actually my 2L jug from Amazon haha. I aim to finish the entire jug at least once a day.
Toy + Book Shelf
Zara Home has really outdone themselves this time. Love this little shelf and I put up some of Chase’s old toys and some that Chase still loves to play with. It’s going to be a real learning experience for him that now we play these toys together and it’s not so much “yours” or “mine” as it is “ours”. That Noah’s Ark wooden toy is one of those toys that was initially for Chase but we never got a chance to play with it and now he wants to play with it, of course.
Chase is a rainbow baby, and so is baby girl, so I think the little wooden rainbow is perfect for her room and also this rug we got from H&M Home.
At the bottom I put in some of the well-loved board books (Chase’s library in his room is waaaay more extensive now), like Goodnight Moon, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site (he literally can recite this book from memory now I think), and also some of the Artifact Uprising Baby Board Books we printed for Chase. I love Artifact Uprising - we still get our photo albums printed with them and they adorn our walls in the living room. And the Big Cities Little Foodies book is just a fun picture book that we collect because we want our littles to really learn about their culture.
Speaking of Artifact Uprising, when Chase was in his first year of life, I spent a lot of time filling out this Baby Book “Story of You” that had lots of photos and captions documenting / scrapbooking the memories. I hope I can do the same for baby girl - I know how it goes… often times the second/third babies get shafted for that so I hope I can continue the tradition.
If there was anything I barely used before was a Moses Basket - it was great for aesthetics but I just put Chase in the crib more than anything, so this basket became more of a storage. The blanket that I hung on it tho is from Love Mamma Bell Company and I hope she’ll love this neutral, forest inspired blanket. Chase has a muslin one from Aden and Anais that he still loves using until today. When I was pregnant with Chase, I was always very warm and Chase wasn’t as cuddly because we were both very very hot together haha. But with baby girl, I’m somehow cooler this time around so I wonder how she will be like during those newborn snuggles.
The dresser
Last time, I really enjoyed having the dresser just below the changing pad so that I didn’t need to go far to change baby’s clothes. I mean the changing pad is only really useful in the first little bit anyway, you’ll use it on the floor the moment they start to roll around just to avoid them from falling off. But I loved these Aykasa milk crates to hold and organize clothes. I’m a bodysuit + pants kinda person more than I am a zipped sleeper / footie type, but I did get a lot of hand-me-downs in this area so I am keeping it just in case. I also thoroughly enjoyed collecting some headbands and socks for baby girl… I just hope she wears them, haha! I will exploit every opportunity to do so. Chase was absolutely comfortable with wearing hats and toques all his life, I don’t know if it’s because I started him so young on that front but I hope baby sister will enjoy that too.
And now, we wait :)
Baby girl’s scheduled C section date is August 16, but it seems like she may come a bit early due to some symptoms. I have a feeling she might come earlier than her date - but I could be wrong haha! With motherhood, I feel like I’m always wrong. Chase was almost two weeks late! Only God knows her real birthday.
I just spoke with the OB yesterday regarding what the plan was if baby comes early - whether to head straight to a C-section or attempt a vaginal delivery (VBAC). She told me that my risks for attempting a VBAC is low because Chase and baby girl are spaced out 4 years so the chances of uterine rupture is low, but I also only have a 50% chance of having a successful VBAC, as the reason for Chase’s emergency section was because of his size and head size (I’m only 4’11 and Chase’s head was 90 percentile) so I’m really not sure what to do.
Either way, our prayer is that baby girl will come safely and healthy, and that I would recover quickly as well. I’m honestly more worried about the aftermath of baby girl’s arrival than I am about her birth haha. It truly feels daunting to know that baby girl is due to be here in less than 3 weeks - I can’t help but to think about Chase’s transition, my recovery and transition, baby girl, Clement’s health (but thankfully he’s taking more time off this time!), and my business too of course (even though I know I’m leaving with a great team onboard). But if there’s anything I’ve learned about motherhood, is that it’s a constant journey of surrender to God, an art of letting go.
In fact, nothing is in my control at all in motherhood.
I can only do my best and entrust this entire situation to God. Perhaps that’s the reason why I enjoy decorating so much, because it’s something I can do for myself at least and for my baby. But I hope that this second time around I will enjoy the newborn phase a little bit more, and treasure this season of blessing. Can’t wait to meet you baby girl!
xoxo, K
Photo Credits: Karla Lim and Nadia Hung Photography
