Which room to set up the nursery in?

designchica · May 2014

Hi all!

I am only 9 weeks pregnant, but my boyfriend is moving in with me soon and I am going to need to decide before he moves in which bedroom to set the nursery up in (because the other room will be an office/guest bed).

I have two spare bedrooms. Bedroom A is small and has two big windows with a lot of light. There would only be room for a crib, and a narrow single dresser/changing table, and then a small sized chair in the corner and probably not enough room for an ottoman unless its a really small ottoman.

Bedroom B is bigger and I would have room for a larger double dresser/changing table, the crib, a bigger sized chair and an ottoman. The closet is bigger and there is a lot more wall space for art as well. Unfortunately this room has just one very small window and it is depressing and dark! I am sure we could brighten it up with lamps and with bright white baby furniture, but it is not as cheerful as the smaller room with the bigger window. Also, this room shares a wall with the master bedroom and the garage is below it and it is VERY loud when it opens.

So, given these considerations, which room would you put baby in?

Thanks so much in advance for any advice/input you can provide!

LittleFish1 · May 2014

how are the rooms for temperature in the summer vs. winter? if one room is easier to keep at a comfortable temp during the highs of summer and low winter temps, would go with that for baby's room since (s)he will not be able to regulate body temp till later & blankets are considered unsafe.

oh, and if they're equal, would probably put baby in the smaller darker room because you'll want (s)he to sleep and is easier to add light than to eliminate it. Sleep in our experience, is easier when it is darker.

designchica · May 2014

Oh I hadn't even thought about the temperature issue! Good point. I honestly don't know since I haven't really spent time in either room.

The bigger room is actually the darker room, so that would work better in terms of space. It does make sense that it would be easier to sleep in since its dark, but I guess I was worried baby would get depressed without much sunlight. I suppose the baby won't be in there much though except to sleep. I am definitely leaning more towards the bigger darker room.

LittleFish1 · May 2014

Realized after I pressed send that I had misread about room size but my attempt at editing didn't work. You'll have the baby out more than in when awake. I think the love, attention & interaction you provide will have more of an impact on the child's mood.

In general (especially on older homes), the South facing & West facing sides of the house tend to be the warmest and the North facing side is cooldest due to being in shadow most of the day from the Sun's path. East facing gets morning light, West facing afternoon (which can make that hottest side) & South facing gets light throughout the day which can be nice in Winter but might get hot in Summer. Another influence for that is how many exterior walls each room has. If one only has one a small exterior wall, or no garage under it, would be less drafty potentially. Could use the smaller room as play room (keep the mess contained), but the rooms will probably be repurposed over time and nothing is set in stone. Many of the moms on here had LO in their room the first three weeks to three months. So that is another possibility, which works nice when you're getting up every 2 hours for feedings in the beginning. Especially nice if nursing. You're so early on & you have time to think about it.

One more consideration, the garage will make noise when opening & closing. If it is loud in the room, someone is likely to open/close garage during sleeping times, might not want to have a child sleep above it past 3 or 6 months when they start noticing noises around them more.

dogperson11 · May 2014

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about the noise from the garage door. Babies adapt to sound. If you top toe around when he/she is sleeping then he/she will be a light sleeper. If you go about business as usual they'll be much easier to get to nap / sleep and to travel with. I'm not saying play your drums when the baby is sleeping, but doing normal tasks (laundry, dishes, etc) shouldn't be a problem.

designchica · May 2014

Thank you so much ladies for taking the time to respond...I truly appreciate the suggestions and things to consider.

I know that we only plan to be in this house for 12-18 months and then will be moving to a bigger house, but I have a feeling those 12-18 months could turn into a few years, so I want to get it right!

I do know that the front side of the house (where the smaller room with the bigger windows is located) doesn't seem to get as hot as the West facing side. The bigger room with the one small window is sort of in the middle of the house, so I am thinking it will probably be warmer in the winter.

Thanks again for all the advice. I think probably the BIGGEST factor that I need to think about is the garage door and how much noise that will make in the bigger bedroom. The garage is directly under my master bedroom and whenever my roommate opens that thing when I sleeping, it jolts me out of my bed. It wounds like a jet engine going off and it scares me every time! If that is as loud in that bigger room, I may have to put baby in the smaller room. (Roommate is in the smaller room, but he is going to be moving when my boyfriend moves in).

designchica · May 2014

I think the garage would be opened every morning and evening when my boyfriend leaves for work and comes home for work. I don't know if he plans on coming home for lunch, so possibly at noon as well and then again at 1. So a minimum of two times during week days and possibly up to four times.

On weekends, I think it would vary depending on what my boyfriend is doing, if he is out running errands, etc.

thank you for the suggestion!

ariel06 · May 2014

We had noisy garage door at our old house. A white noise machine when baby is sleeping is an easy fix.

momofcatan · May 2014

I wouldn't worry about the big room being dark, I would think that is an advantage for sleep time. We do not spend much time in the nursery, only to nurse, diaper changes, dressing. We have a play room which was much easier to baby proof once she was mobile so we don't spend much time in the nursery. I also love having a big closet in the nursery to store all the extra stuff (boxes of diapers, outgrown clothes etc.)

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