Nesting instinct refers to an instinct or urge in pregnant animals to prepare a home for the upcoming newborn(s). It is found in a variety of animals (both mammals and birds) including humans. (Wikipedia)
That "nesting instinct" is in full swing at our house at the moment - from cleaning to cooking to organising to sewing to literally making a nest for our new baby. Because we recycle many unused items at our house, I had sold our bassinet from Baby J. Now that baby #2 arrival is imminent I needed to come up with a sleeping solution for it. My bestie just had her baby and was really pleased with the "DockATot"(https://dockatot.com/) for her little one. I did my research and surprise... they don't yet sell them here in NZ! (sarcasm intended) I decided I would pick my own fabric and make my own. 0_0 I definitely did not know what I was getting myself into. This project definitely tested my beginning sewing machine skills. This was not fun to make or easy, but I am very happy with the end result. Looking forward to placing our new wee baby in their little nest. Tutorial: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FroD9XeowwI NZ safe sleeping tips for newborns: http://www.kidshealth.org.nz/safe-sleep-your-baby
1 Comment
Stepping on a piece of lego - many parents have had this annoyingly painful experience. It often happens when you least expect it - creeping through the lounge to get a drink of water in the wee hours of the night.
Trying to keep our duplo and lego off the floor is always a bit of an effort. And yes, even with our well-constructed table our duplo often gravitates to the easy play space of the floor. Although I am a strong advocate of child-directed play and we often end up with play items in every part of the house, I also like a well-organised lounge at the end of a long day of play. We had a low chest of drawers not really being used in our spare room. I bought a couple of $5 bins from the warehouse stationary and grabbed a few spare screws from our garage. I screwed the bins on either side for easy duplo/lego storage. I bought a couple of secondhand duplo baseplates to put on the top. I planned to screw them on, but decided just use them when needed, so that the table could be use for puzzles, dollhouses and other manipulatives. The drawers are on rollers and easy to open and close. The top of the table is just at child play height. I can rotate the contents of the drawers easily. This handy wee table gets used everyday and is very versatile for all kinds of play. If you want to make one yourself, you could get more creative than me, but I enjoy the simplicity of this one. DIY: Dress up/ Clothing RackSo, it is winter here in New Zealand. A rainy saturday presented the perfect opportunity for a little DIY during Miss J's afternoon sleep.
My two year old has a very old school closet in her room with a very tall pole for hanging. She is also learning to be more independent - toileting herself, dressing herself, etc. We also have a new baby coming and need to make room in the closet for baby's things as well. I did a quick pinterest search, 2 hours later after being down the rabbit hole called pinterest. I emerged with a few ideas, that would cost me NOTHING! Perfect. I grabbed a crate and some scrap wood we had in the garage and along with a leftover bit of pole we had from our closet reno, I set to work with the saw and drill. Thankfully my husband was home and he helped me pick out the right kind of screws for securing it together. An hour later the result was a lovely little clothes rack with room for shoes, bags and hats on the bottom. Just don't tell my midwife I was sawing away at 32 weeks pregnant. I hope to customise it a bit more with some paint at some point, but for now it will do very well. Miss J loves having her clothes at arms reach and being able to pick out her own shoes. One step towards independence and one happy Mama. What hacks have you done to make your preschooler's room age appropriate in height and accessibility? Do your children share a room? How do you make it work? |
ProjectsI have big dreams, sometimes they come true. Archives
September 2016
Categories |