From reading nook to baby nook
The sacrifice that wasn't
One of the baby items I went back and forth on the most was a nursing chair, specifically a rocker/glider. My research (aka a bunch of Reddit posts) tells me it’s not essential but can be very helpful and a lot of people love theirs (“use it everyday!”).
Still there are real reasons I wasn’t quite convinced: 1) They’re not cheap — usually at least a few hundred dollars; 2) Even the “good ones” have a number of bad reviews (citing issues like hard to maneuver, not actually comfortable, squeaky, persistent chemical smell) — some bad reviews are normal, but in this case, they’re especially a deterrent because this would be a big item that takes up serious space, or otherwise be really annoying to return; 3) I just don’t love any of the oft-recommended ones at the price point I was aiming for (under $500).
The other big reason the rocker/glider wasn’t a priority was because I knew in the back of my mind that if I don’t find one, I already have a workable option for a nursing chair: the bouclé reading chair in my office. In which case… Pro: I already know it’s very comfortable. Con: all this time I’d been envisioning keeping my reading nook as a spot for “when I need a moment to myself” amid the chaotic infant stage. I didn’t want to give that up. I wanted to keep baby and office separate.
Or did I? As baby’s arrival inched near, I got no closer to finding the perfect rocker/glider, so I just went with my backup plan. At first I thought I would move the reading chair to where baby will be sleeping and replace that corner of my office with another “non-baby space”...Put in an easel? Turn it into a yoga area? In the end all these lovely “me space” visions didn’t feel realistic. So I kept the chair where it is and tried to fully embrace it as another baby-friendly spot in the house. Funnily enough, as soon as I let myself not worry about whether I was bringing baby into my office, it suddenly felt like I didn’t even care much about creating that division at all. It was as if a weird internal knot had been untied.
After deciding to turn that corner into a baby nook, I knew I needed one thing to actually make it work: a pouf for resting my feet. I got to browsing. Whereas I felt nothing for any of the rocker/gliders I encountered, I kept circling back to one mustard square pouf from Target. It looks cheerful, cozy, and the off-white fluffs match the chair just the right amount1. When the pouf got here2, I became a lot more enthusiastic about the next iteration of this space.
In the last few weeks before baby got here, I was also debating whether to put together a “nursing cart”, which I kept seeing on social media. I considered buying a cart for it for a split second until I realized I already had one right in the room. It’s the art supply cart that I set up earlier this year. Even though I’ve done virtually no painting or drawing so far this year, I’ve loved having the cart around because it reminds me of my desire to do those things.
But after the whole mindset switch that happened with the reading chair, I wasn’t so precious about keeping the art cart anymore (at least for now). So I put my art supplies away in the closet, stocked the cart with relevant baby/self-care items, and parked it right next to the chair for easy access.
It’s now been over a month into the baby life and I’m pleased to say that I’m enjoying the whole setup. Frankly, I’m using that chair way more than I ever did in the 2+ years I had it. I’m not sure how long the chair will be used this way or if I’ll feel differently about having all the baby stuff in my office when I return to work(ing from home), but for now, I’m happy with how all this turned out3. It’s been a good lesson in staying flexible and open-minded about using things/spaces in new ways.
— Jenny
I’d considered getting the matching bouclé ottoman from Article and just call it a day but it was expensive ($199) and I thought it was a bit too matchy matchy.
Besides looks, I like that this pouf is just firm enough and easy to kick around. One complaint would the fluffs kind of shed, but it’s not a huge deal to me.
Would a chair with the rocking/gliding motion be helpful when baby needs some help falling asleep? Maybe. In those moments, I contemplate whether I should have in fact gotten one. What I do know though is my baby knows when I'm sitting down and would rather be lulled to sleep by me pacing... So, still no regrets ;)