One of the most exciting projects that we've been taking on is the build out of our baby boy's nursery. We decided to go with a few key pieces of baby tech, and to build a room that we really feel he can grow into and will keep our baby boy safe. Come along with us as we build out our baby boy's nursery and give you a tour of the finished product!

TO WATCH THE BUILD OUT AND GET A QUICK TOUR OF THE NURSERY, WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW.

want to know what’s in our nursery? Here’s a breakdown of some of the items we incorporated into the design

Furniture

The crib

This is the centerpiece of the entire operation. We wanted something functional, and aesthetically pleasing. We were also keen on having a crib that would grow with our son as he got older. We stumbled across the Storkcraft Equinox totally by accident. We were looking for a crib that had a sort of minimal design, but that would convert into a toddler bed and daybed as his sleeping needs changed. The crib comes disassembled and it takes a moderate amount of work to put it together, but the finishes and quality feel of the crib were comparable to cribs that we had seen at twice the price. With a clean and simple design, we felt that this crib could fit into any theme that we chose.

THE GLIDER CHAIR

Aside from the crib, this was another area where we put a lot of time and effort in selecting the best chair for our needs. We knew that we’d be spending significant time in it for feedings, rocking the baby to sleep, and reading.

We spent many hours perusing through Buy Buy Baby to find a glider rockers that met a few key criteria:

It had to be easy to operate
It needed to have a hidden recline handle, and the recline should be very smooth without making too much noise
The material needed to be water and stain resistant (in case of accidents or baby explosions)
The armrests needed to be in a good position so that when we’re holding him in the chair, our arms could be supported (when babies fall asleep they become dead weight and feel VERY heavy!)

We found all of those in the Best Chairs Kersey Swivel Glider from Buy Buy Baby. This chair fit all of our needs, and it’s customizable to match the color scheme of any room. It’s almost overwhelming how many colors and fabrics you can choose from, but it gives you the opportunity to create a unique piece that will serve you for years to come.

The dresser & Changing Table

This was my favorite project of the entire room. We had looked at a few furniture stores to try and find what we felt would be a solid piece that would be useful as both a dresser, and the right height to be used as a changing table. After not being able to find exactly what we wanted, we decided to start hunting some vintage stores. This is a great idea if you’re just a little handy and have some time before baby arrives. Refinishing a vintage piece of furniture is a great way to add some really unique pieces to your baby’s room!

wall decor

We wanted to keep the shelving simple and clean to match the aesthetic of the room. So, we went to the juggernaut of simple and clean: IKEA. We found a few beautiful little shelves that fit the look and feel of the room and would allow us to store and display books, interesting bits of decor, and a few items of clothing. The accessory shelves above the dresser are the Burhult/Sandhult combination, and the book shelves are the Mosslanda shelf, also from IKEA. These shelves not only play a role in keeping his room organized, but give us a great way to display books, messages, and little accessories as he grows. Wrapping up the dresser area is the wall mirror. We’ve had it for quite a while (I think it’s originally from World Market, but what in our house ISN’T from World Market…). It ties the decor over the dresser together and gives us a fun toy to use when playing with our baby boy!

Moving over to his crib, we decided to add some fun animal prints over his bed. We settled on a highland cow, a lion, and an elephant. All of these prints were found on Amazon, and the frames we scored from Home Goods. This was a really fun and simple way to add some art to his room, and to continue on the “animal” theme that we had started to develop.

baby tech

This is my favorite part! Baby tech has come a long way since the early days of baby monitors and changing pads. Since we want to be able to measure, track, and understand our baby’s growth, sleep patterns, and activity, we have a few key pieces of technology in his room that we’re so excited about.

Hatch baby Grow smart Changing pad & scale

The Hatch Baby Grow Changing Pad & Scale was the first piece of baby tech that we purchased. Now, I will say that at $149, this changing pad isn’t cheap. We happened to score one at half price because of a mismarked price at Target. Now this changing pad isn’t just a changing pad, oh no, it’s much MUCH more than that. This changing pad is also a wireless scale, which pairs with Hatch’s suite of apps so that you can track your baby’s growth each day. The scale is even sensitive enough that you can track how much your baby’s eating by weighing them before and after a feeding. I would say that this is a luxury item, and mostly unnecessary when it comes to child care. However, having the peace of mind to know how much our baby is growing and eating, and being able to discuss that with his pediatrician was worth it to us.

The other big upside to using the Hatch suite of products is that they have fantastic mobile apps that sync with all of your Hatch devices. In the Hatch Grow app you can track everything from feeding volume, to diaper changes, to sleep cycles. By measuring these facets of your baby’s growth and development, you can start to get a picture of where your baby is doing well, and where they might need help. Since we’re both (and by both I mean really just me) really into gadgets, this seemed like a great ecosystem to get involved in. We’ll continue to update you all on our thoughts on these products as we use them!

hatch baby rest

Next up in baby tech: the Hatch Baby Rest. Now this is something that came highly recommended to us from parents we know and respect. The Hatch Baby Rest is an all-in-one sound machine, nightlight, and sleep trainer for your little one. You can control the device from the capacitive touch ring on the top, or from an app on your phone. The great thing about this sound machine is that it’s multi function. While it’s primary purpose is as a sound machine and nightlight, having the ability to control the color, soundscape, and timer from your phone means that you can set it the way you want without disturbing your little one. As they get older it’s also a great tool for sleep training. Parents can program the device to turn on and off, as well as set “time to rise” alerts (changing the color to indicate when it’s okay for your child to get out of bed in the morning). The earlier you start your sleep training practice, the more your child can learn to adhere to it and the more sleep you can get (isn’t that something that we all desperately need?).

baby monitor: the miku smart baby monitor

The crown jewel of the baby tech in our son’s room has to be his baby monitor. We spent over a month researching, reading up on and deciding which monitor to purchase. We looked at offerings from Owlet, Lumi, Arlo, Nanit and many more, but ended up going with what we thought was the best fit for us and our family: the Miku Smart Baby Monitor. There are a few key reasons that we went with the Miku over some of the other leading brands:

The Miku has a sophisticated AI system that tracks your baby’s breathing, sleep cycles, and more
This AI system gives you an accurate depiction of your baby’s breathing, movement, and sleep/wake cycles allowing you to quantify their sleep patterns, sleep quality, and alert you quickly if your baby stops breathing
This monitor was also one of the most secure on the market. Using 256-bit encryption, it’s less likely that a hacker would be able to get into the system and monitor your baby or home remotely
The Miku Smart Baby Monitor doesn’t require you to put any special wearables on your child like other brands. This was a huge plus for us, since it means that we can track his breathing at all times when he’s away from us, and even if he’s under a blanket or in a swaddle
The monitor can also give you information on sleep conditions in your baby’s room like temperature, humidity, and more
There are no subscriptions or extras that you need to have in order to make the device work
It’s very easy to install, and comes with cable hides for a simple, clean look with no cable clutter

That, as they say, is that! That completes the build out of our baby boy’s room. We have a few small items to tidy up before his arrival, but we’re feeling excited and ready to welcome him to his new home. Thanks for coming with us on this journey!

Have something that you want to add? Leave it in the comments below!

*Disclosure: Bear in mind that some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you. I will continue to provide accurate, honest reviews regardless of any commissions or products received.

BABY BOY SMART NURSERY TOUR 2020