Let’s first reflect on the many aesthetic nurseries out there. A sweet baby wakes up in a cowboy themed wonderland. Baby cow pictures on the wall (of the highland variety, of course). Miniature cowboy hats on the other wall. Matching dusty blue furniture with horseshoe hardware. Tan curtains with the same muted horse print as the lamp shades. Sepia-toned photos of cowboy ancestors. Is that a stable? Oh, no it’s just the crib.

These nurseries are darling and lovely and creative. Okay, maybe the horse stable thing would be a bit weird. But they’re such a fun way to prepare for a new one’s arrival.

Welp.

Our second baby girl was due soon. She needed a place to go after living in our room for a time. But where? In our 3-bedroom house, the options were her sister’s room or the third bedroom. We weren’t ready to have a newborn and a two-year-old together so the third and smallest bedroom won. The one that was already an office and a guest room.

I was unhappy with the idea of a tri-purpose room for the baby. What about making it cute like our first daughter’s room had been? But there was no way around it. It took a while, but I submitted to the fact that it doesn’t really matter. A beautiful nursery is not the mark of a loving parent or a loved baby. Right?! Say it with me.

We had to check if a crib could even fit in this room. The measuring tape confirmed it would be tight, but it would work.

So, the nursery:

A borrowed crib is very literally wedged between a desk and a bedside table. The desk is just far enough away from the closet for the bi-fold doors to creak open. Behind those doors hangs dainty hand-me-down clothes among fishing rods and camping gear. A changing pad sits on the edge of the desk.

Rather than “Eliza” written in lavender cursive letters, a huge hunting painting spans across the wall. A pocket organizer filled with bibs, socks, sleep sacks, and washcloths hangs on the back of the slatted door. Mhm, slatted. Add gray curtains from storage, an old sound machine, and–it’s a nursery! 

And you know what? It worked great.

Eliza didn’t need a fairy theme, or ruffled blackout curtains, or matching furniture, or a new sound machine, or a rocking chair, or even a solid door. She never noticed the stacks of mail or that the walls are green. 

We can make the ethereal nurseries–an expression of creativity, an eye for beauty, and love for our babies. But we don’t have to. And maybe we don’t have the space, time, or ability. We still can be creative and make it work. We can shrug off the expectations (from ourselves or others) and move on, because it doesn’t really matter.

Besides, aren’t we thankful to even be having this conversation? To have a house? And children to fill it with? And look–the crib is not wedged, it fits perfectly!

When it comes to mindset, we have a choice here: we can put to death the complaining and comparing to come out thankful on the other side. Or we can let discontentment take the wheel, get our wants and our needs confused, and have a marital conflict over a swivel chair.

Here’s a nursery you won’t find on Pinterest, but you will find in a home near you. I know we’re not the only ones.

*The room is back to its original purposes as our daughters now share the biggest bedroom. I’m sure I’ll have more to say soon about the wonders of room sharing!