The Mother Suite

We recently welcomed baby number four into our family. After each new addition, my baby philosophy has shifted a bit. So, with this little one, we are making some changes and trying something new!

First baby, here’s the scene… Months before he was born we set aside a room for the nursery. We decorated it with a new crib and rocking chair. Finally, we brought our newborn home from the hospital. The new nursery went pretty much untouched for the first 6 months. All of the middle of the night wakings and feedings left me sleeping on the couch with the baby next to me. We never planned for that to happen, it was just survival mode!

When you think about it, it is silly to have a postpartum mom sleeping on the couch, and a brand new nursery occupying an unused room for half a year.

Enter… “The Mother Suite”

After three rounds of couch sleeping, I finally caught on to the pattern, and this time, I decided to plan for a “me + baby” room instead. Here's the beauty of it — everything is set up to be a nursery, but I have a huge comfy bed in there for me instead of a crib. When we are done with the bassinet (anywhere from 6 weeks - 6 months), we will just replace the bed with a crib, and we are good to go!

I usually start the night in bed with my husband, but after the first waking, I head to my suite. 
Here are some of my favorite features:

King-Size Bed: Middle of the night nursing is so much easier done lying down! In a different room, I don't have to worry about waking my husband, and if it ends up being a particularly fussy night, I have everything set up for safe co-sleeping.

Night Light: I keep the blinds open, so the room stays dimly light. For any little adjustments, I can see without even getting out of bed or turning lights on and off. For diaper changes, I have a cute puppy nightlight. I can switch it on, and the room is still pretty dim and doesn’t fully wake us.

Bedside Diaper Caddy: The hanging basket was a happy little accident. It was actually left on the wall from room changes and ended up working perfectly just where it was. I keep it stocked with diapers, wipes, Aquafor, nursing pads, and nipple cream.

Swaddle Blankets + Clothes: Can you have too many muslin swaddle blankets? I think not. I have several handy, and the closet has all of the sleepers and baby clothes.

White Noise: An essential. We’ve got it turned up.

Baby Decor: Everything in this room smoothly transitions into a nursery when we are ready while remaining a space that I can utilize and enjoy as well.

Morning Mantra: The first thing I see in the morning is my sign “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love.” Psalm 90:14. Sometimes, after long nights, this is a little reminder to look upward, take a deep breath, and fill up with His love. We’ve got this!

about the author...Jenna Jones is a local mompreneur. She is a mom to four little ones! She is also a web developer and owner of Jenna Jones Design. In her writing, you will find Jenna getting honest about the hard stuff, and in all of it, finding some humor and some hope.

Originally printed in the pages of Simply Family Magazine’s September 2018 issue.

Never miss an issue, check out SFM’s digital editions, here!