Elephant Nursery

Elephants are clearly not as trendy as owls in the world of babies and nurseries.  But they are definitely just as cute, right?  Maybe even cuter?  

In addition to being adorable, elephants can also be cool, contemporary and mature.  I'm always interested in decor themes that can transcend nursery boundaries into adult design because I live in a small apartment.  A strong theme in a small apartment can over take the entire space.  Picking a theme that works for a whole space (nursery, bedroom, living room and even kitchen) is especially important when it's small.  Imagine 800 square feet full of leopard print from rug to pendant lamp.  Scary.  Elephants, on the other hand, could work.  In moderation.

Elephants work for babies.

via amazon.com

Elephants work for grownups.

by Z Gallerie

Some ideas for a baby boy's elephant themed nursery.

1. Elephant print by Pumpkin and Butterfly ($18)

2. Elephant lamp by Uncommon Goods ($20)

3. Plush striped elephant by The Land of Nod ($16.95)

4. Eli's elephant nursery bedding by Pottery Barn Kids ($24.50 - $99)

5. Elephant clock by Uncommon Goods ($29.99)

Some ideas for a baby girl's elephant themed nursery.

1. Elephant print by Galerie Anais ($14)

2. Elephant and balloon pillow by Tailorbird Designs (25 euro)

3. Stuffed toy elephant by Rabbits Moon ($38.50)

4. Pink and gray elephant crib bedding set by Carter's ($137)

5. Elephant baby blanket by Kiki Kiddos ($55)

What's In A Name

There are many names.  So many.  Too many.  It can be hard for me to find something to watch on TV despite there being hundreds of channels.  Just the thought of picking a name for a baby, amongst the infinite choices, feels stressful, overwhelming and perhaps impossible.

In the hunt for the perfect name, where does one start?  Back in April, I dedicated an entire post to different methods for choosing a baby name (here).  One of those methods was choosing a name based on its meaning.  While there may be an infinite number of names, there are only about a dozen names that mean generous and a half dozen that mean sublime.  By searching for the meaning instead of the name, the choices are greatly narrowed.

What characteristics do you wish for your future child?  Brainstorm your favorite words and your most sought after traits.  Get creative.  Use a thesaurus.  Websites like babynames.com and thinkbabynames.com allow you to search names by their meaning.  Perhaps a "strong" and "happy" boy?  Or, a "wise" and "joyful" girl?  Maybe you want a unisex name that means friendship for your gender-unknown-baby-to-be?

"Healthy" boy names - Ken, Valentine, Valerian

"Happy" boy names - Asher, Caius, Faine, Felix, Gauis, Said, Tate

"Wise" girl names - Athena, Bena, Safe, Sophronia, Ulima

"Joyful" girl names - Alizah, Joy, Merry, Rinah

Unisex "Friendship" names - Achava, Drury, Icnoyotl, Mitali, 

Celebrities are famously choosing their children's names based on meaning.  Pink and Carey Hart named their daughter Willow Sage because willow means flexible and sage means cleansed.  Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's second daughter, Faith Margaret, was named for the faith they kept while awaiting her arrival by surrogate.  Natalie Portman named her son Aleph, the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet, which means leader.

While I'm not a proponent of us non-celebrity civilians modeling our lives after the stars of Hollywood, I think this trend is worth considering.  And, more importantly, it's a trend that narrows down the overwhelming number of choices.  There are about a bazillion names that start with "A", but only a half billion names that start with "A" and mean beautiful.

What other stories behind the celebrity baby name have you heard?  Any friends or family members that chose a name based on its meaning?

Stuff People Google 24

I can't provide commentary today because I have absolutely NO idea what the possible context of this search phrase could be.  Anyone?

men baby push in water

Top 10 List - Somewhere to Sleep

When your entire home is under one thousand square feet, you use each foot wisely.  Space conservation is a way of life.  This becomes difficult with the addition of a baby and all those baby things.  However, a baby in an apartment puts space conservation directly at odds with baby product acquisition.  A serious dilemma.  The best way to face this obstacle is to choose baby products intelligently - the most compact versions of only essential baby products.  By essential I mean diapers, not Sofie the Giraffe.

A couple weeks ago I solicited some ideas, advice and thoughts on truly essential baby products (here is the post).  Today kicks off the first of a series of ten posts about essential baby products for those of us who live in small miniature spaces.  The first edition of the series will be all about a place for the little one to sleep, an essential that quite a few New Stop Baby followers listed as a true essential.  Makes sense.

Mini Cribs   

Stokke makes a unique, oval-shaped mini crib.  It grows with the baby by adding wooden pieces to lengthen the sides ($725 - $1,000).

DaVinci makes four styles of mini cribs (Kalani below) each less than 40" in length (versus standard cribs that are closer to 55").  The prices range from $165-$199 (at BabyEarth.com).

Bloom makes an entire set of euro (aka mini) furniture for a small nursery.  The crib below sells for $400, but check Amazon.com because I found it listed for as low as $360.

Bassinet (with frame)

Eddie Bauer makes this reasonably priced (approximately $130), highly rated bassinet.  It can gently rock your baby to sleep or be locked into place.  

Monte makes the Ninna-Nanna Bassinet ($395).  There are two color combinations in its cool, contemporary shape.  

Moses Basket (bassinet without frame)

Serena & Lily makes this canvas basket in six different color combinations, each for $250.

Giggle - This organic Moses Basket sold at Giggle ($230) is made of palm and lined with 100% organic fleece that is filled with hypoallergenic fill.

A Miracle Baby

The birth of a healthy baby is a miracle.

This is something that one of my most favorite, most adored, most wisest people told me a long time ago.  Yes, I'm well aware that "most wisest" has several grammatical issues, but it doesn't make it an untrue statement.  This absurdly awesome person, in addition to being absurdly awesome, was and is an obstetrician/gynecologist.  He bestowed these great words of wisdom upon me a long while back.  I was a child or maybe a preteen.  Parenthood wasn't a distant thought because it wasn't a thought at all.  Yet, even being light years away from my current baby crazed self, I remember his exact words:

The birth of a healthy baby is a miracle. 

A MIRACLE.

He said it just like that, repeating "a miracle" in a loud, serious voice.  I thought that this was a silly thing to say.  I found the emphasis on "miracle" to be overly dramatic, unrealistic and cliche.  Or, as my youthful mind characterized it - yeah right.  How miraculous could it be?  I saw healthy babies everywhere everyday.  I was a healthy baby only a decade earlier.

For a reason I'll never know the words stayed with me.  Decades later I think of them often.  Nowadays, it seems I think of them almost daily.  Babies are on my brain and the subject of conversation with so many of my friends who are trying to have them or already do.  With each casual chat and heartfelt discussion, these words weave through my thoughts without choice.

Each friend's pregnancy announcement has been a rush of excitement and each chubby cheeked baby face is breathtaking.  The joys of this time in my life, the baby crazed time, have been immense.  They have also been miraculous.  What I didn't know as a young girl, is that it can be difficult to become pregnant, not every baby survives the first trimester much less the entire gestational period, babies that are carried to full term and their mothers alike can suffer medical complications along the way and not every baby is born healthy.  There are an infinite number of obstacles and hurdles when it comes to pregnancy and babies.  I didn't know about these worrisome, painful, devastating realities.

While I'd much rather focus on the chubby cheeks than the possible difficulties, I can now appreciate the true miraculousness of it all.  I have even repeated the phrase on more than one occasion.  You've read it twice just in this post.

Wise people say the most wisest things.