25 WEEKS PREGNANT
Set Up the Nursery
This week, you can
• Set up your baby’s room (or area)
• Consider the ancient wisdom of Feng Shui
WHEN
IT COMES to children’s rooms, I’ve seen it all. Is it an odd shape? Is
there a cathedral ceiling or are there heavy wooden beams? I remember
one young girl’s room that was essentially a converted attic. When she
got into bed at night, she could touch the sloped ceiling with little
effort. (My claustrophobic soul would never have had a moment’s rest in
that setup!) To make this week as universal as possible, I’m going to
assume you have a small room in the shape of a square with a window.
You can revamp for any peculiarities your situation presents.
RECONNECT WITH YOUR OWN CHILDHOOD ROOM
We
are great at replicating what we know. When it comes to children’s
rooms, I’ve sometimes seen parents go overboard to compensate for what
they didn’t have when they were young—giving kids hundreds of stuffed
animals because they didn’t have any, for example—or replicate the
unsavory aspects simply because it’s what is comfortable for them.
These questions are designed to shed light on our own experiences as
children. I’d like to ask you a few questions about the room you had as
a young child. You never know what you might discover. You can of
course jot down your answers in your trusty baby journal.
Did you have your own room? Did you enjoy spending time there or was it an uncomfortable experience?
Whether you savored or avoided your room, can
you give specific reasons for those feelings? Perhaps you had to share
the space and felt your brother’s stuff took up too much of the room.
Or perhaps you loved to read and spent hours in the window seat going
off to foreign lands with your books. Specifics here will help you
replicate the good and avoid the uncomfortable in the room you are
about to set up.
As you grew up, were you allowed to express yourself here or was decorating the province of your mother?
Are you excited about decorating a room for your
child? Or is decorating an activity that leaves you feeling inadequate
? If it’s the latter, can someone help you?
Does your husband defer to you when it comes to
the home or he is a Nate Berkus (Oprah’s decorator) wannabe ? Will you
clash over this room? How can you achieve compromise?
A little baby is coming here soon who will
grow up and reveal herself along the way. It’s far better to
consciously set up your child’s room in a way that is welcoming,
organized, streamlined, and has the ability to grow as he does. Keep
these ideas in the back of your mind as you organize this room.
SETTING UP THE NURSERY
As you think
about where to place items, consider these principles from Feng Shui,
the art and science of placement. Feng Shui comes to us from the
Chinese, but the principles are universal. It includes all aspects of
how we set up a space: design (everything from paint color and
furniture placement to art selection and imagery), function (making
sure everything has a proper home and not living among clutter), and
energy (the “feeling” of a space.) Ideally Feng Shui is a balance of
these three different aspects of spatial design.
Why
consider its principles when you are putting together your baby’s room?
Each of us has an inner guidance system that can tell us if a space
feels good to us or otherwise. Babies have an instinctive response to
whether a space feels safe, restful, or stimulating or whether it feels
off somehow. Wouldn’t you want to know if your environment was
affecting your child in some way that you weren’t intending?
Most
Feng Shui principles just make a lot of practical sense to people, and
therefore give you more tools to set up a space that will allow your
baby to be healthy, happy, and supported. Other aspects of Feng Shui
require a bit of a leap of faith, but the intentions behind these other
aspects can add beauty, peace, and good feelings to a space and, when
embraced, can add a new layer of possibilities into your life and the
lives of those you love.
What are the most important things you would absolutely do even if you knew nothing about Feng Shui?
I would not place the baby’s bed in the path of the door.
I would place the baby’s bed in a corner near two walls so that the baby feels safe.
I would not place a baby’s bed in the path of a
mirror. If I had to have a mirror in the room, I would cover it with a
curtain or shawl at night. (Some would say that the energy that a
mirror creates in the room is too stimulating; covering a mirror helps
a room to feel smaller, more intimate, and safer so that your baby will
rest and rejuvenate through the night.)
I would not place the baby’s bed underneath a window.
If I had to have the baby near a window I would
check for drafts, I would lower a screen to act as a “solid wall,” and
I might hang a crystal in the window or a soft baby mobile up above.
I would not put fluorescent or LED lighting near the baby.
I would use full-spectrum lightbulbs to simulate natural light.
I would not paint colors that are
hyperstimulating (bright yellows, oranges, pinks, and reds). I would
also not paint colors that are too dark and could feel scary, sad, or
depressing (no blacks, dark purples, or dark blues).
I would paint in colors that are soothing and calming (soft pastels, earth palates, and natural tones).
What are some additional things you would do for someone who does embrace Feng Shui?
I
would check for electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs) in the room. Unplug
things, and don’t have the baby’s room next to the wireless router or
satellite dish. Counteract the effects of EMFs with soft-edged live
plants, Himalayan rock salt lamps, or an ionizer.
I would not put the baby’s bed on the other side
of the wall from a toilet, sink, elevator, or garbage shoot. Movement,
even behind walls, can be disruptive to deep rest.
I would not place furniture with sharp edges
near where the baby sleeps. Besides being a dangerous thing, sharp
edges create energy that can be disruptive to health over long period
of time.
I would not place the baby near wall edges or
under overhead beams. The same principles apply as above; sharp edges
create disruptive energy that can affect people over time.
I would consider blessing the nursery before
bringing the baby into the room. The energy from whatever took place in
there before can linger, so it is better to create a clean slate. You
can do this with your good thoughts and loving intentions or you can
use natural aromatherapy sprays or dishes of sea salt to absorb old
stuck energy from the room. If you feel that something deeper is afoot,
I would not hesitate to call in an expert (a priest, rabbi, shaman, or
Feng Shui expert) to perform a blessing.
