Room for a little one!

For the next in our blog series of ‘Getting your home baby ready’, we asked blogger Elaine Donaghy, also known as Elaine Roves N Troves, for her top tips after she became a mum to baby Mollie who is now 14 months old.

A busy working mum, Elaine juggles her career in marketing with blogging and raising Mollie together with her husband. Her popular social media channels, which exploded in popularity as she started to share her self-build home and shared interiors inspo, is now also inspiring other mothers with parenting insights from breast-feeding to postpartum recovery.

We were excited to speak to Elaine and get the inside track of how she got her home Mollie-ready!

Storage

The old joke that babies have a lot of ‘stuff’ is definitely true! We hadn’t really considered storage before Mollie was born, but it became apparent very quickly that we needed more!

For us, we decided to go with neutral storage baskets that matched in with our décor and wouldn’t become dated. These are widely available from high street, independent and discount stores and what I love is that they can be reused for different purposes in the future. Plus most are made from natural materials.

You can’t have enough ‘nappy stations’ around the house so it’s great to have storage baskets with changing essentials in the rooms you use the most.

Snug as a bug in a rug

Creating soft spaces around your house is a great way to make sure your home is baby ready!

Having pillows and cushions to hand makes it easier for both you and baby to move around and be comfortable.  They also have the added benefit of keeping you cosy and warm.

Play cushions and beanbags in particular have been a god send, they protect Mollie as she plays but are also great for parents who are often sitting on the floor with their babies!

As well as rugs over the floor, we have a great playmat that is easy to move and makes sure Mollie doesn’t hurt herself.

I think my top item for our home however has been my nursing chair.  This was my best find and we moved it around the house as Mollie’s feeding pattern changed.  When she was born.

it was in the snug for the night feeds and then we moved it to the nursery - it’s used every single night for that final feed and for snuggles before bed.

Don’t forgo décor!  

For items that we did need to purchase, I felt it was important to get pieces that would match in with our décor and that wouldn’t become dated over time.

I don’t think parents should feel pressured to have traditional baby items or furniture in a child-like design - do what works best for your space and that makes you happy. The less time you spend moving things in and out of a room, the better!

Like Caitlyn, we would also recommend looking at full size furniture or pieces that grow with your child.  For example, we got a cot that will eventually evolve into a bed and our highchair is perfect for Mollie as she grows as well.  While these might be more investment pieces, they are worth it in the long run and you can often get them second-hand on places like Facebook Marketplace.

Invest in yourself

Speaking from experience, having a baby transforms how you treat yourself and I think it’s important for any new mummy or parent to take a step back and think about how they invest in themselves, something I’ve only recently started to do again.

Small things can make a huge difference, for example making sure you have a spot at home with your skincare ready so you can pamper yourself before bed and setting time aside to go for a walk.

I also really recommend joining local parenting groups. My local breastfeeding WhatsApp group has been an incredible source of information, support and has been invaluable for my mental wellbeing. Getting your information from a collection of trusted sources can help validate how you’re feeling and make sure your needs are met. For me, this is true of health, wellbeing and changes to our home.