After months of on-again-off-again work on my son's new big boy room, we’re nearing the finish line. With both rooms we’ve decorated for the kids, it’s been my goal for them to be the nicest in the house. If we can’t have a million dollar home, I still want their rooms to feel like they live in luxury. Being able to design and work on their rooms has been a source of control for me in a life that can, at times, feel chaotic. It’s been a blessing to have so much help to make their rooms look nice and I wanted to share a little about these projects.
When painting my son’s nursery I was VERY pregnant, eight months along, and probably should not have been painting... Because of this, we took precautions. I was able to sit for most of the parts I painted, letting me rest and not exhaust myself into labor. We also made sure the room and house were well ventilated with open windows and a Fresh Air machine running.
When we painted my son’s big boy room, my newborn daughter was already here. I still worried about the fumes in our house with a new baby and because I am nursing.
Here's some information I dug up about painting while pregnant or breastfeeding:
The first rule to painting while pregnant or breastfeeding is to never use lead paint. Don’t risk it.
Painting while pregnant - from what I’ve read on the internet, safety depends on the type of paint you use. Some say that a low VOC (volatile organic compounds), zero VOC, or zero odor paint makes painting safest for mommy and baby in her belly.
Some chemicals and fumes have been linked to birth defects, so ask questions before you use a new product. Ask your midwife, ask your doctor, ask the salesperson, check the internet to see what it says about that product. Knowledge is power, so get some good answers.
Painting and breastfeeding - I’m not seeing much information on the internet that indicates danger in relation to painting a room in your home while breastfeeding. Assuming that you are not feeding your baby with a paintbrush in your hand, the best way to minimize possible dangers is to keep your home well ventilated and limit exposure.
Here are my suggestions for painting while pregnant, if you can’t resist the urge to nest:
Ventilation - open windows and turn on fans
Protect skin - wear protective clothing - long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and gloves
Limit exposure - give yourself breaks, let others help or do the work for you
Do not eat or drink in the project room because paint doesn’t taste good and you don’t want to accidentally consume any.
Why low-voc paint makes a difference:
what are VOCs? volatile organic compounds. Here's a link to the EPA info. on VOC http://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html
Big Boy Room
Nursery
Pinterest inspiration - After scanning through Pinterest.com for hours, I fell in love with the stripes in the room at this link. I changed the colors to fit the color scheme I wanted and stenciled out the stripes to fit our space. I had about eight feet to work with from carpet to ceiling. The measurements I created were: 33'' dark green, 20'' light green, 3'' blue, 6'' light green, 6'' dark green, 12'' yellow, 3'' blue, 9'' light green.
My son had a "forest friends" themed nursery. That will become my daughter's nursery when she moves out of the bassinet and into her own room. Jon, my partner in life and fiance, is set on "brightening up" the nursery with some yellow once we've finished the big boy room (I'm not sure if this will happen.) I had planned to keep the forest theme for the big boy room, but after walking though Babies-R-Us, Jon decided that our son loved the monkeys soooo much that we got him some new decals. He'll be dreaming in his new jungle soon.
Carter's Forest Friends - used to decorate the nursery
Ikea Leaf - will use to decorate the big boy room
Behr Paint - the brand we used to paint both rooms
Colors used:
Big Boy Room
Darker Green: Geranium Leaf 430D-5
Lighter Green: Garden Spot 430D-4
Yellow: Yellow Corn 330B-5
Blue: Voyage UL220-2
Nursery
Darker Blue: Voyage UL220-2
Lighter Blue: Tahoe Blue UL220-3
Brown: Basketry UL140-9
The nursery with furniture
The nursery with furniture
Nursery
Dresser from GoodWill after painting and decoration
Big Boy Room
Big Boy Room
Big Boy Room
East wall meets back wall
*** I am not an expert, a doctor, or anyone who is qualified to give "advice" so please check with your health care provider before using any products you are uncertain of, especially if you are pregnant. ***
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