Decorating the room

[Cosmosmom]

When should the room be decorated? I already have the bedding/decor sitting in the closet and I have already picked the colors. It is gender neutral. I have already picked out the crib online.

We have not made a match yet but have been officially waiting over 9 months. Agency says to assume two years but of course some go sooner....but everyone who is patient enough will eventually find a match (they also place safe haven babies in my state and the family that has been waiting the longest is asked if they would accept the match first).

Currently nursery is a guest room so not really being used. We only have a small number of guests and also have a futon in the office and a couple of them prefer the couch anyway.

I am thinking I'm ready to decorate maybe this fall/winter when we tend to have the time for a project like that. My mom thinks that is stupid and that we should wait until we get a call and that it will be too hard to see the room. But I almost think it would be harder to see the room that was done for a specific child in mind and than that falls through.

One bonus is if we decorate before a match, we could update the portfolio with a picture of the finished nursery.

So trying to decide if I should go for it early or hold off.........

[WishingNWaiting]

Ours was a little different situation, but we went ahead and set up the basics and waited until we got a match to personalize. We had to have beds at a minimum to get our foster care license. We have made a lot of changes to the set up now that the kids are with us, but I actually found it reassuring to see the room each day. It served as a reminder to hang in there, even though we really waited no time at all. At least I got to feel like I was doing something versus just waiting....

Good luck, we would love to see pics

[HisWifeHerMom]

I personally think if it will help you, DO IT! If it will be harder on you I'd wait. Its a personal choice and who is to say if its wrong or right! This is something you and Your DH is going through and have to find ways to cope and keep busy! goodluck

[Cosmosmom]

Yeah if there was more unknowns in ages, I would wait. But we know baby will almost certainly between 3-5 weeks old when we get to come home. And I have already decided on a Snoopy theme (DH and I both loved Snoopy growing up and well we are really into dogs...one of mine is part beagle!)...that was decided in 2006 when we first tried to get pg. So I have all that stuff.

I have decided to use credit card points to buy the crib and I have about half the amount needed. I like to get stuff for free. Since we charge a lot (whatever we can is charged but paid off in full every month), I figure by the fall I should have the amount needed. No point in changing the room until I have the crib in the house.

It's just hard to decide if it would be easier to have the room or harder to have it.

I will definitely post a picture whenever I do get it done. DH just says I can do it whenever I want.
Right now we have this page in our portfolio....but I would change out the bottom picture for the room once that is done.portfolio 23.jpg

I need to update another page too...when we did this last summer, I only had one dog. But now we have two.

[shouston26]

I decorated the room and started buying all the stuff before we were matched. It helped keep me sane during the wait, and gave me something fun and exciting to look forward to. I say go for it!

[Smplyme89]

I say if it won't cause you any hardship, go for it

If you do, we definitely need to see pics

[keepingfaith]

With Josy we decorated the room before we were matched it was gender neutral and it did give us something to do. With our second we started to put personal touches to the room once we were matched and found out that it was a little boy....when it fell through it was hard putting things away that we had purchased for him specifically. Now that we're waiting again we're waiting to do anything in the form of decorating the room until the baby is home.

Jess

[Flynn08]

I'm not usually in this room but I was here looking at another post. Anywho, we have that Snoopy bedding! I don't think that I've come across anybody else with it. We actually have 1 set of vintage snoopy & 1 set of peek-a-boo snoopy. My DH and I both loved Snoopy growing up. Some people said it was crazy to buy the bedding sets but we still use the comforters almost everyday and have the sheets on their crib/toddler bed. (My guys are 2yo). The comforters are in the playroom and my sons love to hide under them and play peek-a-boo. Over and over and over We also use them for carpet picnics. Whenever you decide to decorate the room, you might want to think about getting the room decals. They were a bit pricey, but they last better than any other wall decals that we've come across. I have one set on the walls in each of my guys rooms. Good luck, whatever you decide- I hope you get matched soon!

[Cosmosmom]

Oh I know that I once loved a snoopy set that came out in 2006 when we were first going to try. Didn't get it....and for a few years didn't like a lot of the sets. I finally found this one and I bought a ton of it. The bedding, the rug, the lamp, hamper, mobile, I do have the decals, the wallpaper border (2 rolls), 2 crib sheets, light switch plate, night light, blanket.....ummm pretty much the whole set of accessories. LOL
The big decision has been what color to paint the walls....no green as the next door office is green.

I know the bedding might not be used that much and baby won't care but I want a cute room for me. I figured if I didn't use the comforter on the floor or something, I might hang it on the wall once baby is using the crib.

I'm thinking I probably will do the room maybe this winter. Not much else to do in a northern WI winter!

[Sugar&Spice]

I don't have experience with adoption, so I hope you don't mind me commenting here. I just wanted to say that people who are pregnant usually decorate their nurseries before their LOs are born, and to me, it makes sense for adoptive parents to do that, too. We all feel the joy and anticipation of a coming baby, and decorating the nursery is one of those exciting and soothing events leading up to a child's birth. It's nice to be distracted by the fun and exciting aspects sometimes! Best of luck with it all!

[fruitlover]

I don't have experience with adoption, so I hope you don't mind me commenting here. I just wanted to say that people who are pregnant usually decorate their nurseries before their LOs are born, and to me, it makes sense for adoptive parents to do that, too. We all feel the joy and anticipation of a coming baby, and decorating the nursery is one of those exciting and soothing events leading up to a child's birth. It's nice to be distracted by the fun and exciting aspects sometimes! Best of luck with it all!

I agree with Sugar&Spice. It is best and appropriate to decorate the room just before the actual adoption. It doesn't have to be filled with so much accessories. The simpler, the better. Good luck and God bless!