I am starting to pull everything together for my nursery and I've heard from so many friends, "Make sure you get a good chair! Your booty will glued to it for the foreseeable future!" LOL

At my parents' house in North Carolina, we have a beautiful wooden rocking chair that helped hush my brother and me to sleep when we were babies. I've been envisioning something similar for my own baby boy on the way, but also wanted something a little more cushy for the 'tushy!'

I looked all over and found a beautiful chair from an Aussie company called Life of Style. It is a French inspired rocking chair, made of grey linen blend fabric, solid oak legs, and bronze stud detailing. It is a substational chair but will also fit in our limited space. My husband and I live at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. It is one of the best locations in the world, but we definitely sacrifice space in a big way in order to live here. I also wanted to make sure the there would be enough space for an ottoman to go with the rocker. Going into my 8th month of pregnancy, I've already been nursing sore feet. I'm guessing these puppies will want some elevating post delivery too! This Life of Style rocking chair and tufted ottoman are going to be perfect! 

Below is an interview with Life of Style founder, Melissa Cannizzaro about how to choose the perfect nursing chair.

ANNA: New mothers spend a large amount of time in the nursing chairs, particularly in the early months. What are the main types of nursing chairs you recommend? (Ex. Rocking, gliding, stationary, reclining, etc)

MELISSA: A rocking chair would be the best option, especially in those first few months when your days are consumed with the feeding and sleeping routine of a new baby. A comfortable rocking chair will offer respite to a weary body whilst giving you the chance to rock your baby gently to sleep if you need to. I didn't have a rocking chair when I had my girls and I found that when nursing them I would find myself patting, bouncing or swaying them in a stationary chair to soothe them – not ideal! 

ANNA: New mom’s often get sore backs, is there a particular angle, height, cushion, armrest, etc to look for?

MELISSA: There are definitely a lot of aspects to look for in a nursing chair. You want the right height armrests to allow room to move or to place a pillow under your arm if need be, you want the right seat padding so that your toosh is comfy, the right density in foam in the backrest to allow back support yet comfort and the right amount of rocking motion so that you don’t feel like you about to launch off the floor. I have a lot of customers comment that some other rocking chairs/arm chairs backrest only go as high as their shoulders. I think it’s pretty important to be able to rest your head back and relax so this is definitely something to look for. A lumbar pillow is also something that can provide extra lower back support for those long nursing nights. All these factors have been considered in Life of Style’s range which is why our products have a top layer of duck feather in the seat cushion, a higher backrest and a come with a complimentary lumbar pillow.

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As a first time mom, I am so so so excited about setting up the nursery. It feels like such a right of passage as a woman - and it makes this whole pregnancy thing seem REAL!

When it came time to choose the perfect baby crib, I had so many questions. After a lot of research about safety and a lot of scrolling through my Instagram feed at cute possibilities, I settled on a lovely white crib by Incy Interiors. It should be arriving any day now. I can't wait! I imagine a lot of you will have the same questions I had when I started this process, so I wanted to go to an expert for you! 

I asked the founder of Incy Interiors why she started the company and why she continues to be passionate about helping new moms find the perfect cribs/cots for their nurseries. Here is Kristy's response and a Q and A about how you can choose the best crib/cot for your needs. You will notice that Aussies call the piece of furniture 'cots' while Americans call them 'cribs.' 

Pulling together your first born's nursery - it's kind of a right of passage as a woman. Do you feel me? I was super duper excited about decorating our nursery from pretty much the pregnancy get go. I had these visions like you see in the movies. You know the type. Where the mom to be is heavily pregnant, painting the walls, while wearing cute overalls or something else cliche, with a big basketball showing through. Well, that didn't happen exactly! In fact at the end of pregnancy my basketball had turned into an overgrown beachball. People would often say things like, "Are you sure there aren't two in there?!" Haha! I had loads of fluid in my legs and feet. The last thing I felt like doing was painting!

But... I did manage to pull together what is very close to my dream nursery! It is so special. I spend a lot of time in there breastfeeding Brooks in the wee hours of the night, so it better be cozy. And if we want a zenned out little bubby, it better have a relaxing vibe. Tick. Tick. Tick! Check out the personalized baby bunting, teepee, play mat, and crib set by Hoot DesignZ. LOVE! We also have a salt lamp and a paradise iDream app going in there 24/7. Sometimes I wish it was my little nook for taking naps!

I went with the classic, baby blue as the main color, complemented by navy and black. Similar to our Central Park wedding, I knew I wanted the nursery to have a travel theme. Travel is near and dear to me because my husband and I dated internationally in some of the world's most amazing cities before he moved to NYC and then we moved to his home country, Australia. I focused on finding accessories that featured planes, trains, globes, maps, etc. I found an amazing company here in Oz that specializes in custom nursery designs. After telling the owner of Hoot DesignZ my ideas, she gave me several different fabric options. They were all great. How to choose!? I decided on the one you see here because I had read the contrast would be good for our little one's vision development.

Below you will find a Q and A with the owner of Hoot DesignZ, Rhonda Daniel about how to pick the perfect nursery theme for you and your baby. If you're looking for info about the French inspired, rocking nursing chair by Life of Style, click here. If you like the crib and change table from the Spindle range at Incy Interiors, click here.

An easier way to swaddle. Doesn't that have a nice ring to it!?! This post should hopefully help you find the best way to swaddle your baby. I think I have seriously discovered the secret to swaddling a baby in a way that is easy for parents, won't wake up the baby, won't scare the baby, and won't allow the baby to wiggle out!

When my baby boy, Brooks was born I had stocked up on about a dozen muslin wraps I planned to use for swaddling. While in hospital, my husband and I tried the swaddle method we had learned in our parenting classes. After Brooks wiggle out, we had a midwife show us another method. Well, we quickly realized we had an escape artist on our hands. Brooks would wiggle his way out every time. Because of all the SIDS warnings from our instructor and all the baby literature we had been reading in the months leading up to his birth, we thought we better find another way. As new parents of course we were concerned he could wiggle out, kick up the muslin, and God forbid something horrible happen. It wasn't an unhealthy fear, but something we thought we had better sort out. Along with the safety hazards, I also realized every time I would take Brooks out of the swaddle to change his diaper, I would end up waking him, by having to move him around so much as wrapping him in. Some of these small failures may have been because I was new at swaddling, but I just thought, there has to be an easier way.

I tried another method which involves a velcro swaddle. Although it kept Brooks nice and snug and he was unable to wiggle out, any time I would undo the velcro, he would get quite a fright from the loud noise. 

Finally... a break came that would help all three of us get some extra shut eye! Some Aussie friends of my hubby's gave us what they called a summer, newborn, sleep suit. They swore by it, so we thought we would give it a try. It was dummy proof! We would just put our newborn in the suit, and zip him in! Brooks slept very well in it. His little arms were up by his face rather than in a straight jacket at his sides. He was able to soothe himself by still sucking on his hands, albeit through the light fabric.

The sleepy suit as we now call it is called Swaddle Up by Love to Dream. We loved it instantaneously and haven't looked back since. As the weather turned a little cooler and Brooks grew, we moved up to a size medium and a thicker fabric. He just started rolling a couple weeks ago so we are now using a version that allows the wings to zip off, allowing his arms to move freely. We initially just unzipped one side so he could get used to the new sleepy suit. He now has both arms free and is certainly sleeping like a baby! There is also a twin zip feature that allows caretakers to unzip the sleepy suit from the top to get bubby out, or from the bottom up to change his/her diaper while minimizing disturbances in position. 

I can't recommend these enough! The only downside I can see is the price tag. It will run you about $60 a pop! But I have to say, it has been a lifesaver for me. I can easily see why it won the award of Most Popular Swaddle award last year from the Mother and Baby Awards in Australia.

Below you will find a Q and A about swaddling methods with the founder of Love to Dream, Hana-Lia Krawchuk.