Baby Gregory is lucky enough to be the 4th generation sleeping in a family heirloom, passed down from my dad's side of the family. We've been calling it "The Little Crib" because it's not a bassinet, it's an actual wooden crib, just a little one.
Here's the back story on The Little Crib:
My great-grandmother, Louise Graham Gibbs, purchased this crib from the Sears & Roebuck catalog in 1938, when she was pregnant with my Nana. It was used for my Nana, her brother Paul, my Uncle Frankie, my dad, my Uncle Chris, and all 8 of the Stephens grandchildren. It was even used by my cousin Kelsey when her little boy Maddox was born. Four generations started their lives sleeping in this Little Crib that is now 75 years old. My Nana told me the mattress was purchased when she was pregnant with my Uncle Frankie and it cost an entire week of my Papa's pay. It is still in great shape and I don't think they make mattresses like this one anymore...it's heavy!
When the Little Crib came to us, it was needing some work. One of the legs was cracked and it was a little wobbly, but it wasn't anything that couldn't be mended. My mother-in-law stripped off all of the paint - layers and layers of paint - and sanded it until it was smooth. Chance added new brackets and support pieces, and he even planed down the edges so they would blend with the original supports.
We then painted it an off-white color and this is what we had at the end:
My cousin Kelsey's grandmother, Mimi, had made a set of beautiful bedding for the Little Crib when Kelsey was pregnant with Maddox. You can see below the finished product with the handmade bumper pad by Mimi...absolutely perfect :) I even found sheets at Babies R Us that fit the mattress perfectly!
We are having trouble getting the bed skirt to fit with the new braces we added, so my friend Amy has volunteered to use her sewing skills to retrofit it. I can't wait to have it all the way done, but I don't think Baby G will care if the bedskirt isn't on there.
This is where Baby G will sleep next to our bed for the first month or so, until we get into a good feeding/sleeping schedule, then we'll transition over to the nursery. It means the world to me to have this little piece of home here for the baby. Being so far away from home is hard, especially when we want to be able to share all of the exciting things happening with my family. This way, it feels like my family is partially here and loving Baby G from far away :)
No comments:
Post a Comment