The peaceful nursery

At home
Home is as much a feeling as it is a physical place. “It's good to be home,” “home sweet home,” and “welcome home” are all expressions that strike a deep emotional chord. “Feeling at home” is synonymous with feeling content, comfortable, and secure. It is important to your health and happiness that the physical space you call home provides you with this sense of comfort and security. Creating a home-and more specifically, a special place for your baby-that will give both you and your child this sense of peace is essential.

There is no better time to create a home that supports and nourishes you and your family than when preparing for the birth of a baby. The transition into parenthood can be one of the most extraordinary, yet also demanding, times in your life. As you adjust to your new role as a mother or father, your home can become a great source of support. An organized, healthy home and a peaceful, beautiful, comfortable nursery can help you function with ease and grace. In addition, as you design the nursery and make space for your new baby, you will also take an inner journey that will prepare you for parenthood: as you change your home, you too will change. Your home will become a vehicle for becoming more conscious about who you are, what your priorities are, what kind of parent you want to be, and what kind of children you want to raise.

For a newborn, the significance of the nursery is even more profound: the nursery is your baby's next womb. An enchanted, peaceful, and cozy nursery will give your baby the security and comfort to thrive. Some of your baby's first interactions with you and the world will take place in this room. By creating a nursery filled with healthy, happy, and loving energy, you're building the foundation for a healthy, happy, and loving relationship with your baby.

Excerpted from The Peaceful Nursery by Laura Forbes Carlin and Alison Forbes Copyright © 2006 by Alison Forbes. Excerpted by permission of Delta, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Image courtesy of Pottery Barn Kids.