If you're expecting a child, congratulations! Waiting for that bundle of joy is a precious time, and you should enjoy it as best you can. You'll have lots of fun getting ready for the arrival of your little one: putting together a nursery, reading up on pregnancy, childbirth, and infant care, and perhaps even collecting things you'll need in order to take care of your little one. Your friends may even want to buy some things for you in order to help you out with your new baby's needs. You can actually make it easier for them to figure out what to buy if you set up a baby registry for yourself.

You can set up a registry at many stores. You can register for anything that you think you'll need for your newborn, from baby clothing to high chairs, from changing tables to diapers. Not only will this help you to keep track of the items you've received verses the items that you still need to purchase, but it will help those who want to shower you and your little one with gifts to choose gifts that you actually want and need. It also prevents people from purchasing duplicate gifts.

Be sure to check your local baby boutique and see if they offer a registry. If they don't, or if there isn't a boutique in your area, that doesn't mean that you can't set up a registry. Thanks to the magic of the internet, you can actually set up registries online for just about any occasion. And one of the great things about an online registry is that your friends won't have to gift-wrap or lug big boxes to your home; they can just have them delivered. Most online retailers often give buyers the option to include a personal note or message with the gift so that you'll know who it's from.

And if you're going to register for a stroller, setting up an online registry will allow you to choose from a wider variety of strollers as well, since most online retailers are able to keep more inventory on hand than traditional storefronts can. You can even register for Peg Perego strollers or lightweight strollers through an online registry. So don't delay! You'll want to make sure to provide people with the information that they need in ample time for their gifts to be delivered to you before you deliver your baby.

Designing a nursery can be pretty easy and fun if it is well planned and carried out successfully. First, you will want to decide on planning for a boy, girl or a gender neutral theme. Typical colors for a boy would be a combination of baby blue, green, brown and white. For a girl, typical colors would be pink, yellow, lavender and white. It would be ideal to stick between 2 – 3 main colors then add pops of color if needed, says baby car seats designer.

There are a variety of nursery themes that you can choose from such as a garden flowers and butterflies, trains, cars, safari, princess, under the sea or vintage modern which is most popular. In addition to choosing a theme, you will also need to choose paint color, décor such as wall decals, stuffed animals and lastly baby furniture. It would be ideal to make a list of things you need to get to decorate the nursery as some researching may be required. You can also visit some local baby boutiques for decoration ideas. One of the most important parts of decorating a baby nursery is the baby furniture such as a crib, if you want a rocking chair, dresser and etc. You can find quality baby furniture at baby boutiques Los Angeles and affordable furniture stores such as Ikea or Target.

The baby crib should flow well with the wall colors. The easiest way to decorate is to first select a color for the wall and then match find a crib and match it with the theme and go from there. If you follow the 5 simple steps below, your baby will have a nice theme and modern nursery on the block that came together with little effort by you.

Step #1: Select a modern crib bedding set with colors matching your theme.

Step #2: Select your favorite color from the modern bedding set. Paint that color on one of the nursery walls

Step #3: Select a contrasting color from the bedding set and a shape from the bedding pattern such as stripes, diamonds, circles etc… and paint that shape, in the contrasting color, either as a wall border or as a pattern on your accent wall.

Step #4: Get accessories that match the crib bedding set and baby furniture

Step #5: Finish with a unique light, such as a modern chandelier, as a focal point and voila…your baby will have the most contemporary nursery around.

Whatever your style, you don't need to buy a complete ready-made baby furniture set. After you have a theme set in mind, you can slowly furnish your little one's room with unique finds, and your decorating story can end happily, too.