Nesting | The Bassinet

I have great admiration for this father of mine. He is so smart and skilled in many areas, particularly in carpentry. He is extremely modest in his work and if you saw some of his projects throughout the years I don't doubt you'd be blown away. 

A couple months ago dad happily agreed to assist me in building a bassinet for my baby girl during his upcoming visit. In preparation for our project I purchased a Moses basket and gathered pictures to use as a guide. Jay and I currently have a very small collection of tools, so we were indeed grateful when dad said he was willing to not only spend time on this project, but he was also willing to contribute the use of his tools. [One of dad's many skills is packing suitcases efficiently. While staying under the airline's weight limit of 50 pounds for checked bags, somehow dad managed to pack seven days worth of clothes and toiletries, a few baby items I left behind on my last visit, six of my heavy duty scrapbooks from home, painting materials, a drill, AND a saw.]

MAKING A BLUEPRINT

Seconds into the first step and I was already so relieved to have dad helping me. He knows his stuff and doesn't skimp on his projects. For example: As we were designing he asked, "Do you want the bassinet to rock?" I told him that while that would be totally awesome, it wasn't necessary and I didn't want to make things too complicated. Then he went right along sketching out plans to make the bassinet rock.

SHOPPING FOR SUPPLIES

We spent at least an hour at Lowe's. I learned a great deal from dad about what to look for when picking out wood, screws, and other materials.

CUTTING, SANDING, ASSEMBLING

We began cutting and sanding on Saturday afternoon, then took a break on Sunday. Assembly was complete by Monday afternoon. After making a few minor adjustments to the rocker and replacing some screws, the bassinet was finished by Tuesday afternoon.

FINAL RESULT

After dad left I decided to paint the rocker and stain the Moses basket. I have never worked with stain before and I tell ya, it was a learning experience.

I feel absolutely spoiled to have such a loving and willing father. This project made for another great memory with him and I will treasure this bassinet forever and ever. I'm so thrilled with the results I could cry. And when thinking about laying my baby and future babies in this bassinet, I do cry.