I have seen satin finish in a baby's room and it is very disconcerting. It's too shiny and draws attention to itself. Eggshell is the way to go. Nurseries don't get the use that a kitchen would where satin might be more practical because you can wipe off splashes. I would also recommend that you restrict lighting to less than more. When you'll need that light will be to change a diaper at night or feed the baby. You will find a small table light will low wattage will be more useful because you can leave it on while baby sleeps and/or in the middle of the night when baby needs you. There's a lot of cute little lamps especially for the nursery for that reason. Good luck!

Eggshell and stay away from all those off-gassing materials.

The jury is till out on how damaging anything might be for your unborn child.

A cousin decided to paint the nursery a month before baby was due and lost the child. Was there a correlation? No one knows for sure, but no sense taking a chance.

Eggshell is great for walls and is plenty scrubbable for a hard-working room like a nursery. Congrats!

Thanks everyone! Looks like eggshell it is. Definitely going with the no-VOC paint, wearing a mask, and letting hubby do most of the work :)

Don't discount the off gassing from the carpet, new rocker, crib, bedding, blankets etc.

All that new stuff around a newborn is not good. Make sure everything is prewashed, even clothes, or placed on a clothesline outside.

Their lungs are new and fragile and can be easily affected. My sister suffered from bronchitis yearly that was so bad she was hospitalized for the first 10 years of her life. It stopped occurring when there were no more smokers in the house.

I would rethink carpet in a childs room and make sure all the new stuff sits in the room with the window open for at a couple of days before baby arrives. Wash everything washable for sure too I find the wallpaper very boring children respond well to colors I would remove it and replace with decals for now . As for paint finish even matte is washable and would help hide the imperfections in that wall.

Thanks, all. I know there are risks with off gassing but as this is our first child, we do need to buy a crib, rocker, etc. since we have no baby furniture. We will be getting it in as early as possible so that it has time to off gas and we can keep windows open, etc. No smokers here, so nothing to worry about from that end (and I'm glad your sister recovered). We will certainly be washing everything that is washable.