Which Nursery Furniture is Necessary?

Getting the nursery ready for the arrival of a new baby can be really fun. Couples sometimes like to do this together, but you may be nesting and decide that you are doing it all yourself! Use this checklist to make sure that you've considered everything. When you're prepared, you will be able to concentrate more on the baby and yourself than on the nursery.

The first step is to see what big items you may need. This is generally where people start. Pick out your furniture with a few things in mind. The crib should not be an older one because safety standards change nearly every year. Lead paint, strangulation hazards, and pinch points are concerns with older cribs.

A glider rocker or comfortable rocking chair with a nursing stool is a must for the nursery. People sometimes skip the rocker because they are expensive, but rocking is soothing for both baby and parent. You need the foot stool to comfortably rock your baby. If the price seems high, look into buying a used one. Flip the chair over and inspect it for safety before you buy it. Make sure that nuts and bolts are tight and not stripped. Make sure that welds are not cracked. When you sit in it and shift your weight, the chair should not make loud sounds or move very much. A wood creak sound is okay and soothing to babies, but metal scraping and squealing sounds could be a sign of faulty design.

Most people want to buy a changing station and some parents do use them a lot. But, this is one item that many parents regret buying because they very rarely take the time to go all the way to the nursery to change a diaper. If you really like the idea of the changing table, choose one that has a good pad and safety straps. Buy a lot of covers for the pad so that you can change them often. If you want to make sure that you use it a lot, make it part of your child's bedtime routine. After the bath, you can use the changing table to diaper and clothe your child. A changing table keeps the baby close to your face so that you can sing, talk, and make eye contact while you get them ready for bed.

Dressers are useful, but take up a lot of space and can be climbing and tipping hazards. A lot of parents choose to use the closet instead. You can hang precious outfits on children's hangers or infant hangers to keep them from getting stretched out. Use bins or baskets for little items like receiving blankets, socks, onesies and washcloths. Using the closet for storage helps you to keep a lot of things out of baby's reach. Use baby hangers to hang most things so that you have plenty of room for shelves and your nursery closet could quickly become your favorite space.