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Preparing for a new-born as a first-time parent can turn out to be both exciting and terrifying. There is suddenly an urgent need to put everything in place to ensure the safety of your baby, which is also compounded by the fear of motherhood experience. While this is absolutely normal, it's not something that should stress you at all. Setting up a nursery for your little pumpkin can either be fun or overwhelming depending on how you approach it.
Personally, I believe creating a baby nursery is not just creating "another room" in your home. Instead, it is about creating "the room" in your home. It is the room where all the focus will be.
Since its where your precious little pumpkin will be spending most of her time, you want to take your time putting everything together to make sure the room is safe and comfortable. And of course, you want to do this without wrecking your wallet.
Most moms, especially those with no parenting experience, are usually overwhelmed by the huge number of baby items they find in the market, and as such, find it pretty hard determining which ones are really worth their money.
You will be happy to discover that there are only few things you really need in order to set up a comfortable nursery for your baby. Most of the items you see on the counter may not even be needed at the moment. You can always buy them afterward when you know more about what attracts your baby, as well as what pleases you.
So, from my experience with six kids, I have come up with what you can describe as the perfect nursery checklist which includes the essential items you need to buy for baby's room BEFORE your baby arrives. Whether you need an upgrade or it's your first, you will find my recommendation quite handy and very useful.
Bedding
The principal focus of any baby nursery is usually the bedding, which is why it should come first on your list of basic nursery items. The bedding is not only meant to be comfortable, it should also blend with other items in the room. Ideally, it should stand out as a focal point in the whole nursery arrangement and decoration. It should also be safe and large enough to accommodate your baby.
When preparing bedding for your child, there are usually two options that are open to you- a bassinet or crib. A bassinet is usually more convenient, however, your baby is likely to outgrow it sooner and then you may need to get a bigger one or a new crib entirely. Whichever one you opt for, just make sure it's strong and built with quality materials.
Normally, you will come across different styles and price tags of bassinets and cribs in the market. Make sure you choose one that complements your nursery decor. It should also be affordable and within your budget. Whatever you do, make sure you stay off from drop-side cribs in order not to risk the safety of your kid.
Baby Monitor
Having a baby monitor will enable you to sleep well in the night without constantly peering into your baby's crib to check if everything is OK.
This is really important especially if you're not sleeping in the same room with bub. With a monitor, you will be able to maintain constant visual or audio contact with your child even while you're staying in a separate room. It doesn't matter whether your space is small; what matters is that you can close the door and still be aware of what is going on.
Baby monitors could either be audio or video, or both. Audio models, which are better known as traditional monitors, only transmit sound, while the video models allow you see a life image of your baby at any point in time. However, there are still certain baby monitors that can have both visual and audio functions. With this kind of monitors, you can hear and watch your little love day and night.
Ordinarily, either the audio or visual monitor should do, however, if you have the money you can purchase the more conventional monitor that comes with both functions.
Glider or Rocking Chair
Adding a glider or rocking chair to your baby's nursery can save you a lot of stress when feeding or soothing your baby. The rocking motion produced by the chair helps babies to feel comfortable and more relaxed. As such, they serve as a good spot for breastfeeding and inducing sleep.
Both gliders and rocking chairs come with a curved base which can be gently rocked back and forth. However, while a glider strictly moves on a track, a rocking chair is mainly driven by your feet. Whichever one you opt for, make sure it's sturdy and comfortable with a good footrest and lot pillows for back support. It should be a model you can use for a long time.
Generally, gliders have smoother motion than rocking chairs. They are also considered safer and more versatile. You can easily convert a good one to a regular chair when no longer needed for nursery.
It will be helpful to have a table close by where you can place feeding bottles or reading materials.
Changing Table or Dresser
Another important nursery item that should also come to on your checklist is a changing table.
Whether you like it or not, there will always be a need to change your baby's diapers. So having a changing table or dresser will help you a great deal. Apart from the support it provides for your precious bundle during change, it also provides storage. In addition, when the table is high enough, the strain of bending over anytime you want to change your baby's napkin will be greatly reduced.
Since the table is probably going to take up a large space in the room, it's very important for the design to be nice. An elegant changing table will not only improve the overall outlook of the nursery, it will also give you a feeling of peace and security.
Like I said earlier, you should choose a changing table or dresser that comes with a shelf that can accommodate your baby's diapers or nappies, wipes, lotions, and the likes. It wouldn't hurt to also have a laundry basket around.
Speaking about bub's clothing, you may only require few singlets, rompers, and growsuits.
Mobile
Mobiles are wonderful for soothing babies. In fact, your baby's nursery wouldn't be complete without them.
Though the vision of new-borns is usually blurry, but they soon outgrow this stage after some days. So even though you wouldn't need one immediately, it's still a good idea to install a mobile.
But then, once the baby gets the mobile memo, it becomes easier to fall blissfully asleep. Even while awake, there are various features of a mobile that can be used to entertain the child.
Depending on your style, you may decide to go for independent mobiles or those that come installed with bedding sets. Whichever one you choose is OK. However, the more features a mobile has, the more useful it is in soothing your baby. Who knows...maybe, if the dangling bears don't attract the kid, the mirror will, or perhaps it might be the music. For me, it was always the dangling bears!
Nightlight
Setting up a night light in your baby's room is really necessary. You will even need it more than them.
Generally, infants are not afraid of the dark, but you need a soft low light to guide you during late-night visits. This is important especially if you need to feed or change their clothes. Switching on the normal lighting may startle them from sleep and perhaps, a bright lighting isn't good for soothing babies. And mind you- a dark room is not an option. You don't want to bump into some piece of furniture while rushing to attend to a crying bub in the middle of the night.
So try to make provision for low lighting as part of your baby's nursery. You may want to position the light near the baby's sleeping area.
You can get all the nursery items listed above from our website, including those items that are not featured. The CuddleBug nursery room set is the best collection you can use in setting up the perfect sanctuary for your little bundle of joy.
From quality comfortable baby cribs to, to soft night lights, to sturdy dressers, gliders, rocking chairs, changing tables, and other nursery must-haves. You can find full details on pricing on everything right here on CuddleBug. Our products also include on-the-go gear, as well as other nursery items that make life easier, like swaddle, stereo, wall art, amongst others.
Finally, I believe it's normal to want to buy everything baby thing you come across. But then, you don't want to spend unnecessarily. Like I said earlier, there will be more occasions to buy some of these things afterwards, especially those cute flashy clothes and toys. For now, you may just want to focus on the core essentials above.
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