If you are a mom-to-be, you most likely have visited other nurseries and have seen how packed they are. While nurseries need plenty of items, you don’t have to include all of them. Are you wondering what do you actually need in a nursery?
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Some of the essential ones include:
1. Crib
Even if you want the baby to sleep in a bassinet for the first few months, you still need a crib from the very beginning. And the beauty is there are all types of cribs you can go for depending on your budget and preferences.
Regardless of the crib you go for, ensure that it’s sturdy and made from quality materials. As a rule of thumb, avoid drop-side cribs as they don’t provide enough support, so your delicate bundle of joy might drop. These cribs have, in fact, been banned by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
2. Bedding
A crib is incomplete without bedding, so you should have them in your nursery. Besides the beddings having a significant impact on a child’s comfort, they also play a major part in the decorating process. For your baby to be warm and comfortable, you need various bedding items, including bumper pads, crib sheets, crib skirts, and blankets.
If you have a nursery theme, ensure that the bedding materials match the theme.
Quality is vital when buying the items so ensure everything you buy is top quality. Besides this having a huge impact on the durability of the bedding, it also affects the baby’s comfort, so always ensure that the bedding materials are top-notch.
These materials will be expensive to buy, but they will be worth having in the long run.
3. Momzone
This is where you will be feeding the baby. Unlike in the movies, where the nursing mother takes a few seconds to feed the baby, feeding the baby often takes a long time, so you should make the mom zone comfortable.
A good way to go about it is to have a comfortable seat such as a rocking chair.
Since you will be spending a lot of time here, have a few healthy snacks there and water. It’s also wise to have a few magazines or novels to read.
If you are an avid reader, have a Bluetooth speaker to listen to music, podcasts, or audiobooks on.
4. Decorations
It’s vital that you decorate your nursery to set the mood for the room and make it more attractive. And the beauty is there are plenty of ways to decorate the nursery. You can hang photos, install wallpapers or even use nursery art such as the one found here https://www.lewisishome.com/collections/nursery-art
If your decorations involve painting or wallpapering, ensure that you complete doing them at least eight weeks before the baby comes. This ensures that there are no harmful fumes that would make the baby uncomfortable or even hurt them.
5. Changing table
During the first year, you will do thousands of diaper changes, and with time, you will become a professional at it that you can change the diapers anywhere and within minutes. Despite this, it’s wise that you have a stationary table dedicated to diaper changes.
Diaper change tables come in all varieties and sizes, and it’s up to you to choose the most ideal depending on your preferences and nursery size.
6. Dresser
Like diapers, babies go through several clothing changes every day, making it vital that you have an organized dresser in your nursery. To have an easy time, have a dresser with at least three drawers and compartments for bibs, socks, and other small items.
For tips on how to keep the baby dresser neat and organized, follow this guide.
7. Storage basket
The storage basket is more than a cute piece of décor—you also use it to house burp cloths, extra blankets, or even toys making it an essential item in your nursery. To get the most from it, position it where you need it the most.
For example, if you have blankets in the basket, place them close to the crib. If there are burp cloths, place the basket by the rocker, and if containing toys, place it in an area where the baby can easily reach for them.
8. Baby monitor
It’s vital that you know how the baby is doing in their nursery, and the baby monitor makes this possible. There are all types of monitors ranging from simple audio-only devices to high-tech cameras with alarms and sensors. It all depends on you and, of course, your budget.
You should determine what you are comfortable with and go with it.
9. Mobile
No, this is not for the baby to call you on. It’s to soothe and entertain the baby. You can buy the mobiles together with crib bedding sets or buy them separately. Regardless of how you buy them, ensure that they have plenty of music and moving figurines to catch the kid’s attention.
You can also buy mobiles with mirrors, lights, and other interesting features.
10. Nightlight
You will be making plenty of late-night visits to the child’s nursery, so you should have a nightlight in place to light up the place when feeding or changing the baby. To keep the baby comfortable, ensure the nightlight’s lighting is low and soothing.
11. Rug
The rug provides the baby with a space to spread out and play. The baby can also spend their tummy time or practice crawling here.
When buying the rug, ensure that it’s thick enough to keep the baby comfortable. The rug should also be easy to clean in the event of an accident.
Think about the future
As you are buying different nursery items and designing the baby’s nursery, always think about the future. For example, when it comes to the storage space, put in more than you need as the kid will grow and need more and larger items.
You also should ensure that the nursery is large enough to hold a baby in the future as the baby grows.
When it comes to decorations, go with easy-to-replace pieces, that you can change with time.
We do hope you like these thoughts on ideas for the nursery – if you do, why not sign up to our newsletter?
We do have other areas for the nursery as well on the site, including some fabulous wall art and decorations. Why not pop over to the shop to check out the nursery wall art we have? We’ve also got something lovely free ideas as well:
Nursery printables for your baby on KiddyCharts
Here are some more ideas for you and your baby for the nursery - do check them out. There are, after all, completely free!
Nursery checklist: Must have nursery essentials including free nursery wall art
This is a checklist we have for nursery items that works well alongside this article - why not check it out?
Adorable printable jungle nursery mobile
If you are looking for a gorgeous mobile for the nursery - this is perfect for you. And it is also free to download from the site too.
Alphabet poster printables
Sometimes it is nice to have a few little posters on the wall for baby - these alphabet printables are perfect.
Alphabet flash cards
Finally, if you want a little game for your little ones as they grow up. Try these alphabet flash cards for them - print them on card and laminate them and they will last just that little bit longer.
If these don’t work for you – why not check out some of the other resources off site too?
Baby related printables and articles from around the web
Whether baby is on their way or already here, we have some great baby related printables to share with you from around the web. Take a look and get inspired!
18 Printable Baby Shower Games
These fun printable baby shower games will be enjoyed by all. Take a look and download yours!
Baby Footprint Poems - 6 printable footprint quotes & poems!
These lovely keepsake crafts will become cherished memories for years to come. Take a look at yours here.
100 Free Nursery Printables That'll Look Good In Every Baby's Room
Make your baby's nursery beautiful with these 100 free nursery printables!
Thanks as always for coming to see us on KiddyCharts; we do hope you come back soon too.
Take care,
Helen
Helen
Helen is a mum to two, social media consultant, and website editor; and this site is (we think) the only Social Enterprise parenting magazine!Since giving up being a business analyst when juggling travel, work and kids proved too complicated, she founded KiddyCharts so she could be with her kids, and use those grey cells at the same time.KiddyCharts has reach of over 1.1million across social and the site. The blog works with big family brands (including travel) to help promote their services, as well as offering free resources to parents of kids under 10.It gives 51%+ profits to Reverence for Life, who fund a number of important initiatives in Africa, including bringing running water and basic equipment to a school in Tanzania.Helen has worked as a digital marketing consultant (IDM qualified) with various organisations, including Channel Mum, Truprint, Talk to Mums, and Micro Scooters. She loves to be creative in the brand campaigns she works on.Get in touch TODAY!