Preparing for Baby: Nursery Essentials
Part of the fun of being pregnant is to nest and excitedly create a nursery as you prepare for your baby’s arrival. Yet with so many baby products and accessories now available; what products do you really need and what are simply nice to have options?
One of the biggest time-saving things you can do is order a complete nursery furniture package online, to be delivered to your door!
Here is what I think are Nursery Essentials and what can be optional extras.
Nursery Essentials: Must-Have Items for Your Baby Room
1. Cot & Mattress
The cot is the ultimate nursery essential designed for your baby to provide it a safe, comfortable place to sleep at night and throughout the day. When looking to purchase a cot ensure it complies with the Australian Safety Standards. Find out more information on these standards here. You should also check that it is sturdy and durable with all components permanently fixed together or requiring the use of a tool to disassemble. With the cot Mattress, ensure that the mattress is a good fit to the size of your cot so that there aren’t big gaps that baby’s hands or feet can get stuck in.
2. Wardrobe/ Tallboy
If you don’t have built-in cupboards in the room, getting a Wardrobe or Tallboy is a nursery essential. You will need the cupboard space to keep all the little clothes and items your baby will need. Our Wardrobe had the double function of having a nappy change area on top of it so that you could easy change nappies without having to purchase a nappy change table. This piece was able to be removed for when you no longer needed this function.
3. Baby Monitor
Some will argue that the Baby Monitor should not be classed as a nursery essential, however, in my mind it is. The baby monitor is fantastic at providing peace of mind, at offering you a chance to relax and resume normal living as you can go outside or enjoy yourself without worrying that you won’t hear bub. Many monitors offer more than a simple audio function so you can know if baby is breathing, the temperature of the room, they can work as a night light and more.
Tip: Purchase a good quality monitor so that it will last throughout the course of your babies. We have had our monitor for 6 years, used it every day over 3 children and it still works the way it did when we bought it.
4. Glider or Rocking Chair
With babies needing to be feed frequently throughout the day, having a good rocking chair or glider that can be used to support both you and bub while breastfeeding or bottle-feeding is ideal. With the rocking and gliding option, the chair will be able to help you settle bub and provide some much-needed movement at times to encourage baby to sleep.
5. Linen for your Nursery
It goes without saying that you will need to purchase linen for your nursery. Nursery linen essentials include: Mattress Protector, Cot Sheets, Blankets (light summer ones and heavier winter ones) & Wraps. Little babies often soil their linen and having 2-3 sets of each is recommended.
6. Nappy Change Essentials
Changing baby’s nappy is something that you will spend a lot of time doing. Make it easier by having the key requirements all in one place ready to be used. Key items required to be nappy change ready include:
- Newborn nappies – 1 box
- Baby wipes
- Nappy Rash Cream
- Baby Moisturising Lotion
- Cotton Buds
- Nappy sacks or nappy bin.
7. Baby Mobile
I love baby mobiles and had one in the cot and another above the nappy change area. They are a great tool to distract baby when changing their nappy or when trying to keep them occupied in their cot while you quickly attend to something else.
Click here to see our reviews of Nursery items
Optional Nursery Furniture
Bassinette
The bassinette is nice to keep your newborn in at first and can easily be put in your room; however, this really is an optional as you can put your baby into the cot from birth. We never invested in a bassinette and were fortunate enough to have friends that had these that we could borrow. I did like having the ability to put the baby in our room with us; however, all of my children only spent 8 weeks in the bassinette before they outgrew it and moved into a cot.
Nappy Change Table
With limited space in our room, we never invested in a change table, rather choosing to purchase a tallboy that offered this functionality. If space is not an issue the nappy change tables can create a nice, simple to use space where you can keep all the Nappy supplies.
Nursery Decoration
While you could put baby into the nursery without changing the room décor, part of the fun of setting up the nursery is the process of decorating it with a theme, colour or toys and books that you like and think your baby will enjoy. Apart from painting the room and getting items that you really want, don’t go too overboard as many of your friends and family will want to get you something for your new baby.
Article written by Lorraine Salvi from MumsDelivery.com.au. Mother of Miss E (6), Master L (4) and Master J (1.5)
