Buying Guide to Baby Furniture
The basinett is a item that comes in very handy those first few months of life. These are perfect because they make the baby feel close and secure as it was in the womb. There are many different styles and options available. I had a Snoopy Basinett for my son which came with tons of nice features such as 2 plush hanging Snoopys, music and a vibrating option. It also had a lovely place to store thing in the bottom, I used it to store extra sheets as well as blankets. Keeping things organized is key to surviving those first few months of restless nights and every few extra minutes of sleep help.
The crib and mattress was the next step away from the basinett, this was one of the biggest purchases I had to make. Safety is the most important thing when deciding which type of crib to go with. This is one of those things that you just want to buy new to insure that it isn’t worn out. There are several different types to choose from these days. They range from plain jane cribs to cribs that convert to a toddler bed and then to a day bed. The convertible bed options are nice as they may be pricier at first, they do pay for themselves in the long run with the many different options you have with them. The most important things to look for is no wide slats for the baby to get caught in, and that the rails remain firmly in place so that when the little one gets bigger they wont be as likely to pull them down and fall out. A great way to prevent this is to look for the crib that has the lowest possible matress support structure and set the mattress down there. You will want to find a good firm mattress that fits the crib as to where it does not pull apart easily from the corner posts to prevent the baby from suffocating.
A changing table is another great piece of furniture. This makes changing diapers not as challenging as the baby is more level with you and is a nice safe sanitary way to get the job done. They often come with a nice soft changing pad and other great safety features such as straps to prevent the baby from rolling off. Again there are many styles and different features to choose from when buying a changing table. I suggest looking at one with the combination of drawers as well as shelves. This will help keep all of your changing supplies in one place and when the baby outgrows the changing table you can reuse it for other storage. Thinking of future uses is critical when buying furniture for the nursery as you will save yourself the hassle from buying it later and will also prevent unneeded items taking up space.
A hamper or clothes basket is also very important as you will be acquiring more laundry that you could have ever imagined. It is great to have this close by to save steps. My old boss used to tell me all the time “a good waitress thinks with her head not her feet”. This piece of advice helped me when I was waiting tables and I have carried it with me ever since and used it in my everyday life.
Finally what I consider to be the most important piece of furniture for sanity’s sake is a good comfortable chair. You want to select what you are most comfortable sitting in, as you will be feeding the baby, rocking the baby, holding the baby and let’s face it just too worn out to move after the baby. I moved a oversized rocker recliner from the livingroom into the nursey and it was pure heaven. This is totally a personal preference but is so important as you will be spending alot of time in the room.
Buying baby furniture is alot of fun and at times very hard work but when you see the finished nursery and bring that bundle of joy home to a peaceful room it is all worth it.
