expecting your first baby – what’s inside baby’s first room?

when expecting a baby, you should make sure you set up the nursery before giving birth. of course, it should be beautiful and homey, but there are also some points that you need to pay attention to.

(iStock.com/Wavebreakmedia)
It won’t be long until your first baby sees the light of day. Setting up the nursery is one of the nicest things to do in your baby’s life. You shouldn’t wait any longer than the last weeks before the birth to start building the nest. The closer the date of birth approaches, the stronger the instinctive need to bring everything to fruition and make the final preparations. However, baby’s room is still lacking furnishings. But what will you need for your first child?

sleeping, changing and eating are the most important activities for baby in the first three months.

That’s why it’s enough to concentrate first on the essentials in a nursery. A changing place, a cot and ample storage space for changing utensils and baby clothes are standard features. Small shelves for stowing toys, a real wardrobe or table and chairs for children are not necessary in the first months, but are sometimes already bought and set up to give the room an appealing, child-friendly atmosphere.

1. flooring in baby’s room

Rugs are a good choice for nursery flooring. Carpet provides good room acoustics, as footsteps and voices are damped. It also provides a more comfortable playing and crawling surface than smooth, hard flooring. However, it must be vacuumed regularly and can be difficult to clean in case of large stains. Cork and wood parquet or laminate provide a good alternative in the nursery. They offer the advantage of quick cleaning. Carpets can also create a cosy atmosphere when laid as small islands on the rather cold-looking floor.

Das erste Babyzimmer in brombeer-Farben

(iStock.com/belchonock)

2. baby’s own bed

Often, in the beginning, baby sleeps in the master bedroom in a height-adjustable side-bed. This is open on one side and can be attached directly to the parent’s bed. This offers the advantage of short distances and proximity to the child.
Other options, if baby is still small, include a bassinet or a baby cradle. But a real baby cot should be part of all basic furnishings, because within six months your offspring will become too big. Most cots are height-adjustable and equipped with removable bars. This means that they can grow with baby and, with a few small changes, the cot can be quickly turned into a child’s bed.
Mattress, sheets and sleeping bag should also be tested for harmful substances. Curtains, a mobile over the cot and a music box provide for a particularly homely atmosphere to encourage sound sleep.
extra blankets, pillows, toys and stuffed animals should be avoided in the bed. babies are less mobile and may continue to sleep deeply even when a blanket or pillow slips over your baby’s face. this could result in suffocation of the baby.
An infant does not need a pillow or cuddly toy, and the safest thing to do is to ensure your sweetheart sleeps in the baby sleeping bag.

3. changing dresser

of course, your baby needs to be changed a lot, during the day and also at night.
Whether changing dresser, changing table or changing board: the changing table should have a padded and washable changing mat. Edge protectors prevent the mat from slipping and protect against dangerous falls. A changing place should have the right height (think of your back) and all necessary utensils for changing must be within reach. Open compartments or storage boxes (e.g.“lotta”) provide the necessary storage space for nappies, wet wipes, baby creams, oils etc.

Ein Platz zu Wickeln findet sich auch im Badezimmer, praktisch sind Aufbewahrungsboxen für Windeln und Pflegemittel

a changing table can also be placed in the bathroom. The nappies are kept in the “lotta” lifestyle box.

As long as there is enough space in the bathroom, this certainly makes a very handy place to change baby. Otherwise, a simple table in another place can serve the same purpose. It’s important that you can always reach all the changing utensils with one hand while holding the baby with the other hand.
Also remember to place a nappy bin in the immediate area, so that the soiled nappy doesn’t remain on the changing table for too long. If you roll up the nappies tightly and close them again using the adhesive strips, you can easily collect the nappies in a closed nappy bin. But it is still recommended to empty the “karol” nappy bin on a daily basis.

Ein Windeleimer sollte an der Wickelkommode stehen.

“karol” nappy bin stores the nappies during the day and can be easily emptied in the evening thanks to the carrying handle. (iStock.com/FamVeld)

4. other furniture such as wardrobe, shelves & chairs

changing nappies, breastfeeding or bottles, you’ll be amazed how much time you spend in the nursery – so set it up comfortably!
You can already set up shelves for existing toys, stuffed animals and books. Often toys can also be very cute and decorative. Colour-coordinated pictures, mobiles and fairy lights create an atmospheric setting. A comfortable chair (armchair or couch) for the parents is not essential, but it enriches the nursery considerably. If baby is breastfed or if you just want to be there when he falls asleep or plays, it allows mum and dad to enjoy parenting in peace.
It is not necessary to buy one of these cute little wardrobes to store your baby’s clothes. Your child is growing so fast that the wardrobe for children’s clothing will soon be too small. A “normal” wardrobe is the better choice.

5. store clothes, toys & cuddly toys

are those clothes and shoes you received as presents still too big for baby?
keep the clothes sorted by size in a box and check every now and again if something fits. also, clothes that are already too small can be kept sorted in transparent “bea” boxes.

6. the play area

sophisticated organisation systems such as storage boxes eliminate the chaos quickly and easily. here are all toys can be put away in a jiffy.
all babies love cuddly play areas. to make it nice and cosy, you should lay out a soft baby blanket or a cosy rug. age-appropriate toys can help make the play area perfect. you can easily store toys in “paulina”, the decorative plastic box, on the shelf until the child is old enough to play with them. this prevents them from gathering dust.

7. wall colour & lightning

The walls of baby’s room are where you can let your creativity run free. Friendly, bright colours that are not too garish are reassuring for both parents and children. Delicate pastel colours like light blue, lime green or rose tones are warmly received, but neutral colours like cream, taupe and grey shades are also very popular at the moment. When colour-coordinated with the furniture, carpet and curtains, the result is a harmonious overall impression in which everyone will feel at ease.
You should also pay attention to the lighting in baby’s room. Of course, you need a ceiling light that will illuminate the entire room, but for falling asleep or changing at night you should use less bright light sources that create a somewhat dim atmosphere. The baby will then fall asleep more easily after the nightly change.

8. safety first

in the first few months baby cannot crawl, but as soon as he gets mobile, there are some things to keep in mind:
Baby’s room should not only be beautiful and homely, but above all, safely furnished.

safety checklist

• All sockets at child height must be secured.
• An important aspect of the decor is that all the furniture in baby’s room has rounded corners and edges so that baby does not get hurt. Appropriate “corner protectors” are available in stores.
• The baby changing table should offer sufficient protection against falls, so that baby does not fall down.
• When choosing a cot, ensure it features side panelling with bars. These not only ensure that baby does not fall out of bed, but also ensure good air circulation in the cot. Corresponding DIN standards in Germany ensure that the bar spacing is low enough that the child’s head does not fit through.
• Cot bumpers, canopies and the like, which until a few years ago were basic features of the traditional nursery, are no longer recommend by paediatricians as they may lead to so-called “sudden infant death”.
• All furniture that can tip over should be fixed to the wall. Windows should be fitted with window locks.
• In addition, door and stair gates must be installed depending on your home.
• Picture frames, wall shelves and lamps must be firmly and securely fastened in baby’s room, so that baby is not placed at risk.
• In addition, baby’s room should still have enough free space so that the child can move freely, after all it will soon be crawling nimbly and learning to walk later on

keep on growing!

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