Knowing that you have a baby on the way can be one of the most terrifying and most enjoyable moments in your life as a human. There will be many things that you will be required to plan down to the last, tiny detail that may escape your mind if you are not careful.
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It is important to plan for the baby’s living arrangements long before they come out and start their adorable lives in the real world. This is why you should start designing and creating your baby’s nursery before you deliver your bundle of joy. The following are some of the tips that will go a long way in helping you come up with a practical, affordable and creative nursery for your baby:
Step One: First Focus On The Essentials
Designing a nursery will be full of decisions and steps that you need to make, even as you juggle the demands and wants of pregnancy. This is why you need to realize that your baby’s nursery does not have to be the costliest and biggest nursery that the world has ever seen. You only require it to be practical and habitable by a tiny, vulnerable human being that will need your constant love and attention in order to grow and thrive.
Your first step will be to focus on the essentials of any baby nursery. For instance, you will need a lot of time and energy to design and fashion the baby nursery of your dreams. This means that you will have to start designing the nursery months before the baby is due. This will give you more than enough time to do everything without being in a hurry. There are plenty of ideas to design a boys nursery, girl's nursery or neutral themed nursery that probably will make your life little bit easier.
The next essential that you will need to focus on while designing your nursery is the childproofing that will be required so as to ensure that your baby is not injured by some of the things that we view as harmless and normal.
Babies are very vulnerable and it only takes a small incident for things to sour and become nightmarish. Childproofing the nursery will involve acts such as using cordless window coverings, using window guards and safety netting and using felt ball rugs on the floor so as to cushion the baby in case of a fall.
It is also important to review your financial situation so that you can have a rough estimate of how much money you can spend on designing the nursery without running into financial problems down the line.
There is a great website from Australian government(ASIC), that provides valuable information on how to make a proper financial planning if you are having a baby.
Having a baby and taking care of your little bundle of joy is a very expensive affair, and we are all aware that money does not grow on trees. First time parents will suddenly find themselves battling to manage their limited financial war chest. Prudence is needed to ensure that you do not dig yourselves into a deep hole.
You can use this budget planner to check your financial your health during this important time of your life.
Step Two: Digging Deep Into Baby Nursery Design
After having taken care of the basic essentials, the next step will be all about designing the nursery and making sure that your plans and ideas fit in with the space that you have set aside in your home for this project. You will be required to measure the designated room and carry those measurements with you when you go shopping for furniture.
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One of the worst things that could happen to you is buying the wrong kind of furniture that does not go well with your baby nursery, simply because you did not measure your room in the first place.
You will also have to plan the layout, for instance placing the crib close to the door for easier and more immediate access. This will also prevent you from tripping over toys and other things that may be strewn all over the baby’s nursery. It is generally not wise to place your crib right next to the window, for two reasons. There may be drafts and this may expose your baby to unnecessary cold, leading to chest problems such as pneumonia.
The second reason is that if you have not childproofed your nursery properly, then there will be a high probability of freak accidents occurring with window cords and open windows.
You also want to place the changing table close to the baby’s crib, in order to avoid carrying a wet baby across the room, increasing your workload for the day. You can also put a rocking chair next to the window so that you can rock your baby to sleep while enjoying the view outside. This will also enrich your baby’s earliest experiences and help in developing their vision.
Step Three: Add Design Elements
The final step in designing your nursery is adding the design elements. Painting the walls should be the last thing in your to do list.
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This is due to the fact that it is harder to match a rug to the paint color on your walls than matching the paint to the rug or any floor covering that you have ordered for. It is also important to decorate the ceiling, as this is going to be the major thing that your baby will be seeing for most of the time that s/he will be in the nursery.
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Painting some murals on the ceiling will do a world of good for your baby’s imagination. Leaving a white, blank ceiling in your nursery is one of the worst things to do to your newly found bundle of joy. Make sure that you add some near-bedtime lighting in the nursery, so that the baby will always have an easier time sleeping.
You should also make sure that the flooring material you use does not contain any allergens that might trigger asthmatic attacks or anaphylactic reactions in your child.
There are guides on how you can create a toxin free nursery.
Your best bet would be to have a hardwood floor with a removable rug made from natural wool so as to minimize any risk of allergen exposure while your baby is in the nursery.
Hope these simple steps will help you in making a good decision in planning for the new phase of your lives.
