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THE THINGS YOU DON'T NEED IN A NURSERY
When decorating the nursery it’s easy to get carried away with the beauty of it. We all want a beautiful and relaxing space for our baby but it really has to function perfectly too (and many of them don’t). So this section is to help you marry ‘beauty’ with ‘useful’ so you get the best of both worlds.
The first thing to do is think about how you will be using the room. In my experience, your baby will be sleeping with you in your room for the first six months. So, the majority of time spent in the nursery will be for dressing and changing him. You won’t spend a huge amount of time feeding in there either as any daytime feeds will be done in the sitting room, or living areas where you can talk to other people or watch the television. You’ll find a lot of advice telling you what you MUST HAVE for your beautiful nursery. But I’m going to do it a little differently and let you know what you DON’T NEED and offer sensible alternatives.
Here goes. You don’t need:
An Oval Cot
Yes, yes, all very ‘Pinterest’, I know. And I agree they look beautiful, but think long term. An oval cot won’t easily turn into a toddler bed/day bed, which is what your baby will need during the toddler years.
A Gliding Nursery Chair
This is one of my pet peeves. So much parenting advice states that you have to have one of these – and I’m here to say that you don’t! Gliding or rocking nursery chairs look lovely but they cost a lot of money.
The reality is that you won’t use it as often as you might think, as most of your feeding won’t actually take place in the nursery. Why don’t you put a spare bed in the nursery, if you have the space, instead of a nursery chair?
I’m going to be super honest with you here; if Mummy is breastfeeding there is very little that Daddy can do for the night feeds. So, having two beds in separate rooms might just keep you sane and prevent you both from being totally exhausted. In the mornings, you can hand baby over to Daddy and go back to your bed, thereby working as a team. A nursery bed will also come in handy if Grandma comes to stay!
Blankets and Duvets
There is so much cot bedding to choose from – sheets, blankets, duvets, pillows, bumpers etc. Again, this is something that looks lovely but isn’t necessary for a newborn.
A fitted cot sheet and a small cotton blanket is the only thing you’ll need if you are swaddling the baby (see my recommendation in the Swaddling section).
Have a look at silk cot sheets too as these stop the bald patches appearing on the back of your baby's head.
https://www.dreaminsilk.co.uk/collections/silk-cot-sheets/products/fitted-silk-moses-basket-sheet
Nappy Bin
Quite frankly, these were a terrible invention! The principle might be okay, but in reality no one empties a nappy bin until they are rammed full. You then end up with a daisy chain of poo that smells awful. My recommendation is to put any nappies into a nappy sac and then straight into an outside bin
Ideally put the bin outside under the nursery window with the lid off, and chuck it out the window…just saying! Much more hygienic and actually less faff than having to empty, wash and wipe a nappy bin.
Night-light
Don’t bother – it’s called a hallway light and an open door. Why spend money when you don’t have to? And when the ultimate goal is to get baby to sleep why would you put a light in there designed to stimulate them?
