Preparing for a newborn’s arrival is one of the most exciting parts of being a parent. One of the best ways to project your excitement is by preparing and decorating a nursery room. To ensure that your baby has a clean space to stay in after its arrival, you’ll need to sanitize the room, set up furniture, repaint, organize, and decorate.
Whatever your preferred theme of the room would be, what’s important is that it has everything your baby needs. Ideally, a nursery room should have a changing table, dresser, crib, and couch. A friendly tip: Make sure everything is within your reach.
Prepare the Room
Look for an available room in your house and see if it fits to be a nursery room. The room doesn’t have to be big. As long as it has natural lights coming in and it can accommodate the furniture you’re going to put in it.
Next, remove all the unnecessary things and clean the room. If there are things inside the room that your baby won’t need, it’s better to transfer them to another place. Removing the irrelevant stuff will make your nursery room tidier; plus, it will allow you to maximize the space.
Clean Everything
Cleaning doesn’t end in removing dust and mopping. You’ll need to wipe the walls, floor, and door. Babies are prone to allergens, which usually causes them to have allergic reactions. Use a cloth and soapy water to clean the walls. Don’t forget to sweep and mop the floor, ad wash the carpet.
It’s also essential to use baby-safe cleaning soaps and detergents. Avoid using harsh chemicals that might cause irritation. You could use vinegar and baking soda to remove stains or anything that doesn’t contain toxic ingredients.
Install Dim Lights
Dim lights can come in handy, especially if you need to change your baby’s diaper or nurse during the night. Bright lights will usually keep them awake, which will make it hard for you to put them back to sleep.
You don’t have to replace the main light of the room. You can add a soft light on the corners instead to make the atmosphere cozier. Babies are smart. With practice, they would know that a dark room means bedtime and a lighted room means playtime.
Inspect the Room Temperature
The nursery room’s temperature may change as seasons change too. It would be best to hire a heating and cooling services contractor to install air conditioning if summer is approaching. But if winter is about to come, a portable heater would do. Setting the room at the right temperature will help your baby sleep soundly, giving you the extra time you need to do other chores.
Paint the Nursery
Babies don’t care about the colors of their rooms. But it would be wiser to paint the room while they are not around yet to prepare it for their toddler years, where they would be interested in colors, paintings, and decorations.
Furnishing
Assemble the furnishings inside the room. Sometimes a crib would be too big that it won’t fit in the doors. Assembling the crib outdoors is one of the common mistakes of parents. It causes them to disassemble the furniture, wasting time and effort.
Don’t forget to add a comfortable couch or rocking chair as well. You will be spending many days and nights inside that room nursing your baby. You might as well make sure that you have a comfortable area to sit in.
Changing Table and Dresser
In preparing your baby’s dresser and changing the table, make sure everything is within your reach. Place the diapers, wet wipes, pads, and everything you’ll need in one place. Also, put a trash bin in one corner of the room for used diapers.
Install Curtains
Newborn babies are always asleep, even during the daytime. Help them sleep better by installing a thick curtain that would block sunlight. Curtains are advised for nursery rooms for safety reasons. Avoid using blinds as they might cause strangling hazards for kids.
Organize Your Baby’s Stuff
Make sure that everything is in place. For most days, you will be half asleep as you roam inside your baby’s room at night. It would be much safer if there is no clutter on the floor that could trip you.
Wash the New Baby Clothes
You’ve probably bought lots of new outfits for your baby. But before piling them up in the dresser, clean them first. New clothes are usually covered in chemicals to make them attractive. The substances might irritate your baby’s skin, so cleaning them first would be ideal.
Having a new baby in the house can be a wonderful experience for parents. But it’s also not an easy job. So be sure to prepare your baby’s nursery room before they arrive, as you will not have the time to do so once they’re around.
