How to Set Up Your Nursery

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How to set up your nursery so that it is functional for you and your baby. Tips and tricks for nursery set up from a mom of two.

Are you wondering: What is the best layout for a baby nursery? How to plan a nursery? I’m here to help!

Hi! I’m Jessica, a mom of two and I wanted to share with you how I set up my nursery to be the most efficient.

Once you baby is born, the nursery is one room you will spend A LOT of time in. You will head to the nursery to change your baby’s diapers, dress your baby, feed you baby, comfort you baby, and eventually play with your baby!

The flow of your nursery and nursery set up is very important when considering both efficiency and comfort of a room you will spend way too much time in.

Another thing to take into consideration is that you will be spending a lot of time in the nursery in the nighttime hours. Newborns need to be fed around the clock. Also, babies often times have a hard time sleeping when they are sick or teething and need to be comforted during the night.

One way to make your nursery more manageable is to set it up appropriately from the start! This doesn’t necessarily mean finding the cutest decorations or having everything match a certain theme.

Having the right baby items and putting them in useful locations will help make your nursery live up to its full potential!

1. Sleeping Area

Safe sleep is so important! We chose to have our son sleep in a crib from his first nights home.

Even if you move your baby to a crib later on, you will want to make sure that it follow safe sleep guidelines recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (or look up the guide lines for your specific country!).

Crib // We have a convertible crib that we plan to convert to a toddler bed later on. This can be a good option if have multiple babies close together and plan on getting them each their own convertible set to grow with.

Some other mamas put their babies to sleep in a mini crib, portable crib, or a bassinet! Choose whatever option works best for your family.

Video Monitor // We also have a video monitor that we mounted on the wall above his crib (not shown in photo, but we did that later on). A video monitor is not completely necessary, but definitely helpful for keeping an eye on your baby from afar!

2. Feeding Area

Nursery Chair // We have this upholstered chair in our nursery. This chair is so comfortable and it also rocks, swivels, and reclines (the best of both worlds!).

Whether you decide to nurse or bottle feed, your baby will need to be fed every few hours and you will want a comfortable place to sit and feed them. Also, once your baby is a little older this is a great place to read books and go through your bedtime routine. Check out my post on Why Your Baby Needs A Bedtime Routine.

Make sure to place your nursery chair strategically so that you can easily transfer baby back to the crib after feeding. Also, if your chair reclines, make sure that you have enough room to lean back.

Finally, consider placing a side table next to your chair so that you can easily reach water, snacks, a lamp, your breast pump, etc.

3. Diaper Changing Station

Another must-have area in your nursery is a safe place to change your baby’s diaper. It is also helpful to have all of your diaper changing supplies within arm’s reach.

A few must have items for your diaper changing station:

1)Diaper changing pad// Having a diaper changing pad is one way to keep baby’s diaper changing area safe, comfortable, and clean. The pad often times has grips on the bottom to keep it in place. We placed the diaper changing pad on our baby’s dresser, although they do make diaper changing tables specifically for changing diapers.

2) Changing pad cover// we use a muslin changing pad cover to keep the area clean and dry. Always have a few extra and replace regularly or when dirty.

3) Diapers // We keep unwrapped diapers in the top left drawer of our son’s dresser where they are easily accessible.

4) Diaper Pail // Finally, be sure to keep your diaper pail very near your diaper changing station. You will want to be able to keep an arm on your baby while you throw the diaper away to ensure he won’t roll off the table.

For more ideas on how to set up your diaper changing station, check out my post 7 Must Haves for Your Diaper Changing Station

4. Closet Organization

Your baby will grow in and out of many clothes throughout his first months and years. Also, you will need a place to store extra diapers, linens, and toys.

Closet Organizer. Before our son was born, we installed a closet organizer that consisted of both a hanging bar and shelves. We also invested in some storage baskets to help organized smaller items and toys.

Most of our son’s clothes are stored in his dresser, so we really only needed a small area for hanging clothes.

Storage. The majority of his closet is for storage of diapers, toys, blankets, and other baby items he has outgrown but we might need for later (e.g, nursing covers, carseat covers, etc.). Consider investing in storage tubs for clothes that your baby has outgrown. This is especially true if you are thinking of having an other baby!

It can also be nice to store clothes to donate or give away to friends and family if this baby is your last. I like to fill the tub as our son outgrows clothes to ensure they are sorted by size. Once the tub is full I label it with the size range.

Thanks for stopping by!

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