Safe Baby Nursery Guide
Tips to create a nursery that looks good and is also safe and cozy for your little one.
How to Make Your Nursery Safe?
In this blog post, I am taking you through steps to create a safe nursery for your baby champ!
You will be exploring the safety measures that ensure millions of moms (that includes me too :P) can workaround daily chores without any hindrance for about 7-8 hours. Of course, your baby takes a break from nursery space in between for feeds.
Creating a safe play area & space for your baby can end your stressful daily marathon behind your champ. You can experience a focused & productive work schedule as before having your kid for at least an hour or so!
However, it becomes a mandate to child-proof your space entirely after your baby has turned into 5-6 months old!
Let’s begin to architect your baby’s play area with the best nursery safety tips & tricks!
#1 Save your money with feature-rich cribs
Cribs are the primary shelter space for your baby in his/her room for the first few years of their life. You can explore a variety of features while purchasing the crib for your baby. Choosing a wiser one will save your spending on baby’s bedding options every year.
- Look out for the co-sleeping convenience.
- Drop the drop-side cribs from your option as it has been banned by child safety experts of the U.S. Consumer Protection Safety Commission (CPSC) from 2011. It’s a wise choice to follow current safety standards for setting up baby nursery.
- Purchase a length-adjustable crib system so that you can rearrange them as your baby grows.
- Cribs with changing-table combos or the one that comprises drawers underneath the mattress space. This can be the best-suited for sophisticated room space.
- If you are periodically shifting your home space or traveling, buy a portable crib option.
- If you have the authentic baby crib & mattress that is being followed as a tradition in your family, you can repair them as per current standards and then bring it in use.
- Modern cribs have the option of rearranging them into a sofa or some useful stuff for your living room. These are great for longevity purposes!
#2 Corners can save your baby lives
Babies can bump around while rolling over here and there in the nursery space. Hence, fixing the baby crib in the appropriate corners of the nursery room can safeguard them from unnoticed bumps and other traps, also these comfort cribs can act as sleep sacks for your babies.
Crib safety is vital for babies and as suggested by pediatric sleep specialists they insist on proper crib arrangements to prevent crib death and safe sleep time.
- Inspect the most-suited corner with proper sunlight and visibility to place your baby’s crib.
- At the same time, don’t overdo lighting as it may affect sound sleep. Detain from placing the crib in direct sunlight or streetlights.
- Avoid window corners as it can make room for high risks. Babies can amuse parents anytime with witty tricks.
- Keep away from bedroom door corners too! While opening & closing the doors, your baby can wake up & get hurt.
#3 Strict no to heavy things over the head
Heavy furniture, decor, mobile, or even the essentials organized over the baby’s head can fall off anytime due to glitches in nails, slurries, cracks. So, it’s better to stop from placing these items near or above the crib to safeguard your champ’s witty head & brains!
- Don’t dare to fix the heavy wall paintings, décor items, furniture hanging above the crib spot.
- If you wish to decorate the crib with a fancy mobile, go for the lightweight mobiles made of sponges or papers. This can prevent your child from injuries & suffocation hazards.
- Showing off craft skills above the crib to save space and placing essentials can end up banging on your baby’s head. Hinder from these acts.
#4 Safeguard your champ’s head in between slats
Babies explore new things with determined acts. If there are any toys or leftovers below the crib space, they try to roll down or put their heads into the slats to get what they want.
This can end up in risk of strangulation and entangling of the baby’s head. Ensure your baby is protected in every element while they’re into the crib space as minor errors can lead to crib deaths or infant death syndrome(SIDS).
- Validate the gap between the crib bars and ensure they range from 2-⅜ inches.
- Any crib slat above or below the range can harm your baby’s fingers, arms, and head.
- Inspect each & every slat for extended wooden pieces periodically and remove if there are any to avoid minor injuries.
#5 Make them experience ultimate comfort with safety
A separate crib doesn’t render ultimate comfort to your baby. Including a perfect fitting comfortable mattress is a must for a baby nursery. But, the wrong choice of mattress can end up in head injuries, suffocation & strangulation risk.
- A mattress that you pick for a baby nursery must be hard & cushioned.
- You must purchase the one that accurately fits into the crib without any gaps. Gaps between crib and mattress can entangle your baby’s tiny fingers, toes & sometimes head.
- Avoid soft mattresses as they can cause head bumps while babies try to stand and fall off in the crib space.
- Installing cot bumpers or bumper pads within crib space is an expert idea to avoid head injuries for your champ.
- Check out the adjustable mattress height options while assembling the crib in the instructions manual. You can purchase the beds for toddlers instead of buying an infant one & then changing again in few months.
#6 Prevent bedspread suffocation by holding pins
Babies are so small and are prone to be entangled within bedspreads over the mattresses. Unorganized bedspreads can result in suffocation hazards. So it’s vital to fix the bedsheets without any accidental injuries.
- Secure the bedspread over the mattresses with pins, clips, or buckles. Installing crib bumpers is another choice to fix bedspread suffocation risks to babies.
- The baby mattress is usually small and single accommodation. So, purchasing a single cot bedspread can help you arrange the crib space without any mess.
- Double-check that your mattress pins must not hurt your baby. Purchase the safety pins or clutches that are baby-proof.
- You can check for bedspreads with safety straps and belts that are designed exclusively for babies.
#7 Avoid head bumps with crib heights
As said earlier, you will find cribs with three distinct positions for fixing the mattresses. Babies can make you wow by climbing or standing in the crib with the help of just a crib mattress sometimes. Adjusting the crib height as your baby grows saves your baby from head bumps.
- Kick-start with the highest position to place the mattress in the crib. Newborn babies do not constantly move & hence this position would help you as well as the baby to settle down easily while sleeping.
- You can rearrange this crib position at around 2.5-3 months of your baby as they reach their milestone of rolling over. Once your kiddo begins to roll over, lower the mattress to the second-highest position.
- Completely lower the mattress position after 5-6 months, as they begin to start sitting, climbing, and stand with the help of crib slats.
- While reaching these milestones, for sure your baby would fall off within crib space. Hence, in these scenarios, soft bedding fails. Buying a hard, cushioned mattress can save your baby from head bumps.
#8 Enjoy nursing with pleasing space
In the first few years of a baby, the favorite spot to sleep and have comfort is at mommy’s breast. Arranging a comfortable nursing space with cushioned sofa, footrest, a small table to organize water bottles & snacks in your baby nursery can make your mommy life easier.
- Rearrange the footrest of the nursing sofa back to form to deter your baby from entangling.
- Babies are witty enough to leverage the table as a climbing tool, walker or drag & play toy, and so on. Hence, taking away tables in the nursing space saves your baby from suffocation, tangling, and minor domestic risks.
- Avoid leaving behind the leftover snacks, tiny hooks, clutches, buttons from your clothes on the nursing sofa.
- Arrange the nursing sofa and its cushions back while leaving the nursing space. The cushions, footrest, and table can be risky for your champ when left for playtime in the nursery.
#9 Become lazy with organized changing-table
Parenting is the toughest job that requires 24/7 dedication and consciousness for which they do not get any salary! This routine task can be made simpler and go-lucky with simple easy-peasy changing-table hacks.
- Organize a proper changing table in your baby nursery to place all the baby essentials near the crib or other comfortable spots in the baby nursery.
- Baby accessories, rompers, jablas, blankets, muslins, swaddles, and other daily wear cotton clothes without buttons & hooks can be placed at the bottom drawers of the table. Even when your kid opens and takes these clothes out they do not cause any harm to your champ.
- Place the diaper supplies, party & designer wears in the next set of drawers. Once your baby starts teething, they can take these disposable diapers & clothes that have buttons & heavy items that are used for embroidery. These materials can create a choke hazard to your baby when swallowed. Hence, arranging them in the middle drawers can detain your baby from swallowing things.
- If you have ample space in the changing table, leverage it for storing favorite & most-used toys for easy access. These practices can protect your champ from changing-table dangers.
#10 Reduce the exposure of toxic essentials
Child experts reveal that most of the babies are suffering from stomach upsets and toxicity by exposure to their essentials, baby care items & cosmetics. In specific, babies are prone to lung infections when they consume or inhale these particles with close contact.
- Arrange the baby moisturizer, massage oil, shampoo, powder, medicines, ointment, creams, and other cosmetics at the top drawer.
- Make sure you close the lids and closets of all these cosmetics and medicines before leaving the nursery for your baby’s playtime.
- Clear off the expired and unused medicines, tonics, or liquids away from the changing table to have space and consult with the doctor in connection to throw away the unused medicines.
- While using things to get your baby dressed, prevent them from squeezing moisturizer, lotions, or powders into their mouth directly or floor and then licking it.
- Most importantly, deter your baby from biting powder puffs as they can swallow the cotton or fiber inside them. You can expect this act while teething!
#11 Unlock the safe play area by locking drawers
From the above safety concerns, you’d have explored the toxicity of cosmetics and medicines that are placed in the top drawers of the changing table. Now, what if this drawer itself causes harm for your baby with entangling risks.
- If you have keys or automatic drawers with magnets, close or lock them before leaving your child in the baby nursery. When the baby starts to stand & climb, they can accidentally drag them and get head bumps or finger hurts.
- Choose between the minimalistic designer drawers as the pointed knobs are risky in the baby nursery. The pointed furniture extensions can tear your baby’s skin, clothes and sometimes for toddlers of age 2-3 are prone to get stabbed in the eyes or head if they stand up unnoticed.
- Repair the extended nails, slurries, or other harmful drawer parts in the nursery.
#12 Guard your windows & baby’s
Windows are another key player in causing domestic accidents even for adults. It becomes mandatory to secure your baby from window risks with guards.
- If you are fascinated to decorate your baby nursery with window screen using blind cords, check out for child-proof blinds. The National Safety Council reveals that on average two children are being treated for window blind injuries every day.
- Experts advise to safe baby nursery windows is to install window guards with firm meshes. This is noted for its longevity & extended safety.
- While choosing window guards, pick the one that has slat specifications same as cribs. If you select the one that has both horizontal & vertical strips, it can be a great choice.
- When the window glass doors are of slider kind, the one with firm lockers can hold your baby safe in the nursery.
#13 Wiser curtains safeguard your witty babies
Window curtains are not only for décor purposes but also to curate the lighting of the room. But, sometimes these curtains may turn out to be causing strangulation hazards, suffocation, and domestic accidents.
- Lengthy curtains can cause suffocation and domestic dangers for your baby. So, picking the short and pinned curtains with the window can be best-suited for a baby nursery.
- If you are a mommy specific about the themed home or nursery with long curtains, then have the option of rolling up these curtains manually or automatically when your baby is enjoying his/her playtime.
- Valances, tie-up, blackout & roman shades are the best-suited window curtains for a baby nursery.
- Validate the sturdiness of window brackets that hold curtains periodically, so that it does not fall off while the baby is playing.
- Avoid picking up fancy, corded & lengthy curtains for baby rooms. A cordless window covering would be the best suited for the nursery if your going for blinds.
#14 Block baby injuries by hammering furniture
Furniture is designed to comfort us. Sometimes, unnoticed pop-ups such as furniture straps, nails, slurry, repaired ones and other pieces of furniture can cause domestic accidents to babies.
- Avoid placing unwanted furniture such as short stools, tables, or foldable rocking chairs in the baby nursery.
- Hammer the extended nails, slurries, sharp corners from the changing table, cribs. Inspect furniture tip-overs weekly or monthly once.
- Folded furniture can fall off on babies and cause a risk of suffocation anytime. So, deter from leaving this furniture in the nursery.
- While picking a nursing sofa, be choosy about heavy, cushioned, firm sofas. Easy chairs fail out in baby nurseries for safety note.
- If you are excited to buy a fisher or rocking chair for your baby, check for safety belts to help them getting hurt.
#15 Arrest heavy furniture fall-off by hanging over
The baby nursery includes a baby monitor, TV, speakers, mobiles. Mobiles are usually hanged above the crib spot. However, these bulky features can be highly risky in your champ’s room if placed carelessly.
- Anchor furniture such as TV, speakers in the wall with proper wiring with closets can prevent your baby from pushing, biting them, and getting hurt.
- As mentioned earlier, avoid heavy mobiles above the crib spot.
- Deter from placing dimmer lights that are hungover in pipes for decoration purposes in the nursery room.
- If you are a frequent user of baby monitors, hanging them in the corner of the nursery room is a good choice.
#16 Say no to shocks with modern plug pointers
Electric sockets are a high-risk factor in the baby’s space. Before your newborn arrives, you must secure the electric sockets, unused outlets & other pointers as child-proof to avoid electrical shocks.
- You can use firm plug protectors or cord shorteners if you are frequently using the socket for charging or other purposes.
- Have the practice of disposing of used batteries then and there, so that your babies don’t have the practice of teething them.
- If your baby is witty, the socket covers won’t work. Changing the modern plug sockets (self-closing outlet covers) that require adults to press hard with pen pointers, screwdrivers can be a great safety measure.
- Inspect periodically for short circuits, and ground the wires properly in the nursery room. Usually, I schedule the electrical outlet’s inspection monthly once.
- One more hack is to make your baby aware of electrical safety with rhymes or videos once they can grasp. As electrical plug pointers are inevitable in homes, we can’t deter from placing them.
#17 Dimmer lights for safety & sound sleep
It is essential to ensure proper lighting even when the babies sleep in the nursery. If there are any emergencies or they wake up suddenly, we should not stumble without proper vision. At the same time, the lights shouldn’t be brighter while your baby is sleeping.
- Installing dimmer lights or night lamps for sleep time in the night can help you reach your baby easily if they awake.
- If you are decor-specific, purchasing the 3D night lamps, projector lights with themes can be a great idea.
- One step ahead, if you don’t want or have sophisticated electrical cord connections in your home, painting or stickering the baby nursery with their favorite radium glowing decorations would be best and changeable whenever required.
#18 Leave no rooms to toy harms
Right from gestation, parents are excited about shopping for their favorite toys for babies in the womb. But, the real fact is most babies don’t love their playtime with these toys and are prone to cause suffocation. Hence, it becomes mandatory to organize the unattended toys in the nursery space.
- You can purchase a lengthy bin with horizontal & vertical slats with air holes to store these unattended toys.
- If you have only selective toys, organizing them in the leftover space of changing tables is a great option.
- Avoid purchasing toy bins with a spring that automatically closes. Your baby can entangle their hands within the bin or sometimes they can even fall off inside.
- Take off the plastic covers, instruction manuals and wraps around the toys, so that your baby does not swallow them.
- Most importantly keep an eye on your baby while playing with toys that have decorative items like buttons, hooks, and other pop-ups. However, it’s safe to avoid these toys!
#19 Defend your champ from getting into the courtyard
Your baby is an extraordinary wholesome human being who has no fear or care about anything in this world. Their only aim is to explore all the new things around them and your courtyard space is one among them. Hence, courtyard safety also comes into play for baby nurseries.
- Guard the courtyard entry with safety gates to deter them from entering the balcony space. You’d have the options of metal & wood materials.
- Pick the one that is at least 2-3 feet, so that they don’t climb and fall off. As usual, be choosy about the slats to avoid head or hand injuries.
- You can explore the baby gates with an option of portability for leveraging it on other rooms.
- Look for the double-locks and sturdiness of the safety gates while leaving behind your baby for playtime.
#20 Detain fantasies from hurting your baby
Every parent is excited about decorating their baby nursery with fantasy characters, chimes, hangings, decorative cutouts, and other items. But, going for minimalistic décor is the expert suggested safety measure for nursery rooms.
- Avoid heavy decorative chimes, mobile, night lamps, wall paintings in the nursery space.
- If you are planning to paint your baby room, then schedule it before 4-8 weeks of the expected date. So, the toxic, unpleasant paint smell leaves the room.
- Regular paints are toxic for babies and hence purchasing the volatile organic compound paints, water-based paints or non-toxic paint is the expert choice.
- Not a great fan of paints? You can go for fiber or paper-themed wallpapers to decorate your baby’s nursery. This would be the best choice to ensure an elegant look for a nursery.
- Secure the floor mats in the baby nursery with double-tape to avoid slips and tangles when you carry them or they become mobile. These safety practices can save you while running behind!
#21 Expect the unexpected & make preparations to tackle
Babies are a bundle of joy and amusement. They can make you weird and dumbstruck sometimes with potential accidents. Hence, you have to prepare for emergencies in advance, even though you create a safe nursery by predicting the common dangers.
- Get ready with a foldable escape ladder in the home for emergencies.
- Installing a smoke detector in a baby nursery can prevent risky electrical or fire accidents. You can also check out a variety of options with smoke alarms for baby nurseries.
- Stocking a dry ice cylinder in-home at courtyard space would save you from unexpected fire & smoke.
- Add on a first aid kit with baby ointments, and other medications as suggested by the pediatrician.
Hope, I helped you wrap your baby in a safe space!
There you go with 21 essential safety measures to set up your baby nursery!
Just try out feeding your baby and leaving in the nursery space with safety gates & some harmless toys after fixing the baby monitor! Sure, you’d find at least a minimum of productive 30-60 minutes. If your baby has any choking hazard, seek advice from doctors than elders or other persons nearby.
If you follow any other additional safety tips & measures in your baby nursery, help other parents by leaving a comment below!
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