A Cute & Safe Nursery- For New Parents

Since September is Baby Safety Month, I thought I would drop some child safety knowledge! My husband is a Certified Professional Childproofer and I manage the social media for his company, so I am constantly learning and sharing the best in-home safety information to help families. *toot toot* So let’s talk about how to make a cute AND safe nursery!

I am not a doctor or healthcare professional. Please consult your child’s physician regarding SIDS prevention and safe sleep and follow their recommendations.

Safe sleep is the #1 thing you should be thinking about with a new baby. Hopefully, you were told about this before you left the hospital, but if not, here is what you need to know. Following the ABCs of Safe Sleep can drastically reduce the risk of SIDS and will also give you peace of mind. You need your rest too!

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Alone-

Baby should always sleep alone. Not with Mom and Dad, Grandma or Grandpa, not with Brother or Sister. I know it’s hard! They are so warm and cuddly, but best practice is for them to sleep alone. In addition, they should be alone in a crib or bassinet, BUT they also recommend Baby sleeps in the same room with parents for up to a year. Anywhere they sleep safe is considered the nursery.

We have a two-story house and all of the bedrooms are upstairs. My little Ruby doesn’t sleep through the night yet so I have basically been living on the couch downstairs to be closer to the kitchen. This way I can easily make her a bottle in the middle of the night, and if she cries my husband can get the sleep he needs for the work he does during the week. We were gifted an awesome, lightweight, mesh Dream On Me Karley Bassinet, Grey that Ru sleeps in right next to our recliner. It’s small enough that it can fit just about anywhere and is easy to move up and down the stairs on weekends when Daddy has nighttime duty. Plus she sleeps in it just fine and I am able to hear her if anything should happen during the night.

Back-

Baby should always be put to sleep on their back. More recently studies are showing that tummy time is super important, especially because they have been pushing the back sleep so hard for a while, and it is. However, tummy time is not for sleep. It should be practiced when Baby is awake and you or another responsible adult is supervising.

My daughter is 3.5 months old and we do tummy time a few times a day for a few minutes each time. Every baby is different and honestly every day is different for Ruby. Sometimes she loves it and sometimes she hates it! What I’m getting at is when I put her to bed, it is on her back. There is always a risk when putting Baby on their tummy to sleep. They may wiggle their head into a face down position and not have the strength or know-how to get back to a position where they can breathe.

Unfortunately, tragedies like this have happened, so it is better the be safe than sorry. Once Baby figures out how to turn over, DON’T WORRY. The consensus is that if they know how to turn over, they will know how to turn back. You can’t just stay up all night waiting for it to happen, but STILL always put them to sleep on their back regardless. Again, this will greatly reduce the risk of SIDS.

Crib-

Lastly, the crib. Baby should sleep on their back in a crib or a bassinet that has met current standards for safe sleep. That means no Boppy pillows or loungers. The warning labels on these products will tell you the same thing. I do let my daughter nap on the lounger during the day when I am awake and watching her, but not when it’s bedtime and I am sleeping. The crib/bassinet should basically be empty; just a firm mattress and tight, fitted sheet. If you’re like me, you love blankets and received a bunch of cute ones from your friends and family; they aren’t for Baby… yet. For at least the first year, BARE IS BEST. Blankets, pillows, stuffed or stringy toys can potentially suffocate or strangle your baby while they sleep and ABSOLUTELY NO CRIB BUMPERS.

It’s scary, I know! So don’t risk it. My house is freezing, so little Ru is always wearing a cozy long-john style onsie. I especially like the ones with footies and… handsies? I sleep easy knowing she is covered, warm, and not able to pull anything over her face during the night. You probably realized this by now, but it also greatly reduces the risk of SIDS!

Cute & Safe Nursery Decor

Let’s talk decor in the nursery. It’s like the cutest room in the house! Unfortunately, a lot of that cute stuff is also a potential hazard.

Here are a few things to be aware of that could be potentially hazardous to your child in their nursery and some alternative ways to keep it cute, but safe:

Best practice is to keep everything at least 3 feet away from the crib. The reason for this is because once Baby starts movin’ and shakin’, they will be able to stick those tiny hands out of the crib and grab those things and potentially hurt themselves or knock something down into the crib. Also, nothing above the crib: like pictures, signs, shelves, etc. These are all things that have the potential to fall into the crib or onto Baby at some point.

If you are going to have a mobile, just make sure it is securely attached and has minimal stringiness. Don’t buy any that could wrap around Baby if it fell into the crib. Baby monitors are safest mounted on a shelf at least three feet away or in the corner of the room with the cord out reach of Baby. If you are going have your monitor mounted above the crib, make sure it is installed securely and the cord is covered by cord channeling.

Basically, you’re working with a blank wall now. In the photo above I show you how you can still have a cute space for the crib without the risk. Here are some other ideas:

• Paint an accent wall with or without a design
• Wallpaper
• Decals (ABOVE the crib where Baby can’t reach and pull them off)
• Go for a safe crib that is already a cool style
• Find some patterned, fitted crib sheets that fit your theme or give the room a pop of color
• Add wainscoting
• Save the real décor for other parts of the room
• Check out my baby’s girly, Woodland-themed nursery décor on this list in my Amazon Shop

Childproofing

Baby will spend most of their time in the nursery so it’s important to make sure it’s safe, especially if you have to leave the room.

So, you should anchor ALL of the furniture… okay most. I am a little paranoid about this one because I know of so many tragedies caused by furniture tip-overs. It is preventable with a couple of anchors in the back that you can’t even see. Usually, the main things you should anchor in the nursery are the changing table, anything with drawers, TVs,book shelves; any furniture that is taller than it is deep. Never assume that a piece of furniture is “too heavy” tip. A lot of times these pieces do the most damage. For example, the little boat shelf my husband made is very heavy and short, but if it wasn’t anchored to the wall and Ruby knocked into it or tried to climb it, it would fall and severely injure her. When in doubt, anchor it.

Another fixable hazard often found in the nursery are outlets. Childproofers recommend Sliding Outlet Covers. These covers look just like a regular outlet cover. The difference is that a piece of sliding plastic that only opens manually, blocks the holes. The cover slides back into place over the holes automatically, when a plug is pulled out. Genius! These are compatible with most outlets, but if yours aren’t, there are other options, such as box outlet covers or pacifier plug-ins with holes. Stay away from the traditional single plastic plug-ins that have now made their way on the choking hazard list. In addition to keeping Baby from getting electrocuted, keep them safe from strangulation by zip-tying long, loose cords down to less than 7 inches.

I hope this was helpful to some new parents out there and reduces the worry! The more aware you are, the safer Baby will be. I would have never thought about a safe nursery if I wasn’t married to a childproofer, so I got lucky. If you ever have any other questions about childproofing, our company Arizona Childproofers is always available to answer them.

Resources:

• Arizona Childproofers
• Anchor It!
• Meghan’s Hope
• Safe Kids Worldwide
• Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association
• Consumer Product Safety Commission

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