Baby Furniture - What Do You Really Need?

Baby Furniture - What Do You Really Need?
By Heather Owens

Walking into a baby furniture store can be completely mind
blowing - there's so much stuff! Most of us don't have an
unlimited amount of money to spend, and if you've never had a
baby before, it can be really hard to work out what's really
necessary, useful, or basically a waste of time. If you're
planning to set up a gift register at the store, you want to
make sure the things you put on it are useful and practical.
It's can all be incredibly confusing.

Let's take a look at some of the main items you're going to
find in the baby store, so that you can have some idea of what
baby furniture you really want or need before you even get to
the store. That way you can focus on picking exactly which one
you want, rather than messing about deciding whether you
actually want or need it.

Baby Bassinet or Cradle

A bassinet or cradle is used from birth until around 4 months.
Basically, if the baby can roll from side to side, it's time for
baby to move up into a crib. Make sure the mattress fits snugly
against the sides. You may even find that a padded bumper,
sheets and quilt are included.

The bassinet probably falls somewhere in the middle between
necessary and unnecessary. If you're on a budget, you can
certainly go without one. Having said that, I loved my bassinet
and wouldn't have been without it. It's so convenient to be able
to move baby around. I generally let baby sleep in his own room
during the day, and used a baby monitor, then at night wheeled
baby's bassinet into my room. Mine could be rocked gently to
help baby fall asleep, and because it was up on a stand, it was
easy to life baby in and out - I was recovering from a
caesarean.

So my advice would be - if you can fit a bassinet into your
budget, do it. Perhaps it's an item that a few friends or family
could buy for your baby shower.

Baby Crib or Cot

Some sort of secure bed for baby is definitely required.
Spending a fortune buying one isn't required! You can buy cribs
in a massive range of styles - with a huge range of price tags
to match. Probably the main thing to look for is to make sure
the crib adheres to the required safety standards. Check that
the mattress fits snugly against the sides of the crib. Some
other helpful features are: an adjustable base height, a couple
of release mechanisms (not just one, in case baby learns how to
do it!), lockable wheels, and no stickers that can be peeled off
easily.

Crib Mattress

Many cribs include their own mattress, and that's probably the
best option because it should fit the crib snugly. There are two
types of mattress - inner spring/coil or foam. Generally, the
innerspring style of mattress will last much longer, but is
usually a little more expensive. It's worth buying some sort of
waterproof mattress pad, to protect the mattress, but make sure
it doesn't have any plastic on the side the baby will be
sleeping on.

Bedding Accessories

This is an area where you can start to spend some serious
dollars! It's very easy to get carried away with all the cute
and gorgeous designs for baby bedding. Thankfully most cribs and
bassinets use standard sizes, which makes things a little
easier. One good strategy is to buy the necessary basics
yourself, then put all the less necessary accessories on your
baby shower gift register. Apart from the basic sheets, I've
always liked to have a bumper for the top end of baby's bed -
and make sure it ties on in multiple places, so more than one
tie has to break before it can fall down. You should never use a
pillow for baby, and even quilts or comforters aren't
recommended - stick to ordinary blankets. You can also often get
added extras, such as diaper stackers. Personally I've never
found them of much use, but again, some of the extra might make
good baby shower gifts.

Changing Table

If you're really strapped for cash, then you can probably make
do with using your bed as a changing table, but if you can, this
is something I highly recommend. Your back will certainly prefer
it! My changing table was actually more like a set of dresser
drawers, and nowadays, with the changing table part removed,
it's still being used as drawers for my daughter's clothes. So
it pays to think ahead and buy a changing table that's
practical. Also look for safety features, such as guardrails and
perhaps even safety straps. And of course it needs to be well
padded! It's handy to have some sort of shelf where you can put
items you're using, but personally I just put them down one end
of the changing table and changed baby at the other end. Once
baby got bigger, I used the top drawer.

Rocking Chair

This is definitely on the "maybe" list. A lot of women swear by
them, but personally I never had one and it never bothered me in
the slightest. So this is going to come down to personal
preference and your budget. Having said that, you will need a
comfortable chair to sit in, particularly if you're nursing your
baby.

Portable Crib

This is one piece of baby furniture that got used a lot in my
household! My son used to come to work with me when he was
little, and I used a portable crib for his naps. It was great
when I went to visit family and friends, because baby was
familiar with it and happy to have a nap when the time came. I
also didn't have to worry about baby rolling off someone's bed.
It meant that we could go on holidays and know that baby had
somewhere safe and familiar to sleep. I used mine so much that I
ended up having to buy a second one when my daughter came along!
It's important, though, to spend some time making sure the
portable crib you choose is well constructed and safe. Make sure
it can't collapse easily, particularly if baby tries to climb
out. Check there are no small spaces where fingers could get
trapped, and a collapsible padded base is very helpful.

High Chair

A high chair rates very close to the essential end of the
scale. The good news is that you don't need one straight away,
so you can put off buying it until quite a few months after baby
is born. Look for an adjustable tray, restraints of some kind
and perhaps even lockable rolling casters. Some models also have
a reclining seat, so you can use it even when baby is still
bottle feeding.

Car Seat

This is definitely essential - apart from ensuring your baby's
safety, you're breaking the law in most places if you don't have
one. Newborns must travel in the back seat of the car, facing
the rear. Once baby is older, usually closer to 1 year old, you
can place baby in a forward facing car seat. When your child is
older again, anywhere from 2 years upwards depending on their
size, you can change over to a booster seat.
The major decision you'll have here is whether to buy separate,
specially designed car seats for baby and then your toddler, or
whether to buy a convertible model. Personally I always had 2
separate car seats, mostly because all the consumer safety
research I'd seen suggested that a specifically designed car
seat was more effective in an accident. Thankfully I never
tested that theory out! Construction and safety levels are
constantly improving, however, so if buying a convertible model
is where your budget is, that's okay too.

Strollers

This is another baby item where there seems to be too many
choices. First you have to decide which style of stroller you
want, before even looking at individual brands. At some point
you are going to want to transport your baby, so you will need
to buy something. You need to start by having a long, hard think
about what you expect your movements to be with your baby. Do
you plan to take baby jogging with you? Go over rougher terrain
regularly? Or will you probably only put baby in a stroller at
the shops? Do you want a pram that can later be converted into a
stroller?

Once you have an idea what type of things you'll need to use
your stroller for, a salesperson at the baby store should be
able to guide you in the right direction. You then need to think
about what added features you might like - accessory bars, toy
and activity bars, headrests, adjustable height, rain shields
etc.

Choosing the right stroller is probably going to take you a
while!

Baby Monitor

A baby monitor probably isn't necessary, but I always found it
was great for peace of mind. It meant I could be off in another
part of the house doing something, but still be monitoring my
baby's nap. Prices vary a lot, but it's probably better to
choose your monitor based on the features you're going to need,
rather than price. If you're going to move around a lot, make
sure your monitor is portable. Do you want batteries or mains
power? Do you want video monitoring as well?

Bouncer Seat

Again, this isn't necessary, but it's very useful! Babies love
to watch everything that's going on around them, and it's much
easier for them if they're raised slightly from the horizontal.
You can buy all sorts of fancy bouncer seats, with everything
from toy bars to battery operated bouncing. I only ever had a
very basic fabric bouncer, and most of the time the toy bar
wasn't even attached. Both my kids loved them, and the good
thing was that I always knew where they were! Very handy,
particularly when I was cooking dinner. The main thing to
remember is that you should NEVER place a bouncer seat on a
raised surface, they should always be placed on the floor or
ground.

About the Author: Discover more about getting ready for baby's
arrival at http://www.infoaboutbaby.com . The author's book
about babies is available at http://www.baby.learnheaps.com .
You can sign up for a FREE Baby Tips newsletter at
http://www.infoaboutbaby.com/newsletter.html .

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