Nursery Furniture - What Will You Need?

What nursery furniture you choose sometimes depends on how much space is available, and how much money you want to spend.

Some people start off with a Moses basket or swinging crib. Maybe you just want a normal cot (or I have even seen some round cots,can't find a picture at the minute, but I'm sure they were made in Scandinavia?) they look really strange, but apparently they are very soothing for baby!I had a normal cot for my children, with a canopy and drapes. The drapes can be drawn around a portion of the cot and are basically like a pair of curtains, they stop the light shining on baby when the sun rises and therefore Mummy can sleep a little longer ;-)

When buying a cot, there a few things to check for.

• Does it have swivel wheels (castors) to make moving it easier?

• Does it have drop sides? these make it easier to lift baby in and out.

• Does it have fixed base or can it be altered? This allows you to higher or lower the mattress, so as baby gets older (and bigger) she can't climb out.

• Does it have teething rails on the sides? These are normally just plastic covers that stop baby getting a mouthful of splinters when she's old enough to chew on the sides!

How about a cot bed? A cot bed is a great piece of nursery furniture and will convert into baby's first bed, it will ease the transition from cot, which is very small and confined (comforting to some babies) to big bed with loads of space. It does this by the parents being able to remove either one or both sides to make a small bed (same size as the cot, but open at the sides) giving baby chance to get used to the less confined space that she loved.

Some children will take to a bed easier than others. Joe was two years old when we put him into a 'Big bed', and he instantly loved it. Lauren on the other hand was two and a half and very unsure about making the switch! It took nearly 4 weeks to prise her out of her cot and into a bed, and even then she was very insecure and looked totally lost in there.Make sure when you do make the switch with your children, whatever toys, teddies, comforters they depend on, find thier way into the new sleeping abode!

Ok with sleeping arrangements sorted, what about the rest of the nursery furniture, well lets see...

Changing tables are great if you have a little extra space. These enable you to change baby's nappy while you're standing up! (When you think of how often you change your newborns nappy, you can soon get back ache with all that bending down!)Changing tables are also good for changing baby in the middle of the night, they have cupboards and plenty of storage for nappies, lotion, wipes, and a spare set of clothes and sheets!Anyone who has a baby knows how frustrating it is when baby's nappy leaks in the middle of the night and you have to run round finding clean bedding, and clothes!I didn't have one of these as I didn't have the space. I had a changing mat, but I think they definitely are a super idea.

More basic furniture you may need is, wardrobes, chest of drawers, bookshelves are brilliant for displaying all of those cuddly toys that everyone bought while you were pregnant! A sofa bed is a good idea for a nursery (just in case!) or how about a rocking/gliding chair for nursing baby. I love those chairs... just like you see in the films!

Most nursery furniture comes in sets so you can co-ordinate the whole room. Do you like dark wood, light wood, pine, mahogany. Some furniture is painted. You could even stencil the furniture and add a whole themed touch of your own.

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