The baby room.

[karter]

All new and ready to go, what does it need?

Thinking stencils or stickers for the walls, is there a local place for these that offer non branded stickers or anywhere recommended? Stickers or stencil it?

Changing table on top of the cotbed? or on chest of drawers? or open chest with no drawers? Drawers dangerous for when kid is older?

Two way phone thing is a must i would say?

Feeding chair? Of course toys.

Any essentials recommended are very appreciated.

Thanks

[Fuschia]

I would suggest a bed or futon so tired parents can lie down to doze or feed... can also be used for changing nappies

[pebbles]

a dimmer switch or side light that's dim so when feeding at night you don't want it to be light as to wake up baby but light enough to perhaps read or something if feeding takes a while..... or just invest in an iphone - was definitely my lifeline during night feeds.

i 2nd fushia's bed comment. if you have enough room i would go for bed over chair. luckily i mastered the lying down and feeding position (i think some people perhaps find this difficult) which was lovely at night when tired.

i would just buy a plastic changing mat and then you can put this on top of chest of drawers, bed, floor and just move dependent on where you want to change. we invested in over the cot changing thingy and never used it

black out blinds - a definite must in my opinion

good luck

[sillywoman]

I would reconsider on the two way phone - nothing worse than just getting baby to sleep only have him/her woken by a phone ringing in their room - Aaaarrgh.

Also, have you considered really heavy curtains - some like to get blackout blinds even?

Bin for manky nappies?

Storage for clean nappies/wipes/muslins/ cream near (within hands reach) changing table?

Storage for toys.

[Fuschia]

I would put the feeding chair downstairs by the tv, at least at first

[candj]

Sorry to repeat but the list off the top of my head

Cot or cotbed (with new mattress ;-)) and several changes of fitted sheets, mattress protector

Changing table that sits atop cot (we've always used one of these and doesn't take up any space)

Dresser/chest of drawers (top drawer with nappies, muslin cloths, and things you need to get to quickly)

Wardrobe (not necessarily priority but you won't believe how fast baby clothes accumulate via gifts)

Chair (can be any comfy chair not necessarily for breastfeeding but one that can be comfortable for bf)

Bin

Blackout curtains or blinds

Bin/basket for toys

No need to rush out and buy loads of toys as you'll get many as gifts. For stickers quickbrownfox.com have lovely ones or we got ours from the company rocketstgeorge.com.

Have so much fun! What an exciting time!!

[poppy]

Depending on the time of year, a little gas-filled radiator, so that the room can be heated overnight if necessary without having to heat your whole house.

Ooh and my best ever piece of baby equipment was a Tiny Love Symphony in Motion mobile. My boy LOVED it pretty much from birth - even before he used his cot to sleep in it was a godsend to be able to pop him in there with the mobile on while I had a shower or whatever. And even now he's 14 months he still uses the detachable music box bit in his cot. Seemed expensive but it was the best ?50 we ever spent!

[canadianlisa]

Loads of good suggestions. For decorations they have room stickers at ED on Northcross rd or the Horniman gift shop as well as maybe at the card, gifty store on the corner past ED (name escapes me). I'd go for them or some photos, pictures on the wall rather than stencils.

I went for a changing table with lots of storeage and actually have found it really useful and am sure it saved my back. When I have been away home and had to change my girl on the floor or bed I had an achey back quickly. A little table beside your feeding chair for a dim light, book, kleenexes, etc. You won't need toys for a while, see what you get first and maybe just get a few rattles. You will get loads. Good luck.

[quickbrownfox]

candj - thanks so much for mentioning Quick Brown Fox. I sell loads of the Love Mae stickers (in spite of them being on the pricey side) as they are so easy to apply and move around. And they are pretty cute too.

karter - I really wouldn't go to town on decor until baby has arrived. It's so much more fun to gradually accumulate cool stuff as you find it, and once you start to get a feel for his or her personality. Kids like colour though - once they're a few months old you really do see them stare at and respond to colourful things. I always think clear (white?) walls are a great place to start - gives you huge scope to add splashes of colour and not get stuck in a 'colour scheme'.

[Saffron]

A small nightlight is helpful for night feeding and changing. Some baby monitors have a light on them. Make sure to put it somewhere you can easily reach in the dark. Our baby monitor also gives a temperature reading for the baby's room on the parent end.

Even if Baby is sleeping mostly with you to start, it's good to do naps in the nursery. In which case I second the recommendation for a blackout blind or heavy curtains. We bought an adjustable one with suction cups that can go on almost any window.

If you want to give a cottop changer a try, you're welcome to ours. It fits standard 70x140 cm cotbed, white wood with wipe-clean changing mat. I found it really useful when Little Saff was quite small. Although if you have room for a fouton in the nursery, you'd probably do just as well to change Baby on there.

You might want to consider getting a baby hammock instead of moses basket. We had an Amby hammock, but there are other brands out there.

A chest of drawers or open shelves are fine as long as you secure them to the wall, for one day when your LO wants to climb on them!

A radio/cd player in the nursery is a nice idea too.

xx

[karter]

Lots of good suggestions indeed. Thanks everybody for the advice.

[prm]

The wall stickers are definitively a good idea as you shouldn't hang anything heavy on the wall over the cot, in case it falls down over the baby (which in a Victorian house could always happen I guess)

My advice is get a really comfy breastfeeding chair....I got a beautiful distressed leather armchair that sure looks great but is not the most practical for breastfeeding...now I wish I had bought one of those really soft wide armchairs from Ikea!

[karter]

Thanks prm, we do have a leather chair that swings and rocks so hopefully should be ok but we did try the feeding chairs in j lewis the other day and they are great must admit. The sticker idea is great, i was going to stencil but stickers seem more of a practical way. Thanks for the links and local outlet recommendations. Family/friends are pushing their beds/baskets/tables you name it but just seems to complicate things and looks.:-S:-S:-S. All appreciated though.

[GinaG3]

I've just bought wall stickers. They are brilliant (although mine aren't) just thought I would advise you, if your going to buy stickers, go expensive. I paid ?5 on eBay, sent from china. Put up, fell straight back down again, and it took me like 2 hours to peel them all off the backing paper. I'm in love with the ones in QBFoD and other 'expensive' ones I've seen online but I would literally keel over handing over that much money. If anyone has a secret to cheap but quality wall sticker, be sure to let me know. Were in private rent and all white walls *yawn*

[Yak]

Gosh - I'm impressed! The yaklet is going to make do with a cot, some cheap and cheerful bunting we have lying about, a couple of drawers in a closet and a lick of paint on the walls...I like the idea of a chair for BF, though.

[Belle]

Do all wall stickers come off easily? Not keen on the idea of permanent wall decoration...

[GinaG3]

I think they warn on all packages they may pull off paint work etc but are removable..

[candj]

They say you can peel them off but we put ours on with a wallpaper scraper type thing and must say they look fairly permanent until we peel them off to paint Walls (in about 10 years time!!). They are really fun though and our chdren love them and husband is now expert in putting them up.

[quickbrownfox]

I promise promise promise the Love Mae wall stickers can be moved around no problemo. I regularly move our ones around and there's no damage to stickers or walls. I know they are toppy, though - they're made by a tiny business in rural Australia and with all the import costs, it's difficult to sell them for any less :-(

[karter]

A friend of mine who has two kids told me about this website, seems very reasonable and she said the quality is very good. I will still check out the local recommendations too though.

[Moos]

Sounds as though you'd like to have your baby in his or her own room, but for what it's worth I've found nights so much easier with Twosling than I did with his big brother, as he sleeps in a 3-sided bedside cot. I personally find night feeding much more bearable scooping him up and sitting up in bed (and later lying down in bed as he got big enough) than plodding next door and feeding in a chair.

Downside is that you have to sneak around when you go to bed, and I'm positive we disturb each other at night. We often end up co-sleeping, which I'm very comfortable with at the moment but don't want to do long-term. So in a few weeks we're going to gradually transfer him to his big cot in his own room: first naps, then early evening sleep (ie settling in own room at his bedtime but taking him back to my bed from the first night feed, and afterwards back in bedside crib), then full transition.

However you do it, best of luck!

[jollybaby]

I wouldn't go too crazy before the baby is born- instead let the room evolve. For example I've discovered I much prefer changing baby jb on the floor on a padded mat as I find it easier doing it end on rather than from the side. We also rushed out to buy a cosleeper cot after I had a c section but didn't get on with that and so switched her back to her crib. One thing I have found useful since having a baby is having a couple of the plastic trugg tubs. I keep one by the bottom of the stairs and throw everything that needs to go back upstairs in it and then take all the bits up together.