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Home › Articles › Preparing for Baby › The Perfect Nursery

The Perfect Nursery

10 Essentials for Baby's Room

By Sue Marquette Poremba

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One of the fun parts of being pregnant is decorating the baby's nursery. Who hasn't fussed over all the adorable gifts given at a shower? There are so many cute and clever items out on the market these days.

Obviously, every family will need a car seat (or you won't be able to bring the baby home from the hospital). Diapers, whether they are cloth or disposable, are absolutely essential. But there are many other items that every nursery should have to make life with Baby easier. Here are 10.

1. A nightlight. "When you creep into the nursery at night to feed your baby, you'll need to be able to see so you don't trip or bump into things," says Sandra Gordon, author of Consumer Reports Best Baby Products (Consumer Union, 2004). "Nightlights at floor level attract crawling babies to sockets. Instead, place a nightlight in a socket out of the baby's reach and install a dimmer switch for the room's lighting fixture. Or use a lamp with a low-wattage bulb."

2. A rocking chair or glider. Katherine Cowan of Beverly Hills, Calif., believes no nursery should be without a rocking chair. "It is my absolute favorite thing we have in the nursery," she says. "It is so nice in the middle of the night. It soothes both the mother and the baby back to sleep, and it is a nice place to nurse or feed the baby."

3. A safe place to sleep with a firm mattress. "When selecting a crib, quality and safety don't always correlate," says Gordon. "A high-end crib isn't necessarily safer than a $110 model. The safest crib is the most simple." The mattress should be very firm to prevent possible suffocation. "Budget $90 to $150 for the mattress," says Gordon. "We advocate keeping the crib bare. Ditch the bumpers, blankets, toys and pillows to avoid suffocation and strangulation. Put the mattress at its lowest setting as soon as your baby can stand up. That's also a good time to remove the mobile."

4. Changing table.

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