Long before baby arrives, many parents are already fine-tuning the nursery, caught between impatience and excitement. It is easy to see why: soft toys, sleeping bags and mobiles are hard to resist. Here is our practical guide to making your baby's room a calm, warm space, ready for the new arrival.
For sleeping, keep to the simple basics: baby on their back, on a firm mattress that fits properly, in a baby sleeping bag rather than a quilt, with no pillow and no cot bumper. In the first months, put baby in their own cot or Moses basket in the same room as you. If you are unsure, your midwife or health visitor is the best person to ask.
Keep a soft woven wicker Moses basket close at hand, with padded cotton fabrics and a little old-fashioned charm. For gentle trips into the garden, baby can be cosily settled in the basket. This style of basket often comes with a quilt, mattress, pillow and cover; a stand may be available separately, so you can create a proper little nest at home or in the garden. One important note: the pillow and quilt must not be used for sleeping. For sleep, stick to a firm, well-fitting mattress and a baby sleeping bag.
A 100% cotton cover for your baby's red book (the parent-held child health record) is a practical buy, because the red book is meant to last.
Personalised embroidered bibs and a teddy-bear dummy clip do two useful jobs at once: they add a sweet personal touch and help avoid tearful meltdowns and endless replacement dummies, because the dummy stays clipped within reach.
A novelty light garland with little hens, frogs and flowers gives a playful splash of colour. Fix it wherever you like, but keep it well away from the cot as a precaution.
A bear-design baby sleeping bag with removable Velcro sleeves is easy to adapt to the weather and season. It is 100% cotton with polyester wadding, for baby's first cosy nights.
A canopy cot with a tulle veil and a 100% cotton roof can be fixed to the ceiling or to the rail provided. It looks lovely, provided the veil is securely fixed and kept away from baby's face.
A particularly practical buy is a soft-sided storage trolley with a laundry bin and multiple pockets. Use the compartments for nappies, dummies, towels, bottles and comforters, and everything stays within reach. No more hunting for wipes or the missing dummy: a place for everything and everything in its place.
A soft baby nest in beige corduroy is ultra-flexible and moulds to baby's shape, wrapping them in comfort. Use it for awake time, under supervision; if baby falls asleep, move them to their cot, on their back and flat.
A soft rabbit comforter is the kind of buy that is hard to resist: top quality and wonderfully soft. Buy a second identical one for the day the first mysteriously disappears.
Finally, a padded cotton cot bumper may seem like a way to stop baby bumping their head or pushing an arm through the bars. But safety advice has changed: cot bumpers carry a risk of suffocation and strangulation, so it is safer to leave them out. Talk to your midwife or health visitor before buying.
Budget
As a rough guide, expect to pay around £45–£140 for a wicker Moses basket with bedding, £80–£300 for a cot, cot bed or canopy cot, £15–£40 for a baby sleeping bag, £10–£30 for a comforter or light garland, £25–£70 for a storage trolley and £20–£50 for a baby nest. Prices vary by materials (hand-woven wicker, organic cotton), finish, brand and season; end-of-line and second-hand buys can save money on kit that is used only briefly. You will find the essentials at nursery retailers, supermarkets and brand websites.
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