How to Put Together The Perfect Nursery For Your Baby

Whether or not you’re expecting, you might have a secret Pinterest board (or two), hidden away in the depths of the internet, with ideas for setting up a nursery. Perhaps you’ve chosen a colour palette, a theme, or even looked into some potential artwork for the walls.

It’s imperative to have the nursery set up before your little one makes their way into the world. As you may have been told already, you’ll be just a little busy once the baby arrives.

Although style is a factor, the most important thing to consider when contemplating “how do I prepare my nursery for a new baby” is function and safety. Together with Red Nose, and their Chief Midwife Jane Wiggill, we’ve put together an educational video with seven simple steps on getting the nursery ready for your baby.

1. A cot or portacot that meets Australian Safety Standards

2. A firm, flat and well-fitted mattress

3. A sleeping space free from pillows, lambswool, bumpers or soft toys

4. Furniture hazards removed

5. Power cords stowed away, and plugs covered

6. Toys that can be stowed away when not in use

7. Mobiles that are hung well away from the cot

As babies sleep up to 17 hours a day, a cot — or portacot — will be the cornerstone of your nursery. Red Nose advises that the safest place for a baby to sleep is in a safe cot, on a safe mattress, in the parents’ room. This is advised for the first six months of your little one’s life.

The cot should meet Australian standard AS/NZS 2172:2003.

Next on the list of your nursery must haves is a mattress — one that’s firm, flat and the right size for your cot. It should meet voluntary Australian standard AS/NZS 8811.1:2013.

If you want to keep that mattress clean and dry, our Ultracool Cotton Waterproof Baby Mattress Protector should do the trick.

And when it comes to that safe sleeping checklist in terms of dressing the cot, go for bedding that allows airflow — like cotton, 100% Belgian flax linen, or organic cotton.

This is less of what you do need in a nursery for a baby and more of what you don’t need.

Soft bedding — pillows, quilts, bumpers, sleep positioners, lambswool, soft toys — are unnecessary, no matter what you might be told (or sold). In fact, they’re dangerous in a cot and can obstruct breathing. 

As Jane says, “Keeping the [sleeping] space free from additional items is also really important.”

You may want to have a bookshelf (or two) for all the picture books you’ll inevitably get gifted, along with a chest of drawers full of well-meaning hand-me-downs, baby shower gifts, and the cute onesies you just couldn’t resist while shopping.

And you can! But an important step in getting the nursery ready for your baby means removing the hazard these items of furniture can bring.

You don’t have to find space within other areas of your home for these items — but items like tallboys, bookshelves, and chests of drawers should be moved well away from the cot space, or bracketed to the wall. 

It may not be the first thing you think of when it comes to setting up a nursery — and you probably won’t find it on Pinterest — but it’s important to have electrical cords put away, and power plugs covered up, away from any potential little fingers. 

A baby playing with their favourite toy (like the Abbotson Bunny Rattle) can be one for the photo album (or their 18th); they might even reward you with a gummy smile or sweet giggle. 

And although we already touched on how toys shouldn’t be placed or left in the cot, they can also be a hazard if they’re left out in the nursery. As Jane recommends in the video, toys should be stowed away safely when they’re not in use. 

Storage like our stackable Aldon baskets will keep your baby safe and keep the nursery tidy. 

No, we’re not talking about telephones for babies — it’s about hanging mobiles in the nursery.

Although it’s not a nursery must have in the conventional sense, as Jane says, they’re a “beautiful addition” to a nursery. The main thing to watch out for? That they’re hung well away from the cot — they should never hang over your child’s sleep space.