You’ll soon be bringing home a baby bundle, and you’ve got to be prepared for whatever parenthood throws your way. From a swaddling newborn to an adventurous toddler, your home should be a place of safe exploration for your little one. A few thoughtful home improvements and upgrades will make your home baby-ready, and you don’t have to spend a ton!
The nursery: the key to longer sleep
Don’t get us wrong: Your entire house is worthy of baby-proofing, but the first place to focus is the nursery. In those first few months, you’ll no doubt be sleep-deprived. Creating a cosy, controlled, and safe environment will help you start your sleep training journey on the right foot. That, of course, starts with your decor.
Safe, baby-friendly window coverings, a heavenly rocking chair, and other nursery essentials will help make it dreamy enough for deep, uninterrupted sleep.
Install cordless blinds — You may not know that typical blinds are not considered safe for kids or babies because there have been cases of strangulation caused by cords. With that being said, you need the most possible light control in the nursery so that your baby doesn’t wake up the second the sun comes out.
The answer is to upgrade to a set of cordless blinds or shades that let you determine when you want the space to be bright, dark or somewhere in between.
Add new furniture — There are two primary things to consider when designing your new baby’s nursery. First, it has to be safe for the baby, and second, it has to be comfortable for the mom and dad.
Let’s face it: You’re going to be spending a lot of time, usually half-asleep, in the baby’s room, so equipping it with a comfortable, upholstered rocking chair and some soft lighting is key.
Get dimmer lights — Speaking of lighting… If you’ve been looking for a good excuse to upgrade to dimmers — not a bad idea in general, if you ask us — then a new baby is the perfect excuse! Just like you need to be able to control natural light, you also need to be able to adjust the brightness of your fixtures for a warm, comfortable ambience.
Think about temp — Light isn’t the only thing to consider when designing your baby’s sleeping quarters. Think also about temperature. A baby’s sleep environment should be somewhere between 16 °C to 20 °C.
Monitoring the temperature without disturbing your little one is important, so consider upgrading to a smart, Wi-Fi-enabled thermostat with an app and installing a temperature sensor in the nursery.
Paint soothing colours — Giving the nursery a fresh coat of paint is good for a variety of reasons. It makes the room feel fresh, clean and welcoming, and it may also help your baby fall asleep faster and stay relaxed throughout the day.
Steer clear of bright colours and yellows and instead stick to soft blues, pinks and greens for a more relaxing vibe.
The rest of the house: going beyond safety
The most important thing to prioritise before your baby arrives is to do some whole-house childproofing. Beyond that, there are some simple updates you should consider so that every room in your home is safe and hospitable to a crawling, toddling and eventually walking youngster. From the floor to the ceiling, your home should be ready for its new tenant. Here are some more ideas for preparing your whole house for the baby.
Get a new carpet — When you’re a new parent, you’ll soon see that the floor is the baby’s world. With infants, it’s often where you change diapers and play with toys. And once they become crawlers, the floor becomes their whole world — playing, rolling, crawling and sometimes even sleeping, all occur on the carpet. Starting fresh with brand-new, stain-resistant carpet is never a bad idea pre-baby.
Install a digital doorbell — Anyone or anything that wakes your baby will be your temporary enemy in those first few months at home, even if it’s the UPS man or a well-meaning visitor.
To prevent the baby from waking up, ditch that old-fashioned doorbell and opt instead for a digital one that alerts you of visitors via your phone. These units are usually equipped with cameras, too, so they provide extra security.
Double-down on storage — The reality is that you’ll be bringing another person into the world, and as you can probably tell, that means a lot more stuff to store. Clothes, toys, strollers, baby wraps… it never ends! You’ll also find yourself making room in your living spaces for play areas, which means you’ll have to find someplace to store your misplaced furniture and décor.
Turn your attic, basement or garage into a well-organised storage centre with floor-to-ceiling racks, tubs, drawers and plenty of shelving that will help keep things under control.
Do some landscaping — Babies should be able to safely play outside, too. It seems premature to make major landscape changes before your little one can even crawl, but the yard is one of the areas of your home that’s most dangerous for your little one.
If you have a pool, pond, hot tub, fire pit, grill or anything else that could pose a threat, make sure it’s off-limits with a safety fence or cover so that the baby can’t get in. Be sure to purge the yard of any poisonous plants while you’re at it!
You don’t have to perform a total renovation before welcoming your new baby bundle into your abode. Instead, it’s all about making small yet meaningful home improvements that ensure health, safety and comfort, not just for your little one, but for the whole family.
This article is contributed by Kenneth Gordon – Assistant VP of Factory Direct Blinds.
(The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of RoofandFloor.)