A Nursery for your New Born Baby

Is this your first baby? I am sure you are so excited! You want to ensure that the room your baby will be using is as comfortable, warm and clean as possible. Do you know the gender of your first born yet? If it is a boy you can decorate the room in the traditional boy colours of blue and if a girl, the traditional colour pink. You can also opt for genderless colours such as pastel green, yellow or peach. Have you thought about a theme for your child’s nursery?

Start planning the design and layout of your baby’s nursery early, if possible three months before you give birth. This will give you plenty of time to plan the use of space, see to the construction of additional storage space, painting the room and manufacture of soft furnishings, toys and purchases of items you will need for those first precious moments when your baby finally comes home.

1. The first consideration will be a choice of a suitable theme for the nursery. If it is a boy, you can choose either a safari theme, a jungle theme or a race track theme. If it is a girl, you can use a princess fairy tale theme, a flower theme or a bunnies theme.

2. The next thing you need to do towards designing the perfect room for your new born baby, is choosing a colour scheme. Green, especially in pastel shades, is a calming and soothing colour that also complements a safari and jungle theme. Blue, the traditional boy room choice encourages tranquility and relaxation. Pastel yellow will make the room vibrant, where as pink for your baby girl will encourage feelings of warmth, love and cheerfulness.

3. Ensure that you fill your new baby’s room with functional furniture that not only helps you raise your baby with ease, but that also fits the theme you have chosen. If you favored a jungle or car track theme, order furniture that reflects this. For example, the baby’s crib could be made in the shape of either a Mercedes Benz or a BMW;

If you chose a Princess Theme for your baby girl, her bed can reflect the enchanted castle of Beauty and the Beast or the ballroom where Cinderella danced with her Prince;

If you have an apartment or bungalow with a lot of space, add matching chests of drawers or armoires, a changing table and a rocking chair that you can use to sing lullabies to your child as he/she sleeps. In later years you can enjoy reading stories to your baby in the same chair.

Most apartments in Nairobi and the surrounding counties these days, have inbuilt wardrobes that can be used to store baby clothes, diapers, shoes, blankets, sheets and toys.

4. Use fabric to enhance your theme. For the curtains, bumper pads and soft furnishing choose designs that complement the theme. Also choose beddings such as sheets, duvets and blankets that match your chosen theme and matching window treatment.

5. Add accent pieces to your child’s room. You can paint the ceiling with a mural of a race track, an African jungle, a scene from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs or from Beauty and The Beast.

Other pieces you can use include a table lamp with a decorative lampshade, a crib mobile, a floor rug/carpet or a light switch cover tying in all the elements of your chosen theme.

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