Parents’ Dilemma: To have a Nursery Room or Not?

One of the most eluding questions that many expectant parents encounter is whether to have a nursery or not. Basically, your decision will greatly depend on a number of factors. For one, you need to determine if having one is a practical choice.

Remember that giving birth would already cost a significant amount of money, especially when you live in the Philippines. Typically, a caesarian birth would cost double the amount of a normal delivery. Even though you want to avoid a CS delivery, there are inevitable circumstances that would really require it. If that happens, you would need to re-assess your finances in order to cover all your hospital expenses. That being said, parents with crunched budget should just make do with what they have for the meantime.

You shouldn’t put up a nursery because of the following reasons:

• When your living space is quite limited
• When you have exhausted all your savings to labor expenses
• When it is not safe to leave your baby alone due to health concerns

If this is the case, what are the alternative options? Those who do not plan to setup a separate nursery room for their baby can opt for comfortable baby sleepers, quilts, and comforters. Parents who have huge beds can opt to put their baby next to them when sleeping. Aside from that, they can also integrate a small crib inside their bedroom, so that the baby will have his/her own bed space. Buying a crib alone would be a more cost-efficient choice as oppose to designing an entire nursery room.

How to safely decorate a Nursery Room

If you have the means and budget to put up a separate nursery room for your baby, then you sh ould go for it. On that note, parents who decided to create their baby’s nursery room should pay attention to these useful tips.

Put safety first

First and foremost, make sure that you put safety in mind when decorating your baby’s nursery room. Ensure that the floor carpeting, paint, and other materials that will be used in building the nursery room are all child-friendly.

Opt for a safer paint alternative

Since most commercially-available paints are said to emit harmful fumes in the air, there is already a growing concern as to what type of paint should be used when painting a baby’s room. In that regard, I would highly advise that you go for paints with low VOC’s (volatile organic compounds. These paints are water-based, thus they only contain a meager amount of VOC. However, if you really want to ensure your child’s safety, it would be best to use paint that does not contain VOC at all. Such paints are produced from natural ingredients such as latex, water, and ceramics. Therefore, always look for a green seal certification to ensure that you are indeed purchasing a safe and eco-friendly paint.

Choose a particular color or room theme

To maintain harmony and balance, it will be a good idea to go for matching nursery furniture items. Doing so will allow you to create an attractive, neat and cohesive-looking nursery room. Remember that the simpler the room design, the better.

Above anything else, make sure that you furnish the nursery room with the most basic and important furniture items that your baby would need in a daily basis such as the crib, changing table, storage shelves, comfortable bedding, as well as optional seating or extra beds.