Nursery set-up - what I'd do differently

Setting up the Nursery for the first Baby is heaps of fun. Buying all the cutest Baby stuff and taking it home and placing it somewhere in room that one day You'll bring your little bundle home too.

John in the nursery

Ok, so how much did it cost? Can you believe for a cot, change table, rocking chair, Baby capsule, rocker, Baby bath, port-a-cot and super-duper all-terrain stroller I spent less than $600. Amazing hey! Gotta love eBay. It can be done. All of these things were in a good serviceable condition and I was happy with my little set-up. I was given a new matress for the cot, washed the covers and liners, wiped everything down with hot water and tea tree (anti-bacterial) and we were good to go.

It was a great effort for a first-timer who was looking to save as much money as possible so that we could use our Baby Bonus as a kind of maternity leave payment, allowing me to stay home with Baby for as long as possible. That was our priority and it still is today.

One thing I did not factor in was that most of these things would be used by our family for up to 6 years (estimated by - 2 kids using stuff for 3 years each). These items are an investment into 6 odd years of use. If I was looking at them from an investment point of view here is what I'd do differently:

Cot
I'm pretty happy with our cot. I had to buy a couple of extra screw heads to put it together, but with a nice new mattress in it, it really was good to go. But from an investment perspective I would consider buying a cot that can eventually turn into a junior bed and grow with Baby through different stages.

Change Table
It's great. Solid timber and matches the other nursery furniture. One thing I'd look at carefully next time in picking one that is a better height for me so I don't have to lean over too much. The best height for You is when your elbows touch the top of the table. A harness strap for the mattress is great to for when Baby gets bigger and starts rolling and wiggling around. In terms of covers I've found that good old terry square nappies are the best because they are very absorbent and when they inevitably get wet or soiled You have plenty on hand to change and they are so simple to wash.

Nursery Rocking chair
I ended up ditching my eBay one and saving up my pocket money to buy a super duper new comfy one. Late night feeds, a quiet spot to feed during the day and even a nap or two if necessary when cuddling an upset or sick bubba. With a colicky Baby I spent quite a number of hours in my rocking chair.

Car Capsule
As Baby got bigger and needed a forward facing seat we ended up buying a convertible seat, which had the option for rear facing for a newborn as well as forward facing when they got big enough. We could have bought this in the first place and saved the money on the capsule.

Ella helping Mummy hang out the washing

Rocker

The rocker was great. It was super handy in the early days to have somewhere safe to put Baby down when she was awake. Great for when mummy was hanging out the washing or making breakfast. We loved the Fisher Price Rocker we got so much that we now stock them at You and Baby. The other option I found recently is a really cute bean bag with a harness.

Stroller

The jury is still out on the stroller. It is a handy all-terrain vehicle (great seeing as we don't have proper foot paths in our little town), however it does not fit easily into our car. We pretty much use the Baby carrier when we go to the shops (which in our family is not very often), and once she got a bit older we got one of the very cheap, light weight pushers. If I was starting over I'd probably consider something that is light weight, easy to transport in the car and that would last. Given that it's going to have to last 6+ years I'd consider spending a bit more on the stroller and getting one that can convert for carrying 2 kids if need be.

Port a cot

We bought a standard port-a-cot for 80 bucks off eBay. Looked good, she slept fine in it, but ooohhhh.... it was a pain to carry and awful to set up and pack down. More than one helper did battle with our port a cot. So I saved up my pennies and bought a super-duper Baby Bjorn Travel Cot... AMAZING... light weight, folds into a compact bag, set-up and pack down is soooooo simple. As you can tell, I'm ultra-frugal (to put it nicely), but this was Well worth the money!

Baby Bath

We only used the Baby bath a few times. We found it was just as easy to bath her in the tub rather than filling and emptying the Baby bath. We did however use the bath seat that came with the bath, it saved the arm strength of holding Baby the whole time. A Bath stand is good for those with a bad back, but you still have to fill and empty the tub... so lots of people just use a bathroom, kitchen or laundry sink in the early days.

So some things I was happy with my second hand eBay buys, other things I'd buy new. I suppose one advantage of buying new is you can always resell later...

What worked and didn't work in Your nursery? I'd love your comments!