Our Guide for Buying Nursery Furniture

I think the hardest part for any new expecting couple/parent is picking the furniture for a Nursery. Alex and I had started planning and researching since the early stages of our pregnancy and right off the bat we were overwhelmed with all the choices, packages and prices. We had so many decisions that had to be made in order to narrow down the selection that it ultimately took us a good two or three months to figure out what we wanted. Though we are newbies to the parent scene, we understand that our little guy will spend most of his time in the Nursery making it crucial that the space be safe, and because we will be spending a lot of time there as well we personally want to make the room attractive, comfortable and organized.
    

The Crib

From our understanding, our little guy will sleep in a crib until he is ready to move into a real bed (typically between the ages of 2 and 3) so we wanted to choose a sturdy crib that we will be happy with for at least two years. With some research on safety standards we found out that many new cribs have up-to-date safety standards which lead us to our decision of buying new rather than used. For example, starting in mid-2011 drop-side cribs were banned for sale as children can get wedged between the side and the mattress. While several organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics also warn parents that crib bumpers raise the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) we went ahead and got a bedding set that included these. We hope that nothing will happen but have decided to keep an eye on Nicholas and if he happens to tug and pull at the bumper than we will definitely remove them.
  

Bottom line: From our findings you can find yourself spending between $100-$500 for a safe, well made crib. Spending more usually buys you higher-quality and more modern or intricate designs.
 

The Crib Mattress

While I prefer my squishy pillows and soft bed, babies however sleep soundly and safely with firm support. Choosing the mattress was based around cost, comfort and sturdiness as our little one will sleep in his crib for up to three years. We knew that it was important to buy a mattress specially made for babies as many child and adult mattresses tend to be on the soft side. We also had to make sure that the mattress will fit our crib, leaving no spaces around the edge. It's said that if you can fit two fingers between the mattress and the crib than that's enough space for a baby to get stuck and you ultimately want to avoid this. There are three types of mattress available: a foam mattress, innerspring mattress and an organic mattress. We personally liked the foam mattress because they are available in a variety of thicknesses (keeping in mind that the most important factor is the density rather than thickness) as well as lightweight when compared to innerspring mattresses, making it easier to change a soiled sheet at 3 a.m. A foam mattress is also less expensive and that was another factor into our decision of what mattress to buy.
 

Bottom line: From our findings you can find yourself spending between $40-$100 dollars for a foam mattress, up to $250 for a innerspring mattress and anywhere between $150 and $500 for an organic mattress. It's all based on personal preference really.
  

The Changing Table & Pad

By the time our guy turns one, we will have changed more than 2,400 diapers! So picking a comfortable place for this is important. Some parents simply lay out a waterproof pad or towel and change their babies on the floor or on a bed while others use a play yard since many models now come with a bassinet and changing table. While we will more than likely use either of these methods down the road we decided that we wanted to have a designated spot for changing diapers in the Nursery. We knew that a changing table would be used for a couple years but we didn't like the idea of having to get rid of it down the road. I thought about the possibility of putting it to use in some other fashion but we ended up deciding on buying a 3-drawer dresser that can fit a changing pad on top. Though many baby-experts preach that a guardrail of at least 2-inches tall on all four sides of the changing area is essential for safety reasons we personally felt that we can do without them and opted for a more study piece of furniture that can be used as a dresser down the road. We also bought a changing pad that has safety straps which is recommended since it only take one second for a baby to flip off the table.
  
Bottom line: From our findings you can find yourself spending between $75-$150 dollars for a changing table of some sort.
  

The Glider

For a long time, rocking chairs have been a staple feature within a nursery as many parents and babies find the back-and-forth motion soothing and sleep inducing. Today's more common version of rocking chair is a glider which offers more comfort as well as less of an effort to rock if you will. Gliders are also safer than rockers because they have been designed to sit flat on the floor ensuring that your litter ones fingers and toes will not get pinched. While there are many gliders that come with a matching ottoman, we decided to just get the glider and if we want an ottoman down the road to get a less matchy-matchy one to add more detail to the room.
   

Bottom line: From our findings you can find yourself spending between $175-$500 or more on a glider and possible matching ottoman. You can expect to pay more for the better quality woods and finishes as well as fabrics.

  

The Result...

With all of the information above and after months of searching for the perfect pieces to add to our Nursery we ended up finding a pretty great deal at Walmart. Not having the "dream" budget but rather a comfy one, we found a Graco Nursery Set that had everything we wanted. The added bonus was the set itself was on rollback helping us to save even more money on our overall furniture purchase. The set itself has a nice cherry finish and includes a 4-1 Convertible Crib with a Trundle Dresser for underneath storage, a 3-Drawer Dresser and a Glider for $299. At the same time we also bought a crib and changing mattress giving us a grand total of about $350.

The picture below is the advertisement of the Graco Nursery set in a Cherry finish: