You bring your newly born baby home to your carefully prepared nursery. But, when you sit down to feed your baby in the rocker, you realize that you have to get up to find a soft cloth with which to wipe your baby’s face.

As a new parent, it’s hard to anticipate the needs you’ll have in the baby’s nursery! We’re here to help. At Lambs & Ivy, we know exactly which stations you should set up in your nursery so that things can run a bit more smoothly. These are the stations you need to make caring for your baby much easier:

Changing Station

Whether you opt for a changing table or simply change diapers on the floor, you need a command station so that everything is in one place. There’s nothing worse than trying to find supplies while also managing a half-naked crying baby. So, you need to make sure that everything is within reach of your diaper changing area. What should you include in this station?

• Diapers
• Diaper creams
• Wipes
• Clean clothes
• A towel
• Spit up cloths or cloth diapers
• Trash can and/or diaper pail
• Hamper
• A toy 

Most diaper changes are uneventful and routine. However, do keep in mind that the occasional blowout diaper can be difficult to manage. Other times, you open up your baby boy’s diaper and get sprayed in the face with pee. During these more difficult changes, your changing station will be a lifesaver. It’s during these changes that you might need a towel or large cloth diaper on hand so that you can wrap it around your baby and just take her to the bathroom for a bath.

Organize your station however you’d like! Most changing tables come with drawers or shelves that you can use to organize the items. However, depending on where you do changes, you can also store items in baskets or use a hanging diaper stacker. The most important part is that all items are within easy reach. A wriggling baby can be hard to hold on to, even if you buckle them to the table. So, you won’t be able to leave your baby for even a few seconds while changing them. That’s why it’s essential to have a well-organized and easily accessible diaper changing stations.  

Your changing station will be your main go-to for changing baby. However, you may also want to set up another, secondary changing station elsewhere in the house. For example, if you have a two story house, you could set up a station on the main floor. That way, you don’t have to take baby upstairs if they’re just wet. In a basket, keep a few diapers, wipes, a toy, an extra onesie and pair of pants. That’s all you need to keep the baby fresh until you can go upstairs again.

Feeding Station

While your kitchen may be the command center for preparing formula for your baby, whether you breastfeed or formula feed, you’ll need a few things handy in the nursery during feedings. In this station, make sure you have:

• Spit up cloths or cloth diapers
• Nipple cream if you breastfeed
• A book to read if baby falls asleep while nursing
• A nightlight for night feedings
• A bottle of water
• A snack 

These are the basic necessities for nursing or feeding your baby. With these items in hand, you won’t feel stuck or have to disturb your baby to grab what you need. You may be surprised to see water and a snack on the list. This is because as a nursing mother, you can feel famished from one moment to another. When a baby is nursing, their mother needs lots of extra fluids. Especially in the first few months, you’ll need to have a bottle of water handy pretty much at any time. Night feedings can make you feel even more thirsty. So, a bottle of water is essential for a feeding station.

As with a changing station, you may want to also create another small feeding station for your living room or somewhere else in your home. That way, you can always sit down to feed your baby knowing you have everything you need.

Night Time Routine Station 

Another time you’ll need things to be quickly accessible is at bedtime. During the routine, your baby might become fussy or quickly demand a comfort item such as music, a book, or a bottle. To avoid dashing about and upsetting your baby further, put together a night time routine station with all of the things you’ll need for a successful bedtime:

• Bedtime books
• Lotion
• Night light or lamp
• Spit up cloth or cloth diaper
• Music
• Baby monitor

Many parents find it helpful to prepare their baby for bed with a routine. Eventually, the routine offers the baby predictability and makes falling asleep much easier. You might start with a bath and then relax your baby with a massage using lotion. Use a night light or a nursery lamp to dim the lights in the nursery. Then, you might read your baby a bedtime story and even put some calming music on in the background. Finally, when you put your baby in the crib, you’ll want to be able to quickly set up the baby monitor or make sure it’s ready to go.

For this station, you might use a basket on your baby’s dresser or simply keep the items within easy reach on shelves around your baby’s nursery. As long as you know where everything is, you’ll be able to make it through the night time routine smoothly.

Once you’ve set up these stations, check them every few days to make sure they’re stocked, clean, and ready to go. That way, you’ll never get caught unexpectedly without an important supply or item when you need it.

With these carefully prepared stations, you’ll find caring for your baby is much easier. Do you have any different must-need items in your nursery’s stations? Tell us about them!