Nursery Safety Tips

This month is Crib Safety Month! So in honor of that, everyone here at Milk Street wanted to share with you some facts about Nursery safety! I know as a mom I forget all the ins and outs of nursery safety. So I freshen up on it is always needed! 

Nursery Safety

Designing your nursery is an important step in preparing for your baby’s arrival. While it can be a lot of fun planning a nursery décor, and picking out crib bedding and other accessories, it is important to remember these simple guidelines in order to create a safe haven for you and your little one! 

The Crib

The crib is, potentially, one of the most dangerous parts of any home’s nursery, simply due to the fact your child spends the majority of their time here. Proper construction and placement will keep any baby safe and sound.

• Choose a crib that meets current safety standards! Here at Milk Street Baby we take pride in meeting and exceeding all safety standards. It's important to find a crib that is sturdy, made out of safe materials, passes all the testing requirements, and much more!  
• Make sure that the mattress fits snugly inside the crib. There shouldn’t be any gaps between the mattress and the inside of the crib. To ensure your baby’s safety, try this: See if you can fit two fingers in between the crib and the mattress. If you can fit both fingers, it’s not safe for the baby.
• Remember: “bare is best.” While it may be tempting to decorate the baby’s crib with cute blankets and stuffed animals, the CPSC urges that “bare is best.” Pillows, blankets, comforters and toys in the crib are a suffocation hazard and should be avoided. That doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun with crib décor. Choose your favorite baby bedding in a cute pattern and let it steal the show. 
•  Position the crib away from potential hazards. Safe and sturdy crib? Check. Now, you need to figure out where you’re going to put the crib. Avoid placing the crib near windows. Along with the risk of your baby falling out the window, the cords and blinds can be dangerous for a baby’s exploring hands. Also, be sure to keep the crib away from heaters, fireplaces, lamps and other furniture!

Secure Furniture and Shelving

Your little newborn isn’t moving around much right now. But think ahead: Toddlers love to run around and climb all over things. To keep your adventurous little tot safe in the future, be sure to secure furniture and shelves to the wall. Doing this essential task as you’re setting up nursery furniture is much easier than trying to remember to do it later.

• Dressers & Bookshelves
  
  • In addition to furniture brackets, you can reduce the risk of tip-overs by keeping heavier items on the bottom.
  • Add drawer stops so kids can’t pull them all the way out.

• Changing Tables
  
  • Keep a hand on your baby when they are on the changing table.
  • Anchor the changing table and pad to the wall to prevent it from tipping over.
  • Use the safety straps on changing pads.
  • Safely organize diaper-changing products so they’re within your reach but not your baby’s.
  • Be extra cautious to keep potentially dangerous items away from their hands and mouths, like containers with small caps, medications and ointments with chemicals.

Baby-Proof Electrical Outlets and Cords

If you’ve already baby-proofed the rest of the house—great! Now, do the same with the nursery by covering electrical outlets and keeping electrical cords safe from the baby. Again, your little one may not seem curious right now, but they’ll be crawling around before you know it.

Install a Smoke Alarm and Carbon Monoxide Detector

This is pretty basic, but something that I often tend to overlook! Place a working carbon monoxide detector and smoke alarm near the nursery. Consider upgrading to an interconnected system that alerts you to a problem no matter where it originates in the house.