Recommended Furniture

After a girlfriend asked me about necessary furniture for her child-to-be, I was inspired to create a chronicle list of furniture. Here it goes...

1. Rocking or gliding chair: used during pregnancy and beyond.
2. Bassinet: Safely holds baby while asleep in our room. We used a bassinet 3 - 4 months.
3. *Boppy pillow: used since birth. One of our postpartum nurses recommended the use of pillow while seated (as a cushion) and episiotomy site is still healing. The pillow also served as a prop, secure holder for naps, neck support for caregivers, etc.
4. *Sling: a must have for babies
5. Swing: we used a mechanical one until month 6 because of decreased interest. The swing outdoors is still being used!
6. Crib: Safely holds baby while resting and sleeping in child's room. We began to use around 4 months after birth. 
7. Bumpo chair
8. Jumping devise: we trusted a stand-alone device better than the "above the door" contraptions
9. Kicking Coaster 
10. Baby gate
11. Walking toy
12. Butterfly chair
13. Vehicle for children 
14. See saw
15. Play furniture: kitchen, tool set, art easle, etc.: 
16. Toddler's Recliner
17. Ottoman: contain soft corners and versatile storage
18. Toddler bed
19. Stepping Stool
20. Potty Chair

* = though technically not furniture, they securely hold children

Items that are furniture related that did not make the list, include...

1. Mobile: though they add an element to decorating, our child was not entertained by them)
2. Diaper Genie

P.S. A post later this month will focus on strollers!

What would you add or remove from the list?

Child Friendlier Shelves

It took me several months to learn that placing softer, child-friendlier items on the lower shelves benefited our family. A few examples include...

The kitchen's pantry provides endless activities for reorganizing, stacking, sliding items and more. Lighter weight items include Jello or pudding boxes; Ramen noodle packages; small soup containers; herbs or spice bottles; and other light-weight ingredients.

An antique bookshelf used to display a clock, trinkets, DVDs, pictures frames and now a more child-friendly version stores books, stuffed animals, storage containers, etc.

A third example relates to precious scrapbooks in our guest's bedroom. Instead of my primitive style of storing scrapbooks on the bottom shelves, with a bit of rearranging the more appealing books for children are located on the lower shelves. Such reorganizing helps to prevent children's exploration of delicate scrapbooks, and welcomes their curiousity towards more age-appropriate materials.


Here is a final example, with a photo. Our fireplace is not in working order so it was remodeled to store toys. 

Toy storage plus decorations for Valentine's Day!

What storage solutions do you suggest?