If you only buy one piece of furniture for your nursery in addition to baby’s crib, you may want to consider making that piece a rocking chair or glider. Babies love to be rocked, and gentle rocking can often help to calm a crying baby and lull them back to sleep. Of course, you can rock baby in your arms, but on those nights when you feel like you have been up all night with baby that can be exhausting. A good chair can be an oasis of calm and coziness for both of you.
Whether the décor in your nursery is traditional or modern, there is bound to be a style of rocker or glider that appeals to you. Rocking chairs are just what you think, we have all seen them at our parents’ houses and probably our grandparents’ houses too. Gliders are a little different, they move with a front to back motion and they are designed in such a way that you should not be able to squish your toes with them accidentally.
When you go out to look for your nursery chair, because you should absolutely decide on one in person and not over the internet, take your time. You may be spending hours in this chair every day, especially in the early weeks and months after you bring baby home. Since your seat mate is going to be a baby, make sure that the chair is baby friendly. Choose a material that is easy to clean – classic wood gets high marks in this department, but some fabrics are very easy to clean and dark fabrics can hide spots well. Also, make sure that the seat is wide enough for you to hold a baby on your lap and for you to move around in. If you plan to breastfeed, it is important that you have room to move and position yourself and your baby comfortably during feedings. When you are chair shopping, bring along a good book and spend some time sitting in any chair that you are seriously considering buying. Of course, make sure that you shop alone or with a patient companion so that you can take all the time that you need to make a decision.
Photo by jdurham on morguefile.com.