Changing tables

They raise the baby to a comfortable height for changing. You can place them wherever it’s convenient or have one for each floor in your home. They come with a waist belt to hold the baby in place. Railings on the sides will help to prevent a baby’s rolling over and falling out.

Babies are injured when they squirm and roll overboard, falling headfirst to the floor below. Using a restraining belt is important, but it can get in the way of diapering. Open shelves underneath may be an invitation to toddlers to pull things out onto the floor.

Nursery chest toppers

The chest can coordinate with your other baby furniture, and it will adapt for use during childhood.

There have been stability problems with the fold-out changer frames that can cause the chest to topple forward. Most chest models don’t have a protective railing in the front to prevent a baby from falling.

Screw-on changing pads

They present an inexpensive option for adapting any chest for a diaper changing “station.”

They’re only safe if they are screwed down on the chest. Seat belts are often flimsy and difficult to thread. Even though they often have an indented channel in the center to hold the baby, none feature side rails like standard diaper-changing tables, which help to prevent accidents from falling off.

Play-yard diapering adapters

Diaper-changing platforms fit on top of the railings of standard-sized cribs. Some play yards come with a small diaper-changing accessory that fits over the top bars of the yard. Both are less expensive than buying a separate changing table, and both offer cushioned pads and seat belt options.

The crib shelf may be too high to be comfortable, and an unrestrained baby can easily roll out, which could lead to injury. The attachment has to be removed each time you put the baby to bed. Portable play-yard changers are very small and low, so they will only be useful for a short while and could lead to a backache. Rollouts are a dangerous possibility for an unrestrained baby.

Changing pads

They’re inexpensive, lightweight, and easy to fold for carrying in a diaper bag, backpack, or briefcase.

They don’t offer a restraining belt or side restraints to keep the baby in place. The safest place to use them is on a floor or in the center of a large bed, which means bending over or squatting a lot.

CRIBS

During the first two years of life, your baby will be spending more time sleeping than being awake. And, most babies spend the majority of their sleeping careers in full-sized cribs. However, in the early days after you bring your baby home, you’ll probably want to have your baby near you to keep an eye on her and make all of the midnight feedings and diaper changes more convenient (see in this chapter).

It goes without saying that fullsized cribs, the rectangular baby beds with bars on the side, can be found in virtually every baby store. You can buy a crib for your baby, or you can buy a whole bedroom suite that includes an armoire and a chest with a diaper-changing platform on top. Note that crib mattresses (see in this chapter) are sold as separate items.

The quality and prices of cribs range from less than $100 for a painted, flimsy, wooden model with uneven, and sometimes rough, finishing, to up to $1,000 or more, for an heirloom-quality crib that is actually a fine piece of furniture— huge, finely finished, and fit for a princess (or prince).

 

“Night-lights in the nursery, along the hall, and in the bathroom will let you doze through your middle-of-the night baby duties without having to completely wake up. P.S. Never wake a sleeping baby to change a diaper that’s just wet.”

Crib safety

All new cribs are subject to strict federal regulations and mandates that apply to the crib’s interior dimensions, bar spacing, and safety of components. Bars must be spaced no more than 23/8 inches apart so babies can’t slide out or get their heads stuck between them. The interior dimensions of cribs must be uniform so that there is no gap between the mattress and sides that could capture a baby’s head.

   WARNING! Old Baby Beds Can Kill!

Nearly 100 babies a year die when using old cribs, heirloom cradles, and bassinets. Rickety beds with weakened screw holes and broken hardware fall apart, entrapping heads and causing strangulation. Loosened or widely spaced bars allow a baby’s body to squeeze through, leaving the head behind to strangle. Babies can be poisoned by varnish or paint that contains lead when they gnaw on wooden sides. Poorly fitting or mushy mattresses can lead to suffocation. Protruding carved areas on end boards can strangle a baby if clothing gets caught or a small head becomes trapped.