Preparing baby's space, without the overwhelm

Setting up your baby’s space is one of the more exciting parts of getting ready — and one of the easiest to overthink. Walk into any baby store (or scroll any registry) and it’s easy to believe you need a roomful of gear before your baby arrives. You really don’t. Newborns need surprisingly little at first: a safe place to sleep, somewhere to be changed, something to be fed with, and a few clothes. Start there, and add the rest as you go.

The one part worth getting right from the start is safe sleep, because it’s about more than comfort. Red Nose Australia recommends your baby sleeps on their back, on a firm, flat mattress, in a cot that meets the current Australian safety standard (AS/NZS 2172). Keep the sleep space clear — no pillows, doonas, cot bumpers, soft toys or loose bedding, which can cover a baby’s face or cause overheating. A safe infant sleeping bag does the job of blankets without the risk. If you’re using a second-hand or hand-me-down cot, check that it meets the current standard, isn’t a drop-side design, has no broken or missing parts, and pair it with a firm, well-fitting mattress.

Here’s the part that takes the pressure off: Red Nose recommends your baby sleeps in your room, in their own cot or bassinet, for the first 6 to 12 months. That means a fully finished nursery isn’t something you need ready for day one — many families use a bassinet beside the bed for the early months and set the nursery up properly later. So if the room isn’t painted and perfect by the time you give birth, nothing is wrong.

When you do set the space up, it helps to think in simple zones rather than a shopping list. A sleep zone (cot, mattress, sleeping bags, a couple of fitted sheets). A change zone — a change table or just a waterproof mat on a low chest of drawers, with nappies, wipes and a change of clothes within arm’s reach (never leave a baby unattended up high). A feeding spot — a comfortable chair you can sink into at 3am, whether you’re breast or bottle feeding. And storage for the mountain of small clothes and muslins you’ll accumulate. Blockout curtains and a dim nightlight are genuinely useful; most of the rest is optional.

It’s worth knowing what you can comfortably skip or buy later, because it saves money and space. Newborns grow out of 0000 and 000 sizes fast, so you only need a handful to start. You don’t need a change table, a nappy bin, a wipe warmer, shoes, or a wardrobe of newborn outfits. Bigger items like a high chair, jolly jumper or cot-to-bed conversion are months away — there’s no rush.

A few sensible basics to have ready before baby comes: somewhere safe to sleep, around 6 to 8 onesies and singlets, wraps or sleeping bags, plenty of nappies, muslin cloths, a few towels, and your feeding gear. If you’re using a car to bring your baby home, an approved, correctly fitted car seat is the one non-negotiable — it’s worth having installed and checked in advance.

A few details make the sleep space both safer and calmer. Keep the room at a comfortable temperature — Red Nose suggests dressing your baby for the room rather than overheating them, and a rough guide is what you’d be comfortable sleeping in yourself. Position the cot away from windows, blind and curtain cords, heaters, and anything hanging that little hands could one day reach. A baby monitor can be reassuring if the nursery is away from your room, though it’s no substitute for room-sharing in the early months, and no monitor replaces the safe-sleep basics.

If you like a checklist, a realistic “ready before baby” list looks like this: a safe cot or bassinet with a firm mattress and a couple of fitted sheets; a few safe sleeping bags or wraps; around six to eight onesies and singlets; plenty of nappies and wipes; muslin cloths; a few bath towels; your feeding gear; and an approved, fitted car seat. That’s genuinely most of it. The decor, the matching furniture and the gadgets can all come later — or not at all.

The “nesting” urge — that sudden drive to clean, sort and organise — often kicks in later in pregnancy, so don’t feel everything has to be done at once early on. Take your time, do it in stages, and lean on second-hand and borrowed gear where you can; babies don’t care whether things are new. The goal isn’t a magazine-perfect nursery. It’s a safe, calm space for your baby — and that’s a much smaller, kinder list than the internet would have you believe.