Create a soothing nursery

Your baby’s room is their sanctuary from the hustle of a busy home and world beyond. The importance of making this a calming space is emphasised in the book Baby Sense by occupational therapist Megan Faure and specialist nursing sister Ann Richardson. 

The authors state that in order to establish good sleeping habits from the outset, it is vital in the early months to provide the best environment possible for your baby to be able to sleep peacefully for long stretches. 

‘Regardless of where your baby sleeps, the space must be conducive to calmness and sleep,’ say Faure and Richardson. Assuming your baby will sleep in their nursery at some point – if not from the start – it is a good idea to make this room as soothing as possible. Here are a few tips for a soothing space.

Colour me calm

The colour of the walls and décor items will set the tone for the room. To create a calming space, it is vital to choose calming colours. Blue creates a soothing, tranquil ambience, but muted tones of other colours can also achieve this effect. Faure and Richardson suggest waiting until your baby is six months old before introducing busy patterns and bright colours to the room.

Window dressing

Avoid the dreaded daybreak wakeup call from your baby by making sure that all natural light is blocked from the room while they are sleeping. This can be achieved with curtains or blinds that are fitted with block-out lining. Take care to ensure that there are no cracks in the curtains or blinds that allow sunlight in, as even a small shaft of bright light can disrupt your baby’s sleep.

A dark room will also facilitate daytime sleeps, which your little one will need in the first few years of their life.

Sitting pretty

Your baby is probably not the only one who will be spending time in the nursery at night, if you are breastfeeding, or if your baby wakes regularly, you are likely to spend a fair amount of time in there too. A comfy chair in which to feed or soothe your little one is an absolute must. 

While rocking chairs are a popular choice, sleep experts generally caution against using them to rock your baby to sleep, as babies can quickly become dependent on the rocking motion to nod off instead of learning how to fall asleep on their own. If possible, put your baby in their cot while drowsy but not yet asleep, so that they learn how to make the transition from awake to asleep on their own.

Night lighting

Faure and Richardson recommend using a light with a dimmer for nighttime feeds. Failing this, a night-light or table lamp will also work to provide sufficient light to feed and change your baby without stimulating them into a wakeful state. The idea is to keep the room as dark and quiet as possible so that they drift straight back off to sleep after feeding.

Bach for babies?

Soothing music can go a long way to calm a fractious baby, so consider playing a suitable CD at sleep time to lull your baby into a blissful sleep. There are a variety of options available, from CDs offering soothing sounds of nature or classical music for babies, to devices that provide white noise. Background music or noise will also help to drown out any sharp noises in the house that might otherwise wake them.