In the weeks before our daughter turned up, I threw myself into the nursery. We painted it a soft green, hung a little felt mobile, laid down a rug that cost more than I’d admit to my mother and lined a shelf with board books she wouldn’t be able to hold for months. Funny thing is, she barely slept in there for the first half of the year. She was in a bassinet next to our bed, a couple of feet from my side, and the nursery mostly got used for nappy changes.
Turns out that’s exactly how it’s meant to go. Most of what follows comes from Whānau Āwhina Plunket’s safe sleep pages (which I read far too many times at 3am), mixed in with what we figured out ourselves, room by room.
The short version
If you only remember one thing, Plunket’s guidance boils down to your baby having their own flat, firm sleep space, every single sleep. They describe it as face up, face clear, so baby goes down on their back each time with nothing near their face, no toys, pillows or loose blankets. The bed itself should be flat and firm with firm sides, like a bassinet, a cot, a wahakura or a pēpi-pod. The house and the car should be free of smoke, vapes, alcohol and drugs around baby. Plunket also recommends having your baby sleep in the same room as you (or whoever’s looking after them) at night for the first six months, which is why our nursery sat there looking pretty and mostly empty.
Our bedroom
Because of that six-month thing, our room became the main sleep spot, and a bassinet right beside the bed seems to be what most Kiwi parents I know ended up doing too. Night feeds were so much easier when I could just roll over, and she still had her own space rather than being in with us. When we were choosing one, I went by Plunket’s checklist, which is a firm, flat mattress no thicker than 40 mm, sitting flush against every side so there are no gaps, firm sides, and nothing like loose straps, ribbons or cords on the frame. We also had to shuffle the furniture a bit so the bassinet wasn’t near the curtains, the heater or a power point. Plunket says blind and curtain cords should be wound round a cleat on the wall at least 1.6 m up, which we didn’t bother with until she started grabbing at everything, and then had to do in a hurry.
The lounge
Newborns nap constantly, and I got sick of tiptoeing down the hall every time she dropped off. That’s really where a bassinet on wheels paid for itself, since we could roll it out to the lounge and she’d snooze while I folded washing or watched something with the sound low. What Plunket is pretty firm about is not letting babies sleep on a couch, beanbag, adult pillow or folded duvet, because soft surfaces mean a baby can slip into a gap or end up with their face covered. I’ll admit it’s hard when they finally conk out on your chest after an hour of rocking, but moving them gently into their own bed is the safe call.
Keeping her warm in a cold old house
Our place is a draughty 1920s villa, and that first winter my instinct was to bury her in blankets. Plunket says no to that, and suggests extra layers of clothing rather than extra bedding, so baby can wriggle about without anything creeping up over their face. They reckon the room should be warm but not hot, around what feels comfortable for an adult in light clothes, and that a thermostat-controlled electric heater is a better bet than a fan heater or a gas one. The check I ended up doing every night was two fingers on the top of her back. Hot or sticky meant one layer off. When we did use a blanket, it was a thin one tucked in firmly.
The nursery, eventually
Our nursery finally came into its own once she moved into a cot. Plunket says it’s time to make that switch when baby can push up or roll over, and cots sold here have to meet the AS/NZS 2172 safety standard, so there should be a sticker on it. Before that day came we did a slow lap of the room looking for hazards, and ended up bolting the bookshelf to the wall, putting covers on the sockets, moving the mobile well away from where the cot would sit, and shifting the nappy cream and Pamol up onto a high shelf.
The bassinet we went with
For a single-storey house like ours, I’d really recommend something portable. Not having to pick up a sleeping baby just to move rooms sounds trivial, and it absolutely isn’t. If you want an example, the NV Kids portable baby bassinet has a universal wheel so you can roll it about, six height settings so it can sit level with your bed, and an iron pipe frame, and it’s $170. Whichever one you choose, hold the mattress up against Plunket’s guidance and follow the maker’s instructions. NV Kids is an Auckland baby stroller shop in NZ that sells bassinets and portable baby beds as well, and they deliver free around Auckland.
Hand-me-downs
Our cot came from a cousin, and plenty of people save heaps with second-hand gear. We went over it carefully for cracked or missing bits and loose screws, and checked the mattress still fitted snugly. What you shouldn’t do is add a second mattress or extra padding to make it feel softer. If you’re not sure, your Plunket nurse or midwife is happy to have a look.
When you need help
If getting hold of a safe baby bed is tricky, talk to your midwife, GP or Plunket nurse, because they may be able to help you find one. And PlunketLine is free on 0800 933 922 for questions about sleep and settling, which I rang more than once.
Everyone you meet will have an opinion about baby sleep. Some of it is brilliant and some of it is, well, from 1985. On her back, in her own flat bed, face clear, smokefree and close by at night is what really counts. The green paint, it turns out, was optional.
