Setting Up a Nursery on a Realistic Budget

A safe cot, a firm well-fitting mattress and a car seat are the three places not to economise. These are the items where a poor choice carries real risk rather than mild inconvenience.

Everything else in a nursery is negotiable.

Coordinated nursery furniture sets carry a large markup for a look your baby will not notice. A plain chest of drawers with a changing mat on top does the same job as a dedicated changing table, and still has a use in five years.

Buy furniture you would keep anyway, in a room the child will grow into.

Moses baskets, bassinets, newborn-size clothes and bouncers are outgrown in months. These are the ideal things to borrow from family or buy second-hand, provided you check them properly.

The exceptions are car seats and mattresses — buy those new.

The thing you will actually want at 2 a.m. is knowing where the clean sleepsuits are. Simple baskets, labelled drawers and a well-stocked changing station will improve your life more than a feature wall.

Set up one changing point properly rather than three partial ones.

A dimmable lamp or a low night light makes night feeds far less disruptive than a ceiling light. Blackout curtains are one of the highest-value purchases for daytime naps and long summer evenings.

Both are inexpensive and both get used every single day.