If you are expecting a little bundle of joy to enter your life soon, or if you are simply looking to revamp your nursery area, you might be wondering about what furniture you need to include. There are a few items that you will obviously want to have in your nursery, like a crib and a dresser, but what about a daybed?
A daybed is a piece of furniture that is essentially what would result if a sofa and a single bed had a baby. Most people do not consider a daybed to be an essential for the nursery, but it does allow a good place for multiple people to sit, and can be a comfortable place for the mother to nurse.
Daybeds are usually a piece of furniture you would have in a guest bedroom, which will allow people to sit somewhere other than the actual bed. If you fancy the idea of a daybed in your nursery, and provided you have enough space, you might consider adding one to your home. If nothing else, an added place to sit should be a nice bonus.
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Is a Daybed Good for a Nursery?
For all the copious amounts of parenting books available in the world today, you would be hard pressed to find anything that warns parents against the use of a daybed in the nursery. If you need the reminder, it is worth mentioning that your own desires and parental instincts should be taken into account in everything you do as a mom or dad.
If your nursery is large enough to fit a daybed, it might be a nice addition to your home. A daybed is, like a sofa bed, a twin mattress with a frame surrounding three sides. They are infinitely useful to have in a home, as they are like the futon’s classy cousin. Being a sofa, a spare mattress, and a loveseat all in one, a daybed will come in handy.
Having a daybed in your nursery could be the saving grace for parents of newborns. When your baby first arrives earthside, they need to be fed and changed and comforted pretty much every hour. Unfortunately, this will inevitably result in little to no sleep for at least one and most likely both parents.
In the first few months of a newborn’s life, doctors and wizened mothers will encourage you to “sleep when the baby sleeps.” A daybed in the nursery is the perfect place for an afternoon nap as your baby sleeps in their crib. Then, when they wake up hungry, mom or dad can feed them quickly, put them back down, and resume the nap on the daybed.
Uses For a Daybed in a Nursery
There are plenty of ways a daybed in your nursery can come in handy. In addition to being a place where you can sit and feed your child, it is also a great place for people to come in and sit as they visit the baby. Grandma and Grandpa and other older family members will surely appreciate a nice, soft place to sit as they meet the new baby.
Daybeds can also come in handy when you have family come and stay with you. Even if you have a guest bedroom and plenty of access to guest beds and blow-up mattresses, an extra place where someone can sleep when they come to visit is never going to be a bad thing. Daybeds can also double as:
- A place to fold laundry as you keep an eye on your baby
- A place for you to sit as the baby gets used to not sleeping in/near your bed
- A soft seat for you to play with and read to your baby
It is also easy to style a daybed. As daybeds typically come with just the frame, you can spend as much or as little as you want for a mattress or decorations for it. Most people end up with a lot of cute throw pillows for their daybed, and a thin mattress should be an easy expense for your nursery budget.
It is worth mentioning that many parents today are doing away with what is considered “the norm” when it comes to how the previous generation raised their children. A daybed is not necessarily a major essential when it comes to nursery furniture, but it is a cute addition to any home, and will certainly come in handy one way or another.
What Furniture Should be in a Nursery?
There is typically not one right answer to what you should include in your child’s nursery. If you are on your second or third child, you may know what nursery furniture gets used a lot and which nursery pieces end up just taking a lot of space. That being said, there are a few pieces of furniture that most parents consider essential to their nursery.
If nothing else, consider the needs of your newborn child and go from there. For example, babies will need somewhere to sleep. Now, most parents go with the crib route, but there is no book that states that you should choose a crib for your baby as opposed to a snuggle nest or bassinet. Go with what works for you and your family.
There is also a sort of debate within the parent community if you need a changing table and diaper pail, or if a dresser and garbage bag will be a better setup. In all honesty, both nursery arrangements have their pros and cons, and the most important part is that the end result is always that the baby has a safe place to be changed.
| Changing Table | Dresser Top |
| Has a specific purpose and is designed for changing diapers | Is a two in one feature that provides a place to change and will store whatever |
| Looks nicer than a dresser top addition | Takes up less space in the nursery |
| Costs more money as you will need both a dresser and a changing table | It can be difficult to find a dresser top addition that will not slide or move |
| You might want the extra space to store clothes away from diapers and wipes | In case of a blowout, extra clothes are right next to the diapers and wipes |
Most parents will advocate for a rocking chair, swivel chair, or some other place they can sit while feeding their baby. It is a general consensus that as a new parent, you will want a place to sit, recline, and put your feet up as you feed your baby. You might consider a traditional rocking chair, or maybe you will choose a daybed for feeding.
Final Thoughts
Few nursery must-have lists include a daybed, but that should not mean you do not need one. In a world where so much information surrounding parenthood and newborn babies seems to directly contradict the next person’s opinion, some parents forget that their own opinion and intuition should be considered when making a decision.
If you think a daybed is a waste of precious nursery space, do not waste another thought on the subject. If you are undecided, search your local Goodwill, Salvation Army, or even an online database for a gently used one, fix it up and see if you like it. If you end up loving it, you can invest more time and money into buying a new one.