Do I need a chair in the nursery?

[rainbowcakes]

Currently trying to work out what furniture I can fit in our baby's nursery and tearing my hair out!

I am planning on buying a cot bed and a chest of drawers as a changing table. There is already a wardrobe in there.

My dilemma is..... is a chair really necessary for a nursery? There is space for a small one but it is still very tight.....plus all the chairs ive looked at are quite deep & will stick out a mile into the middle of the room! Not after a nursing chair - ideally a small armchair/occasional chair.

I am planning on bottle feeding, & would ideally like to feed the baby in the nursery at night rather than in our bed, so that i dont disturb my husband (and vice versa when its his turn to feed her!) Could also go downstairs and use the sofa i suppose.

Buying a cot rather than a cot bed would free up a little bit more space, but not a lot (and to be honest i would rather have a cot bed as it will last a little while).

So should i try to fit a chair in there? Is it an essential, or is it not necessarily worth it?

Thank you for your help

I would, simply because you'll likely find yourself needing to sit down and feed/settle baby and sometimes it's easier in the nursery then taking the baby into the living room/your bedroom, especially in the night (I'm taking after baby is in cot)

Mine is a godsend....

Not having to take dd out of her room helps resettle her more quickly.

I'd go or a small but comfy one. I had a bucket type chair from ikea in our nursery and was just big enough to sit comfortably in with baby but didn't take up a huge amount of space!

Is move the wardrobe into another room if possible to fit in a good supportive chair. We had (still have) a glider chair and it was brilliant both for gliding but also because it tilted to get comfy while bf.

It can take longer than you think to feed, you’ll want to be comfy at 2am when you’re tired yourself. I think it’s easier to settle baby again if you’ve been in same room, very low light, bum change before feed if you can manage it, or half way through. You won’t need it forever but I loved mine

I bought mokee cot beds for my DTs, with the drawer underneath. Their clothes go in the drawer, and they do a changing mat which fits on top of the cot for changing, and Velcro’s to the end of the cot when not in use which could free up some space for a chair.

I’ve not got a chair in their room because it’s too small so have managed just fine without it, but if I could fit one in there I definitely would have. I live in a bungalow though, so no stairs to worry about!

I would. I put my foot down with DH and got a 2nd hand nursing chair before we had DS. DH has since admitted that it was absolutely the right thing to do.

Definitely worth having one. You don’t need an enormous nursery chair and stool or an armchair, I have a very small chair from Dunelm - just a little bedroom chair with no arms. Good for night time feeding

I love our nursery arm chair. Kids are now 2 & 3 and I still use it for stories or when they're ill.

Another one here who loves the armchair in the nursery. Always read DD her stories in it and it is very handy for when they wake up and you feel like a zombie trying to resettle them.

Ive got a rocking chair in ds and we sit in it to settle him back to sleep if hes really awake. Would def recommend.

I second moving the wardrobe out in order to get a chair in - I can't image not having a chair in there! I had an ikea plant, which I used with a cushion to rest my arm on. I rarely used the wardrobe until my baby was much older - everything was folded in the drawers which were part of the changing table.

Yes! We've just got a small armchair but it's a godsend. I've sat on it more than I've used the armchairs down stairs. I'd move the wardrobe if you can - not really essential for a baby.

I’m actually sat in DD’s right now, she’s just dropped off on my chest and I’m going to have to get up, put her in her cot and go down to tackle the washing up in a sec. But for five minutes I will sit and sniff her hair and breathe :) It is probably my favourite spot in the house now.

Thank you so much for the replies everyone! Ill definitely look to buy one.....now to find one that fits!

Unfortunately i cant move the wardrobe as it wont fit into our main bedroom (its got my clothes in, and planning to share the space with some of babys clothes/toys etc). Husband's wardrobe is in our 3rd bedroom but no space in there for mine too!!

Should i definitely get a chair with arms though? The ones without arms are much narrower and would fit into the space much more easily, but dont know if my arms would fall off from not being able to rest them on anything

I would definitely go for a chair. Do you need the chest of drawers or is it just as a changing table? We have an over cot changing table and it saves so much space!

@Littlehouseinthebigcity its a chest of drawers, planning on putting a changing mat on top. As wardrobe is going to be mainly my clothed (as cant fit a wardrobe in our main bedroom ) i will need to have a chest of drawers too.

The more i think about it, getting a cot rather than a cot bed will make much more room for a chair as i can fit them both along the same wall. Annoying as i kind of have my heart set on a cot bed....but got to go with what fits i guess!

I sacrificed a cot bed to have a chair with arms and it was the right call. Toddler is now 19 months and still easily fits in the cot, and won't grow out of it until we need it for number 2 - at which point toddler gets a small single bed.

Well, from the title, before reading the OP, I was going to recommend getting a bed as well, or instead
but, after reading the OP, I agree with everyone else - you do need a chair - the comfier the better. I would definitely go for arms.

Absolutely need a nice comfy chair with arms. One that rocks/glides preferably.

Agree that it’s nice to be able to relax in baby’s room and not traipse round the house in the middle of the night. Also good for story time/settling before bed. We used ours for about 3 years and it’s been passed on twice since and well loved/used.

You can pick them up second hand for not very much.

I have a little wicker chair with cushions which doesn't take up too much space. I think you would struggle without arms. It was a little cramped to feed in at times but still ok (I breastfed). As baby will be in the room when they're older, it will help reinforce the night time=sleeping message if you don't have to take them out of the bedroom to feed.

With regards to cot/cot bed we have a cot sized cot bed. So standard cot size but able to convert to a bed. DD is 3 and can still sleep comfortably in it even though she has a single bed now.

Yes def - we had the Ikea rocky one, miss having a chair in her room now for bedtime stories!

How soon are you looking to move dc to their own room? If they sleep well you might not need to resettle. If they sleep terribly you might find they end up in bed with you or not being moved into their own room for a while. I have a dp who claims to have difficulty sleeping, but can sleep through baby noise no problem! We have never used or needed a chair. However as you are likely to be able to pick one up cheaply, it's probably not a big deal if you don't use it.

Obviously with a baby on the way money is likely to be less free flowing, but could you get rid of the wardrobes you have and buy one of those massive floor to ceiling ones from IKEA? Could put it in your spare room and may fit all clothes?