5 Honey-dos for the nursery

While I was busy gestating my first baby, my husband was desperately seeking ways to be involved and contribute. Unfortunately, he could eat all the folic acid he wanted, and it wouldn’t help the fetus develop any better.

photo: Jason Hudson on flickr

Here are some minor home-improvement projects with which a helpful partner or grandparent-to-be can busy themselves.

1. Install a dimmer on nursery light – I appreciate this feature every day. When you need to convince your baby that 2 am is “sleepy time”, your argument will be more compelling if the room is not blaring with light.  My kids are big now, 3 and 5, and they still sleep with the light on “orange” which means just a tiny bit on.
2. Paint the room with low-VOC paint – Whether your fantasy nursery is pastel or electric green, choose a paint that puts off less toxic fumes. (For more tips on reducing toxic junk in your house before baby arrives, visit the blog produced by Healthy Child Healthy World >)
3. Turn down the water heater – Ensure that scalding water will not come out of the bathtub by preventing the temperature from ever reaching a dangerous level. There is a dial on the water heater that indicates how hot the water is allowed to get. Set it to 120 degrees.
4. Hang black out shades – There are cheap, temporary ones called Redi Shades (a 6-pack for like forty bucks) that you can simply attach under or over your existing window coverings. Or line your existing curtains with an extra layer of black-out fabric.
5. Tone down your door bell – Mine sounds like a telephone from the 1960s. Not good for napping babies or mommies. Honey, if you’re reading this, I’d like a soft and gentle doorbell before Halloween.