How to decorate a crib for newborns with your own hands?

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Many parents, eagerly awaiting the birth of their baby, dream of surrounding him with the best, highest quality, and most interesting things, so that he does not need anything. Therefore, it is difficult to surprise anyone with their desire to make the children's room cozy, beautiful, and comfortable. If the interior of a children's room is easy to make original, then decorating a crib usually causes difficulties. Today we will learn how to decorate a crib for newborns with our own hands, because it is recommended to do this not only with all love, but also to follow certain rules.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the model?

A crib with a rocking function is a special design equipped with a rocking mechanism. The latter may have several implementation options, which affects the external aesthetics and features of using the furniture.

The presence of such furniture in a children's room greatly simplifies the life of parents. There is no need to rock the baby in your arms; instead, just put him in the crib and start the rocking mechanism. This function is very convenient, because the weight of a newborn can reach 5 kg, and if this is an insignificant burden, then the weight of a six-month-old baby already reaches 8-9 kg. Often mothers are so tired from household chores that they have no energy left to rock their baby every day. That is why children's furniture manufacturers have invented rocking cribs that transform into a regular bed.

If you decide to choose a high-quality, comfortable and at the same time beautiful children's bed, it is important to thoroughly study the features of the rocking chair models. Before purchasing, weigh the pros and cons. And to make this as simple as possible, we suggest finding out the main advantages and disadvantages of such furniture.

Among the undeniable advantages are the following:

• makes it easier to rock the baby to sleep before bed;
• promotes longer sleep for the child, since at the slightest movement the structure begins to swing spontaneously;
• long service life due to the presence of a transformation mechanism. As your baby grows, you can remove the rocking mechanism by transforming the bed into a regular model with legs;
• variety of designs, which allows you to choose a model of the current color, size, configuration;
• A wide price range of such furniture allows anyone to choose the right option for themselves.

But you shouldn’t turn a blind eye to some of the disadvantages inherent in cribs with a motion sickness mechanism for babies:

• the presence of a rocking crib can cause defects on the floor covering, for this reason such furniture should only be installed on carpet;
• during the swinging process, the structure may move around the room if the floor is slippery;
• not stable enough; strong movements of the child may cause it to tip over;
• in low-quality designs, rocking movements may be uneven;
• such structures cannot be placed next to a cabinet or chest of drawers, and they are not supplemented with shelves;
• are more expensive than regular beds for children.

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It doesn’t matter at all what option you choose to decorate children’s furniture, the main thing is that it will be safe for the child and will bring him benefit and pleasure. Playing or falling asleep in a crib with all the tenderness, love, care adorned by parents, your child on a subconscious level will feel all the most tender feelings emanating from it.

Design options

The choice of modern furniture for kids today is quite diverse. But all rocking cribs are divided into two types:

• curved arcs at the base of the crib. You can opt for a rocking bed with runners of varying degrees of curvature. If the runners are strongly rounded, then the structure will swing longer, and any movement of the child will only prolong the process. If the runners are flatter, the stability of the structure increases and the swing range decreases. And the rocking process itself will stop the minute the mother stops putting effort into it. Let us note one more drawback of such structures: they cannot have shelves or drawers for storing linen;
• pendulum - with such products only the child’s sleeping place is movable, and the crib itself stands securely on the floor on legs. In this case, the sleeping bed can move across or along the bed, and it is also possible to choose a model with a universal pendulum (the swing direction can be changed independently). A children's bed with a pendulum is often supplemented with shelves, drawers, and a changing station, which increases the ergonomics and functionality of the product.

Which of the described options is worth attention is up to parents to decide. But it is worth noting that cribs on skids are more affordable.

Pendulum

With curved arches

Existing sizes and shapes

Variation in the sizes of modern cribs with a rocking mechanism allows you to choose the most suitable type for a particular room. There are standard sizes and non-standard options.

For newborns, cribs are created with a sleeping area of ​​120x60 cm and a height of side walls ranging from 75-95 cm. Often, in such designs, you can change the position of the mattress from the bottom (at a level of 30 cm from the base) to the top (50 cm, respectively). The length of standard models is most often 120-130 cm

Foreign-made models are in most cases larger in size than domestic versions. For example, models for newborns made in Germany or Italy have dimensions of 125x65cm.

As for the shape of such furniture, rectangular designs predominate on sale, but you can also find more original-looking oval and even round cribs. The advantage of rectangular models is that they can easily fit into standard design city apartments and country houses. They can be used for a longer time, since the child, even as he grows, fits into such a bed. At the same time, a round crib with a rocking mechanism is a short-lived option. It will be relevant until the child reaches six months of age. Then the crib will need to be replaced with a larger version.

The more original the shape and decor of a baby’s bed, the higher the cost it will have. If necessary, you can make a model of a non-standard shape or size to order. The manufacturer will take into account all the client’s wishes, but you will have to pay several times more than when purchasing a standard model.

Manufacturing of parts

The binding for the backs and transverse sides is made of coniferous boards. The material itself must be processed with a plane or using a woodworking machine. In this case, the thickness will be 3.5 cm and the width 7 cm.

To make the frame, you need to take bars (section 3x5 cm) in the amount of 6 transverse and 2 longitudinal.

Using a tape measure, points are marked with equal intervals between them on long bars.

Next, using a router, hacksaw or chisel, you need to make half of the block according to the markings. The same notches are made on the cross sections, but only at the ends.

Then this frame is assembled, a drill is taken and through holes are made at the joints into which tenons must be inserted (you can use ordinary wooden wedges). In this case, for more reliable fastening, you can use glue that is applied to the joints. Don't forget to check the design with a square.

Baby bed headboard frames for newborns.

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Here you need to take 4 long bars and 4 short ones. Moreover, each of them must be the same size (110 cm and 60 cm, respectively).

• 2 pairs of structures are compiled. Those. 2 long by 2 short products (in the form of a “P”). In this case, all the bases of the bars must be in the same plane. The height to the bottom crossbar is 30-35 cm. Fastening occurs using nails or spikes;
• then take 10 bars (the length from the bottom to the top crossbar). These elements will serve as a “grid”. Markings are made along the upper and lower crossbars, 5 points for each. The bars are inserted at these points (5 for each backrest).

Using a drill, through holes are made into which the spikes are driven. The backs are ready.

Manufacturing of rods

For these purposes, slats with a cross section of 2x2 cm (oak or beech) are used. Number of products - 22 pieces (11 for each side panel).

• Using the same drill, holes are made at each of the ends of all slats. Using a tape measure, identical sections are measured on the prepared frame and also drilled;
• then 2 more beams are taken (along the length of the crib for a newborn) and holes identical to the previous ones are made in them in the same way. The ends also require notches for tenons.

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Rocking mechanisms

Cribs for rocking babies are equipped with a special mechanism - a pendulum, which allows you to swing only the place where the child sleeps. However, it is important to understand that the swing mechanism itself can also be different.

Children's beds with automatic rocking are also available for sale, which can be programmed for a certain period of operation of the rocking mechanism. Such furniture is created using innovative technologies, so it cannot be cheap. But using such a piece of furniture in a child’s room will be extremely convenient, because there is no need to be present next to the crib while the child is rocking to sleep.

It’s good if the model with a pendulum is equipped with supports on wheels. Then the crib can be easily moved from one place in the room to another.

Where to start the creation process

Everyone knows that children never sit still. Therefore, the children's room should be the safest place in the house. Those. It is necessary to exclude objects that could injure the baby (for example, a nail or an ordinary screw that is not driven in completely).

A DIY crib should be stable and safe for your baby.

Diagram of crib sizes for a newborn.

In addition, it is advisable to equip it with a removable sidewall (the so-called decorative side). This will help the child climb into his bed on his own, without the help of adults.

What is required during the construction process? This:

• electric drill and drills;
• milling cutter (can be manual);
• plane;
• rasp;
• roulette;
• square;
• hacksaw;
• pencil or marker;
• hammer;
• level;
• vayma (glue blanks);
• brush;
• screwdriver

From building materials:

• nails and screws;
• epoxy adhesive;
• furniture plugs;
• plywood sheets;
• corners for connecting crib parts;
• children's mattress;
• stain, varnish;
• edged board (4 cm) and bars (3x5 cm).

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What to consider when choosing

When choosing a rocking crib, first of all, pay attention to the safety level of a particular model. The seller must provide a quality certificate, instructions for using the product, as well as documents that confirm its safety.

The basic safety requirements for cribs of this type are as follows:

• the materials used in the manufacturing process of the structure must be approved for use by children;
• the model itself should not have sharp corners, untreated or poorly processed surfaces, chips, cracks, or abrasions. When children's hands come into contact with a poorly treated surface, they can get a splinter or a scratch;
• all connections of individual parts of the product must certainly be reliable, and also preferably hidden;
• the rocking bed should not have excessively small parts or decorative elements;
• the structure must stand securely on the floor surface. Otherwise, while playing, the child may hit the furniture and knock it over.

Remember, you should not use a crib of this type for a long time, because as the baby grows, his motor activity increases. He begins to stand up straight in bed and can tip it over. If your child is already old enough, use the latches on the legs of the product with a pendulum, and if you have a regular rocking chair, simply remove the runners.

It is also extremely important to understand how to assemble such furniture yourself if you want to save on paying for the services of a professional assembler. To do this, carefully read the instructions from the manufacturer and study the assembly diagram, which should also be present in the instructions.

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