...Modern baby furniture is manufactured to exacting standards—if from a reputable maker. The infant crib you may have picked up at a garage sale for pocket change may or may not be safe; the cradle inherited made by Great Grandfather may actually meet a higher standard. On the market are choices made from all-natural materials, no synthetics. Protecting your newborn is your first and best instinct, but another human quality comes into play when choosing items. With a limited budget in particular, the temptation when choosing nursery furniture for your baby is to pick up pieces that are charming, cute and the most inexpensive. Price should not be the top criteria; safety is paramount. Choose the best designed and built crib that you can. Pieces that are farther from Baby, while important, are obviously less critical due to distance. Safe baby furniture, modern, traditional, ornate or simple, makes the newcomer’s bedroom the safe haven of rest, sleep, and growth. Basic components may be solid hardwoods, organic dyes and fabrics, modern synthetics, or a combination. You may wish to add a lift wedge to your son or daughter’s crib or simply have him or her sleep lying flat. A safe baby is a loved baby; the reverse might not be the case unless you apply discretion and thought to what furniture you choose. A tiny one’s head might slip between slats in a crib; a bassinet or cradle might be a better choice initially for the very small baby. Also, falling from a crib is possible if the side is not raised completely and properly latched. This is one area in assembling an out-of-box crib that deserves special attention. Even if a baby does not fall off the crib itself, an unsecured rail could fall on a limb or even head. Again, choose the baby nursery furniture wisely, assemble it correctly, and use it safely. Do not compromise on safety, even if it means using patience and closer scrutiny of where you can cut costs. Educated yourself on the safety issues involved with baby nursery furniture. Baby cot, crib with or without a lift wedge, bassinet or cradle, do surround your infant with the safest you can provide. And don’t forget that what you place into that safe baby crib may add or subtract from the safety score.