re: Paint for crib / nursery furniture

My wife paints kitchen cabinets on the side. She uses a Shellac based primer and then Emerald Urethane enamel paint from Sherwin Williams on top of that. Gives a really durable finish that is smooth like you are wanting. She's painted maybe a half dozen kitchens for friends, and all have held up very well, especially considering most have young kids. The Shellac sprays very well in the smaller of her two sprayer attachments on the HVLP Sprayer. She uses Flotrol or something similar for the paint, just measure according to the directions. Works better than thinning with water. Sand it with a power sander to remove the top finish on the stain, then spray the primer, careful not to get it too thick. One thin coat going one direction, then by the time you're finished, start back spraying the other direction where you started and the two thin coats will cover it well. It dries to a pretty hard finish, sealing in the wood. The Urethane enamel also takes a couple of days to cure, and I think it says up to 14 days for final cure. Knock it out one weekend and leave it alone then move it into the room and you'll be good to go.