New Born Bedding....Confusing!!

[FirstTimeMum1]

Hi there :)

I'm currently pregnant with my first child and it's due in 4 weeks, everything is prepared and bought for except for bedding for the cot/moses basket.

Having read different advice over sheets, blankets and sleeping bags I am fully confused for what is best! I'm not able to attend ante-natel classes due to being a university student and constantly busy with lectures and assignments trying to prepare to get ahead and i don't know many people that have had children to ask advice so please help if you can!

any advice would be really helpful

thanks!!

when they are really tiny the sleeping bags are a bit big. Best to go with a sheet and cellular (one with holes in) blanket that you can layer up as needed. They really can't move much at first so long as you put them down on their back with their feet at the end of the moses basket so they can't slip down under the blanket they'll be fine. The sleeping bags are good for when they get a little bigger. Moses baskets often come with little quilt things but the advice is generally not to use them. Baby's room should be 18-20 degrees apparently but really just a couple of fingers on the back of the neck to see if they are at a reasonable body temp is fine. Don;t panic about all this. It really is mostly about common sense and trusting your instincts.

thanks that's really helpful :)

Another good tip is to fold a muslin in half and put under baby's head (on top of fitted sheet and well tucked in down the sides of the mattress). This means that if he or she is a little sick, you can whip of the muslin and replace it with a clean one without having to change the bottom sheet every time!

I swaddled DS for the first few months as he would fling his arms up and wake himself regularly otherwise. You can get swaddling cloths from tesco, mothercare etc. I now use sleeping bags plus one layer if it is cold (he has vest plus sleepsuit under this). I think sleeping bags are safer as he can't slide down and cover his head or kick the blanket off and get cold. There are different tog ratings (1.0 for summer, 2.5 for winter) and I would get a thermometer to use as a guide to whether your baby needs more or fewer layers (you can get simple ones that just do room or water temp or fancy ones which you can use as a baby thermometer too). You don't have to go mad and buy a lot at once. You can also use pillow cases instead of sheets in a Moses basket! Hope that helps and don't forget to take it easy!

thanks they're really good bits of advice!

I love the sleeping bags - DD went into them after a couple of weeks.

I would buy fitted bottom sheets and grobags only. People often give baby blankets as presents, so unless you see something that you love, I wouldn't bother with those etlher.

IIRC the guide with sleeping bags is that you shouldn't use them if the baby's head will fit through the neck hole with all the poppers done up - which meant they were fine from birth for DD1 as she was 9lb 12.

You can often get them from NCT Nearly New Sales for 1/4 - 1/3rd of their new price - even if there's not one before your LO arrives they're worth a visit (just don't try and take a pushchair as they're often pretty crowded - slings are fab :))

Also, the flannelette flat sheets from John Lewis are lovely for swaddling. DS and DD were swaddled until they grew to big for their Moses Basket (around 6 weeks). They then had to move upstairs (we are three storey's) to where the cot was ("gulp") and were in grobags from then on so no worry about them fighting free and getting tangled in the sheets!! Grobags are fantastic!

Thanks everyone :)

Oh fab topic FirstTimeMum1! I too am stressing about this & I'm only 20 weeks

Thank you to everyone who's offered advice, I bought a sleeping bag for my LO the other day but was worrying about the first few weeks! Baby will be born June / July so it will be quite warm!

Wii - I had DS in July and we just used a cellular blanket folded in half, and he wore a short-sleeved body suit and then a babygro.

I would recommend getting a couple of small cellular blankets. They are really useful and because they are cotton you can just bung them in the wash.

Sorry to highjack a bit, - baby due anytime (41+1!) and would like to swaddle to start with (if baby agrees!) Have lovely swaddle cloth, but just wondering what they wear underneath? Do they just have a vest? a vest and sleepsuit? and do you put any blankets over the top of the swaddle?!

Great thread Firsttimemum - tis a very confusing area!

Thanks in advance!

Thanks Alibabeandthe40nappies! :)

Damn it, can't spell or read today! Alibaba...

Ba8y1 I usually put the baby in a long sleeve sleepsuit or vest under her swaddle. Long sleeves are important if their little arms come out of the swaddle for whatever reason overnight and they get cold.
You may need more than one swaddling cloth as sometimes they get dribbled on or weed on, and having a spare one allows you to get the soiled one washed and dried without stress.

We use really large soft muslins for Summer swaddling and stretchy merino wool for cooler nights.