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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

baby bedding - confused!

22 replies

megarobotdiscoparty · 13/04/2013 05:38

I'm quite sure this is simple, but then so is putting my keys away and I put them in my cup of tea instead of in my pocket the other day, so go easy on me...

So far for baby to sleep in, we have a Moses basket and stand (donated by my step-sister) and a small wooden rocking crib from my MIL, also 2nd hand (which looks beautiful and will fit by the bed). We're also buying a cot bed for the nursery, but I'm assuming we probably won't use that til baby's a few months older as he'll be sleeping in our room.

-Do we need to buy new mattresses for the Moses basket and the rocking crib?
-What other bedding do we need to buy for both? Sheets? Blankets?
-Are there any safety concerns I should be thinking about for the rocking crib? Whilst I'm pretty sure MIL wouldn't give us a death trap and DH keeps saying it should be fine, it's still pretty old school it's making me nervous - I'm not sure what to check for.

Thanks!

OP posts:

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weegiemum · 13/04/2013 05:41

I'm not sure what the current advice about mattresses is? My youngest is 9 now.

But we swaddled in a fleece blanket for a couple of months hen moved on to using a Grobag - which saves on needing blankets etc and also got a much better (warmer?) nights sleep!

Flosshilde · 13/04/2013 05:50

You definitely need new mattresses as reusing old ones is a known SIDS risk.

Having said that, I wouldn't get one for the rocking crib as I wouldn't use it. If it is old, it risks having the bars at an unsafe distance apart and containing lead paint. The baby may also be able to get caught in the rocking mechanism. If you are worried about offending MIL then it could just look pretty.

I just use fitted sheets and a muslin at the head end over the mattress, swaddle in a swaddle wrap and cellular blanket when tiny and move onto baby sleeping bags when they are big enough. I bought four of everything which is enough (apart from muslins, you can never have enough of those).

NumTumDeDum · 13/04/2013 06:55

I second that advice - fitted sheets and sleeping bags. The bags are wonderful, no risk of baby kicking covers off or worse over face. They also mean that when you've fed them in the night and put them down they aren't woken by change in temperature as they are still comfortable in their bags. If you do feel need to put a blanket over the top make sure it's under their arms and tucked in sides of crib to avoid it being kicked over the face.

doublecakeplease · 13/04/2013 06:59

We used normal pillow cases for the Moses basket and just popped the mattress inside. Cheap as chips, meant we had lots of changes etc. Also - pop a muslin under baby's head - saves changing a whole sheet if they just spit up a little bit

MortifiedAdams · 13/04/2013 07:03

How old os the crib (just to check regulations)?

New mattress for both.
Flat sheet on each or use pillowcases ovee the matress.
I used giant muslin squares to swaddle dd in, on a cold night I added a blanket over her legs.

MortifiedAdams · 13/04/2013 07:03

oops xpost

Original poster

megarobotdiscoparty · 13/04/2013 07:08

Great advice, thanks all. We do have a couple of growbag -type things we've been lent but wasn't sure if they'd be suitable for newborn as they look so big! Anyone have any recommendations on good ones to get or are they pretty generic?

Flosshilde there's no paint on the crib at all but I had been concerned about the mechanism- it's only at the ends but maybe he could reach over and through...no idea how wriggly babies can be! Maybe we'll just leave it sitting pretty in the nursery and use the Moses basket for now...

OP posts:

Original poster

megarobotdiscoparty · 13/04/2013 07:10

mortifiedadams had all three of DHs sisters in so guessing 1979... Bit of a family heirloom really so didn't want to say no!

OP posts:

TheFallenNinja · 13/04/2013 07:11

Definitely new mattress, sleeping bags are brilliant.

Test the crib. Put something about 10-12 lbs (bag of spuds or the like) in it and rock it slow, fast or whatever you think. Seeing it in action might help you decide.

I test everything, I have tried calpol, infacol, baby rice, aptamil and all creams and potions have been applied.

Baby rice is no steak dinner but had no adverse effects

Original poster

megarobotdiscoparty · 13/04/2013 07:13

Great tip on pillowcases!

OP posts:

Original poster

megarobotdiscoparty · 13/04/2013 07:16

thefallenninja definitely trying this! (bag of spuds in the crib that is...not sure I'm ready for baby rice just yet....)

OP posts:

MrsHoarder · 13/04/2013 07:25

Grobags (all baby sleeping bags) are sized. They gaffe a minimum size on them and aren't safe below that as there is a risk if baby getting head stuck.

We use them but you need to buy 2 every 3-6 months as baby grows. No such problem with blankets, at 11mo ds has his crib blankets in his cot still.

christinarossetti · 13/04/2013 07:27

Yes, pillow cases and lots of muslins to put on top. Then is your baby sicks up some milk or whatever, you only need to whip the top layer off.

MrsOakenshield · 13/04/2013 07:30

we swaddled DD whilst she was in the Moses basket, and also for a while in the cot (she was out of the moses basket at 3 months), then moved on to sleeping bags (John Lewis are the longest so go for those as you get the most use from them). Whatever you have for a bed after the Moses basket needs to fit in your room as they grow out of them quite quickly but advice is to sleep in same room up to 6 months (though in actual fact I know that isn't always possible, for example with twins - but that's the advice, for what it's worth).

Meringue33 · 13/04/2013 08:12

Baby sleeping bags. So great as they are nice and warm when you are feeding them, then you can pop them back in bed without the shock of cool covers to wake them up.

atrcts · 13/04/2013 08:28

One thin with knowing about sleeping bags is that they come in different sizes AND tog ratings. You can buy 0.5 tog ones online or 1 tog, 2 tog and 2.5 tog. You can easily google what room temperature you use each tog with

JiltedJohnsJulie · 13/04/2013 08:32

Can understand why you would be worried about a secondhand crib. There is done information, on cots, bedding and family heirlooms here.

We bought a coupe of sheets although one of your pillowcases will be fine, a couple of blankets and a couple of grobags. Grobags are good because baby stays warm when you lift them to feed them. Grobag is a brand though so you might be able to get some cheaper non branded ones.

Please don't use fleece either as suggested above, I think the minimum age for fleece blankets is 12 months.

If you do want to swaddle try the hip health swaddle blanket. There has been some concerns over hips and swaddling recently but think this one is ok. You could always practice on a doll before Lo arrives .

Thought you might like the isis website too, full of great, evidence based information

purrpurr · 13/04/2013 08:43

Hi OP. I bought quite a few sleeping bags of various different togs from eBay, which kept the cost down. I did since find that supermarkets, in particular Sainsburys, do lovely baby sleeping bags of various togs for around £12 or so.

One of the people I bought a sleeping bag from on eBay actually sent me their Gro Bag Safety Guide leaflet that came with it when they bought it, which really clarified for me what tog I should use and when, what the baby should be wearing when in the bag to avoid overheating or baby being cold, etc - it's all in a chart, verrrrry useful! Anyway as I can't type that out here I have just found something very similar on their website - Gro Safe Sleep Guide. This lists what size bag you'll need to fit the size of your baby, what temperature range and season each tog should be used for.

The guide I have - and the full guide above, if you go back to page 1 (linked you to page 18) does say very clearly you either use a blanket OR you use a sleeping bag, you do not use a sleeping bag and a blanket. It's stated rather firmly in the guide I have and I've read it elsewhere too.

JiltedJohnsJulie · 13/04/2013 08:46

Oh yes, should have said, I used the blankets in the day if Lo was asleep in the Moses basket and I hadn't had chance to put the sleeping bag on first.

Agree sleeping bags and blankets shouldn't be used together.

Jenijena · 13/04/2013 09:07

If you use a used pillowcase, it will smell of you and possible a comfort to your LO...

Re: swaddling - I bought a separate 'swaddle sheet'from the gro company which was a little bit of a rip off but as a sheet it was cool for the few very hot nights we had when it was 29 degrees in the room when LO was 4 wks or so. Then used all the cute blankets that had been knitted for us, and gro bags from 6 weeks. DS wasn't keen on being swaddled, but if yours is, I know lots of mums used swaddlepods very successfully.

TK Maxx usually has a good range of cheaper gro bags, in various togs. Would recommend two each of a low (1 or 1.5 depending on brand) and high (2.5) tog-age, in case of accidents.

Baby lived in babygro and/or vest depending on heat 24 hrs a day. if I realised he'd been wearing the same thing for 24 hours I changed I into new

JiltedJohnsJulie · 13/04/2013 09:24

I think which tog you need depends on what time of year your baby is born. DS born in the spring had 1.5 and 2.5. Dd was born at the beginning of autumn so only needed 2.5 in the first sizes.

TSSDNCOP · 13/04/2013 10:45

My first baby GRO bag was from the little White Company.

It had a zip that meant the bottom could stay open which was very handy in the Summer.

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