Please don't laugh- new mum to be here!!

[Mumtobenovember]

I have just got my cot and mattress and went to buy sheets- bought a pack of two and got home and they where just a big square- not fitted? Have I bought the complete wrong thing? Are some cot sheets not fitted? Are these unsafe? I have just realised how little I know about babies

The sheets I use are fitted. Flat sheets would probably be ok I think. I have some big flat cotton blankets that look a bit like sheets and my mum said I could use them if my dd ever pooed all over her other sheets! So long as it's tucked under the mattress well I don't see why it would be a problem.

It's ok don't worry , as long as you can tuck them under the mattress there won't be a problem. At least you bought actual cot sheets lol with my first i wondered why I couldn't quite manage to get the sheet to stretch over the cot mattress then realised i'd stupidly bought moses basket sheets not cot ones!!. I sobbed for a full day about that one..damn hormones. You are doing just fine! xx

Another stoopid FTM question about cots and bedding etc
I'm planning on using a bednest then cot. (Thanks princess, now I know to make sure I get fitted cot sheets!)
What else do you put baby to sleep in? Some people say blankets, grobag, I imagine an extra sheet and layers of blankets is also possible?
I understand the feet to feet principle, I wondered if you go with grobags do you keep having to get bigger and bigger ones? Or do you buy a larger one and tuck the left over bit of foot space iyswim down under the mattress so baby's still foot to foot?
What does it wear? I know everyone puts newborns in sleep suits but are they literally in sleep suits all day every day? Baby is due November so will they be warm enough with a sleep suit on under a blanket/grobag? Do they need hats just for going outside?
(Oh my god I'm so clueless!!!)

But I bought fitted sheets for a 'crib' that are MASSIVE on the crib mattress - may as well be flat ones. I dunno.

Also, I expect I'll end up using muslins and anything I can get my hands on in a poonami situation.

My 5mo dd sleeps in a vest and sleepsuit that has feet. For blankets we use flat cotton sheets and a cellular blanket. We just add or take away a layer as needed. If you use a grobag they come in different sizes so every now and then you'd have to buy the next size up.
As for what they wear as long as they're clean it doesn't matter too much. Personally I like to put my dd in clothes mainly because everyone bought her loads and it would seem wasteful not to. But a sleepsuit all day would be fine. I would still change the babies clothes in the morning and at night cos it's a good way to indicate the difference between day and night.

I put a fitted sheet on the bottom and then a flat sheet horizontally where his head was as he was very sicky and I could just take this off and not have to wrestle too much in the middle of the night.

Re clothing the general rule of thumb is what you're wearing plus a vest. I did sleepsuits all the time until about 2 months and then got into the outfits a bit more. I did used to change the sleepsuit when I'd started the bedtime routine a few weeks in.

hotfuzzra you'll probably put them in a;

short sleeved vest like this: www.boots.com/en/Baby-Boys-5-Pack-Bodysuits-Mini-Club_1423976/

with a sleepsuit over the top like this: www.boots.com/en/Unisex-Baby-White-3-Pack-All-In-Ones-Mini-Club_1426433/

and a jumper/cardi over the top like this: www.boots.com/en/Mini-Club-Newborn-Creams-Hooded-Cardigan_1360282/

When you're going out you'll want a pram suit: www.boots.com/en/Just-Perfect-Boy-Pramsuit-Mini-Club_1500243/

and a hat too: www.boots.com/en/Mini-Club-Newborn-Boys-2-Pack-Hats_1241471/

They only wear hats indoors at hospital.

So if you go out does the pramsuit go over the sleepsuit? Or the sleepsuit and cardigan? I'm a clueless FTM too! haha. Can you keep baby in pramsuit in a car seat? I know you can't put baby in carseat in a snowsuit but i don't know about pramsuits.

I'm so glad someone asked about these things as it is almost certainly something I will have a panic about in about 4 months. - Thank you for all the helpful info!

Oooh I was just wondering about what they can were when they are going in a car seat - it will be December when our LO is born and I have no idea what she needs to leave hospital because she'll be going straight from the hospital into the car and will only be outside for 5 minutes maximum - would a snow suit be too heavy? I was thinking must a vest, sleepsuit, hat, cardi and a cellular blanket over her??

Vest, sleepsuit, cardi, hat and blanket will be fine for bringing them home. It all sounds daunting but you learn to feel when your baby is hot or cold and can act accordingly.
Don't be fooled by the hot maternity ward you do not need a house like a sauna or a baby so bundled up you can't see them. At the hospital they had her in a swaddling blanket with a cellular blanket and it was a warm April day!

I've seen a video about putting a baby in a snowsuit in the carseat. Totally unsafe because you can't tighten it correctly. Haha. Just adds to my list of worries and what I haven't thought of!

With a blanket, do you strap them in car seat then tuck a blanket around them? Haha. I'm so embarrassed not to know these things!

No pramsuits or snowsuits in car seats. Just put a blanket over them until the car gets warm.

My 1 month old has been wearing babygros mostly.. Is that the same as a sleepsuit and should I put a vest on under it too?

DD was a February baby and came home in a short sleeved vest, sleepsuit, lightly padded jacket and hat with a lovely snuggly blanket tucked around her legs. We were only going to be outside on the walk to the car so this seemed fine.
This was also how we did most car/indoor trips and only added more layers if were going to be outside for longer than 10 mins or so.

Now I'm panicked I've been under dressing my baby

consider DS was a June baby and I tended to put him in a short sleeved vest and a sleepsuit but on warm days I'd often take off the sleepsuit. The biggest fear is overheating rather than them getting cold. They're also being held by you a lot or was that just my DS? so get heat from you.

Try not to worry.

You check their temperature by your hand on their tummy or back.

Strikeout fail!

I followed the what you wear plus one rule with dd1 but I feel the cold and she (like her dad) clearly does not. My outfit plus a layer = grumpy hot baby.

So do use it as a guide starting out, but if you're the kind of person who wears thermals in June, be prepared to adjust it a bit.

But I promise it isn't as hard as it seems - I knew nothing about babies, the midwife had to show me how to put a nappy on dd1 and she has made it to 8 without any (major) disasters.

I think there's a definite tendency to over think. I know I did! Trust me you will quickly learn what feels right for your baby and dressing and covering them will suddenly seem like common sense.
I knew absolutely nothing about babies as my dd is the first one in the family for 17 years. I couldn't change a nappy or even hold her while doing other things. Now it's much easier.

This is all so helpful I have no idea about this kind of thing and neither does google!! So flat sheets are fine and then a blanket over the top. Thanks guys!! The other comments have made me think of things I didn't think of and I'm like waaaaa

Thanks Farmyard. Sorry for the slight hijack there mumtobe! Good luck with your new baby. Hehe I'm having a flashback to the hospital ward trying to dress our new baby for the first time! Lol it takes practise to get them dressed when you're not used to it. I didn't think about that at all before the birth.

Took me a couple of weeks to work out that babies are a lot more robust then you think and I wasn't going to damage ds by putting a top over his head!

Yes thanks everyone! Hope to get to grips with it soon!

We still had a little hat on DS indoors in August on the first day, until the midwife came and plucked it off! Also what I learned after changing a few crib sheets and sleepsuits is that you point the willy down when you put the nappy on as we hadn't been and wondered how we would cope if his clothes were wet through all the time! I have him in a vest and sleepsuit, or a vest and cardy and trousers combo if he's wearing 'real' clothes. He's just out of newborn size and has a line up of little man colder weather outfits that are just too big, so he's still mainly in the sleepsuits and things like long sleeve vests and soft dungarees (which are the cutest things in the world, more dungarees being bought!)

I got crib/Moses basket sheets which also fit on the pram mattress. I have some for the cot whenever he goes in there. We have tended to just put one blanket over him, either a cellular one of a very thin fleecy one if I feel it's a bit cooler. I have a few sleeping bags but I'm not overly keen on them as he seems too small to me to put in them (he's 11lb now but still...) if he kicks blankets off when it gets cold I might start him on them. I just really like all his beautiful baby blankets and bedding and want to tuck him up in them!

Her cot looks giant she's going to get lost in it haha it's so much to learn I'm scared!