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

Argh! Just having a little nosey on the threads from last week I missed and came across this one..now having a minor panic as all these are things I hasn't thought of! I haven't a clue what to dress baby in, indoors or out! I need someone to just live with me to tell me what to do!! Xx

If you use a blanket over them in bed, do you tuck the blanket under the mattress so it isn't loose?

I did EXACTLY the same first time! We kept the flat ones in a drawer for emergencies/travel cot extra padding, but do buy some fitted ones. We loved the terry ones from John Lewis - have lasted years and a bit of grip so baby doesn't slide around too easily!

Flat sheets are good for swaddling so keep those and get fitted ones too. and first couple of weeks you'll need to change sheets very often coz babies tend to be sick a lot plus add nappy accidents if you dont have a tumble dryer you might need plenty of sheets.
Reason why maternity wards are really hot are that your normal body temperature is 37°c, this is what your baby is use to! you need to keep them in vest, babygro plus hat and blanket at the beginning.
check his/her temp from the back of the neck and you'll know are they hot or cold. Dont get fooled by cold hands legs etc this doesn't matter.
i can't remember your other questions for now but hope that helps x

Grobags come in 0-6 then 6-18mths then 18mths-3yrs. They can go in a grobag from 7lbs I think so all of mine went straight in. You don't need to worry about foot to foot as there's nowhere to wriggle down under. Their arms go through the holes and when they're very little, there's poppers so there's no gaps under the arms. My winter babies wore a long sleeved vest under a babbygro/sleepsuit then into grobag. My eldest wore the same for daytime until 3mths. The others wore little outfits over long sleeved vest from about 3wks. If I had been to the park and they were in their snowsuit I'd just transfer them to the car in it. However, I'd take the hood off their head and undo all the front poppers. Always uncover the head as that's the only way a newborn is able to cool itself down is releasing heat through it's head.
Oh and don't panic if your sleeping newborn has icy cold hands! It doesn't mean they are freezing or even necessarily cold. They just conserve energy by not sending as much blood to their extremities. You will notice they of this if they have a fever too though hopefully you won't encounter a fever whilst they're very little. Best hand test of body temp is the back of their neck/top of back.

Oh and you'll be fine. It's surprising how quickly much of it becomes instinctive.

Just a tip, that made me go oooohhhhh...vests are made with slits in neck so in case of a poonami, up the back style, you can pull vest down, instead of over head