What do new babies sleep under and other clueless first timer questions..

[greenlizard]

We have ordered a snuz pod for our baby due in March but I have just realised I don't actually know what should I put over him when he goes to sleep? I am thinking he will be in a sleep suit (no flies on me!) and will be a little young for a sleeping bag to start with so what should I get - a cotton blanket? Sheets?

Should I buy a baby bath, bath support, bucket?

What should I get for overnight trips for him to sleep in?
Am I posting on the right thread?
Anything else I should know/get?

I am a total novice as so I bow to your collective wisdom.

I'm a huge advocate of the swaddle wraps. Yes you can use a blanket, but the wraps are so easy and they're much harder for them to wriggle out of. I always put a blanket underneath and wrap it around over baby as well. But yes, normal cellular blankets are all fine if you're not keen on swaddling. Just steer clear of synthetic fabrics.

We had a baby bath with a support, and again, always thought they were pointless but it was so so good.

Overnight trips - travel cot with bassinet, or when tiny you can buy little pop up cots if you're after something small.

When DS was a newborn we used cellular blankets until he was big enough to go into a sleeping bag.

Baby baths complete waste of money, bath seats are far easier, I have a 16 week old ds and he has been in sleeping bags since about 2 weeks before that fleecy blanket folded in half.

YY - baby baths total waste of money. Ours was used once.

Great thanks. Any recommendations for swaddle wraps?

I use cellular blankets for my baby as she was never a fan of swaddling! Sleep suits are fab - particularly the ones with fold over mittens as their little hands get really cold at night and mittens just get pulled off.

I never bought a baby bath. We did get a bath seat but she doesn't like it so we just hold her in the bath.

In terms of overnight sleeping we have so far used the carrycot from the pram but she's getting a bit big for it (4.5 months) and so will be getting a travel cot before our next night away.

Congratulations and good luck with the little one

We bought some lovely swaddle wraps... And DD absolutely hated it! Screamed and screamed until she was 'free' again. So we used cellular blankets until she was big enough for a gro bag.

I'm due in April and have bought a Moses basket with mattress and have bought fitted jersey sheets for it. Also going to buy some cotton sheets. The Moses basket came with some sort of light 'quilt' so will perhaps use that, or if not we have some sheets/light blankets to choose from to use instead.

With regards to the bath, I've seen the struggle with an actual baby bath (is it just me or are they an awkward shape?). I couldn't imagine trying to hold baby and washing him and trying to get the lotions etc, you'd need more than 2 hands! And if you're on your own I think it'd be quite difficult!
I've bought a 'seat' with retractable back (is that the right word?) that can move down or up. And it just fits into your own bath

For baby bath, would totally recommend the tummy tub. Really easy and quick to use and my dd loves it. It's also less scary than a real baby bath cos there's no risk of their head slipping underwater and so you can have a free hand. We got ours v cheap on eBay.

I really like the Summer swaddle range, as they were easy to use and I also felt comfortable that I wasn't over bundling or poorly wrapping DD.

I'm a huge fan of swaddling too but I would say just buy/borrow one. Babies either love them or hate them! So don't waste a lot of money if your baby doesn't like it, but if they do you can just order another one or two from Amazon and get it delivered within a few days.

For overnight trips, for a long time your baby will probably be happy in his pram basket for a night or two (or might be sleeping in bed with you) but I'd say that a travel cot isn't a waste of money if you know you're going to be doing overnight trips a lot when they are young. My parents had this Graco one as it has different heights for baby through to toddler, though you might want to keep an eye out for discounts over the next few months as it isn't cheap. But I do feel like we got a lot of use out of our travel cot - staying away with friends and family, in our room when DD was ill (depends on whether it is easy to sleep in the baby's room when they get older) and also a good few months where it was downstairs as an emergency playpen.

DD doesn't like covers or sleeping bags - now she is 21 months I have realised she would genuinely prefer to be uncovered!

Jojo do some snugglesuits which are padded sleepsuits, they are quite good. Tbh, if the weather is okay, and your house is fairly warm, a vest and sleepsuit might be sufficient.

Baby bath is good because it saves water, I know a lot of people say don't bother but our bath takes ages to run because the pressure is crap!

We bought this baby bath, was fab, almost hands free. So much easier than holding a slippery baby in a bath.

You just need a small cellular blanket for sleeping, or cotton sheet if it's warm. There's a size limit on sleeping bags to stop them slipping inside. DS also hated swaddling. He loved to wave his little arms about. Still does .

I used the kitchen sink, trilbydoll, no need to fill the bath and no need to get on your knees to bath the baby either.

I was channelling the 1950s.

They tell us (in the US) not to put any loose bedding in the bed with the baby. No sheets or blankets, unless the baby is swaddled (and then only the blanket the baby is swaddled in). No pillows. No stuffed animals. The baby should sleep on his back, not on his stomach or side.

We liked the Summer Infant SwaddleMe swaddle wraps.

We were told not to give our DD anything other than a sponge bath until her umbilical cord had healed. When I did give her baths, I found we liked it when I got in the bath with her (we don't really have a suitable sink for a baby bath, and getting in the bath was easier on my back and knees). She really liked to nurse in the bath.

Hotels here in the US generally have cribs, and they will put one in your room if you ask when you make your reservation. If you're visiting friends or relatives, they might have a crib, or be willing to borrow one from someone else while you visit.

Swaddle the twitchy little bastards!

Seriously. Without swaddling our lives would have been even more of a nightmare (non sleeping baby). DD could get out of the tightest blanket. We ended up with a Velcro straight jacket kind of thing. 'Twas genius.

Also, we bathed DD in a sink until she was 12 months. No need for baby bath.

Useful advice. I'd like to swaddle but you don't know if baby will like it.
We got this one for the bath OP. From John Lewis. It's called Angel Care.

What kelly said. Swaddling with the velcro wraps is so easy and even the ones that resist it seem to like being wrapped up so tight. Titchy little bastards indeed

A collapsible travel got can be reinvented as a playpen later on.

My mum's advice has always been, "Wrap 'em up and stick a dummy in!"

We have a snuzpod. We tried just using a cellular blanket initially, but the daft little twitcher used to kick it off. What worked for us is swaddling (just bought a couple of growraps cheaply on eBay as wasn't sure if the baby would like it). We also rolled up a blanket and stuck it under the sheet in a u shape to surround the baby and make it feel a bit cosier. She looked tiny in the snuzpod to start with. We warmed it up with a hot water bottle before putting her down. Since she got big enough we've just used sleeping bags.

Our house is quite chilly , but bear in mind that it's better for them to be slightly too cold rather than to overheat.

Mine hated being swaddled. Absolutely hated it. I put mine straight into a grobag from birth as I think you can unless they're very small. Mine were all 9lbs+ though. Grobags are fantastic. We live in the north west so their new 3tog winter one has been fab keeping dd nice and cosy.
Baby baths are pointless IMO. Those plastic supports are fantastic esp when you have an older one and you can bath them together. Mine have gone in those in the big bath since about 3days old.