Newborn bedding

[discoballs88]

Hiya

My baby is due mid-July. At the moment, all we've got is a pull-down-side cot for next to our bed, which came with a mattress.

I want to start sorting bedding / sleep stuff for the baby and am wondering - what would you recommend I need for this, in terms of bedding and anything else for the cot?

Also what sort of sleepwear would you recommend? I'm leaning towards swaddles but have only bought one so far - any recommendations very gratefully received!

(Am conscious it will be HOT so not sure if that affects how much we do/don't need.)

Thank you in advance! X

Bedding - two waterproof sheets and four fitted sheets for the cot.

My July baby mostly wore a short sleeved vest with either a giant muslin as a blanket or a 1.5 tog sleeping bag to sleep in for the first couple of months - it was too hot to swaddle and he didn’t like it anyway. We did have something called a grosnug which could have arms in or out so that might work for you?

Congratulations on your pregnancy! In terms of bedding, you don’t need anything at all except a mattress covered with a sheet. Nothing else at all should be in the cot (pillows, duvets, cot bumpers are all against safe sleep guidelines). I used swaddles for my first, but also used the grosnug swaddle bag. Others use cellular blankets, which have holes to make them breathable. The lullaby trust has really helpful info on how to ensure baby sleeps safely :) good luck with everything!

Waterproof sheets x2. You will probably want to buy the same for your bed due to risk of your waters breaking and the following years of cosleeping with a pukey baby child.

DD2 was born in a heat wave, we cosleep, she slept in a vest and we had a sheet over us.

Thank you so much everyone, really appreciated!

You won't need as much as you think and don't buy too much now because the weather is very unpredictable in this country. The year my baby was born was a VERY hot summer. Baby slept in just a nappy most of the time. Sometimes wore a short sleeve vest. Sometimes a sleep suit. As soon as baby is big enough get a sleeping bag. By time baby is in 3-6 months clothes it will be cold again so sleep
Suit and sleeping bag

2 x fitted sheets and a grobag.

I always go rule of 3 for bedding. 1 in the wash, 1 dirty, 1 clean to come on. I've had too many nights where I had to change twice and one was in the wash!

When they are tiny the safest is nothing at all, just layer with clothes and maybe a cellular blanket. Once they are big enough a sleeping bag is the next safest but you have to make sure their heads won't slip through the holes. You can buy 0.5tog muslin sleep bags for summer - worth looking now before they get snapped up in a summer heat wave!

I had a July baby and we liked the SwaddleUp love2dream swaddle - the one tog is just one layer of cotton like a sleeping bag and it can go in the tumble dryer.

It might depend a bit on your baby. I really wanted to use baby blankets and bought a lovely bedding set from mothercare. After 10 nights of her kicking them off immediately and not staying down someone suggested a baby sleeping bag. It was like a miracle! You get different togs for different times of year. She still wears sleeping bags now (16 months) and kicks any other type of bedding off straight away!

Thank you so much everyone, this is all so useful! Xx