Sheets/sleeping bags/blankets

[Furmummy]

Hellooo just looking for advice on cot sheet set out, baby due in summer. I have read that your not meant to use blankets and sheets and getting so confused - also what do you do when it comes to winter? Thanks in advance

Bottom sheet on the cot, nothing else. Baby has a sleeping bag. In the summer mine just wore pyjamas, but there are lightweight sleeping bags. In the winter you use heavier sleeping bags (you change the sleeping bag with the sizes otherwise you would have too much material flapping about).
It seems complicated but in practice is really simple.

@Footnote that’s great - thank you! Xx

I used blankets The sleeping bags are great but neither of mine would sleep in one.
I used the hippy chick waterproof but fully breathable sheet then a fitted sheet on the mattress. When they were very small I put them on a baby sheepskin but this is not risk free. Or covered them with a blanket either a cellular cotton one or a crocheted or knitted blanket.
Generally the baby wore a vest baby grow and cardigan. So the blanket was only really over the legs. When they were about 6 months I started using fleece baby grows. So much better than sleeping bags and unless it’s really cold they don’t need blankets

The other thing that is really useful is a little thermometer for the baby’s room. I felt soooo cold all the time postpartum so found it difficult to judge how warm it might be for the baby (too hot is more dangerous than too cold).

Of course you can use blankets if you arent using a sleeping bag. You'd just tuck it in under their armpits so they can't shimmy down under it. You would place them feet to foot in the cot too if using blankets

I used blankets, one set for 2 kids.

Have a search for "what should baby wear to sleep", you'll find loads of useful easy to follow charts. Tomee tippee/grobag uk website off the top of my head along with various safer sleep organisations. By winter your baby will be old enough for a sleeping bag but Grobag do smaller ones.

I used blankets.

I used blankets in the summer. Sleeping bag or sleeping bag and blankets in the winter.

I have fitted sheet on cot mattress. thick sleep bag for winter and light one in summer. My baby loves his sleep bag.

Thank you everyone for all your replies, I am at 25 weeks now and starting to panic about all the stuff I have no idea about! All really helpful replies and going to do some bedtime reading and research - than you all xx

With dd we had a sheet on the mattress of the next2me and the cot, and she was always in a sleeping bag, with various layers depending on room temperature (vest, pjs, etc) until she was almost 2 and we swapped her to a duvet.

We chose the sleeping bags as it meant you don't need to worry about them weighing down underneath blankets or wriggling out and waking up cold. It was a good choice for us in the end because once she was in her cot she covered almost every square inch of it each night! Now she has a duvet and doesn't seem to wriggle as much as she did

We bought some cellular blankets that are designated safe sleeping. I crochet but personally wouldn’t want to use a handmade blanket. Some babies like blankets so they can be swaddled. DD hated being swaddled and so would kick blankets off and sometimes over her face, so we use sleep bags for her.

You don't always need a higher tog sleeping bag for the winter. Chances are you'll have your heating on so your house will be warm. We've never needed more than 1.5 tog. Tommee tippee have the smallest sleeping bags I've found if you were thinking new born. I also highly recommend the groegg to check the rooms temperature

Another thing to bear in mind is that some babies are too small for even the swaddle sleeping bags. I bought only sleeping bags for our DD and she was too small for them for the first month or so and we ended using blankets.
In hindsight I should have had the blanket option ready as a backup!

There are quite small sleeping bags, we had one that was normal newborn size but wasn’t too big for my premie.

Probably a stupid question but I'm also due a summer baby - my DD hated a sleeping bag and loved to be swaddled but she was a winter baby. If the weather is warm; can I swaddle? I'm a little confused with it all!

@fejkalove my first was summer-born - 33’C heat and everything! I had him in just a nappy and swaddled him in a thin (giant) bamboo-cotton blend muslin. We also have a portable air con which was invaluable as the room was getting to 37’C without it. You can feel if they’re getting too hot by touching the back of their neck or chest. If it feels too warm or clammy then you can loosen the swaddle or lose it altogether. Good luck!