Cot bedding?

[Rhian82]

Okay, I'm 24+1 weeks pregnant with my first child, and feel like a complete newbie - I've got no younger brothers or sisters, never looked after a baby, feel like I know nothing about them? this is going to be an interesting learning curve!

Anyway, I'm currently making a 'cot' shopping list - ie, cot, mattress, bedding, and was wondering exactly what bedding I should get, and how much of everything? Advice from experienced mums very much appreciated!

I like fitted cot sheets about 4 - one one, one or two in wash and a clean one on standby. Baby's can get quite sicky

I also like blankets - about 3. One fleece, one cellular and one whatever one. Grobags are good when they get older.

Bumpers aren't nessecary but look nice, you have to remove them when they get older anyway for safety reasons.

Congrats on expecting!

You don't need that much in those early days to be honest. For a cot, I would get a couple of small and large cellular blankets (the ones with holes in), a matress that has a removable cover - really handy to be able to pop it in the wash if they are sick, and 3 or four sheets - that's about it. As pretty as what it all is, you won't need bumpers, cot duvets etc.

We put DS into a grobag as soon as he was big enough and the blankets just get used for nap times - the big cellular one in winter and the smaller one for summer when he just needs a light covering

The best buy imo - babygros and vests! DS lived in them and even now at the age of 2, he goes to bed in a babygro - I love them!

I am 28wks with dc2 and have bought 2 fitted sheets and 2 sleeping bags.

Tried blankets with dd and she just kept kicking them of and waking up cold. Sleeping bags saved my sanity (well part of it anyway )

yes get lots of sleepsuits! And buy a good mattress

Sleeping bags/grobags are fab, imo. AGree with the fittted sheets, at least 4. Ikea good for cots and bedding (well cheap, and ours did 2 DCs, and has recently gone on to someone else via Freecycle - end of an era!)

Get 4 fitted cot sheets - babies always puke on them so you need clean ones ready.

Get about 4 fitted cot sheets - Mothercare are better quality than Boots IME. Babies can be v. sicky / dribbly so you'll change them a lot.

Sleeping bags are much better than blankets for night time but a few blankets are useful for daytime naps. I didn't buy expensive Grobag ones though, cheaper supermarket ones are just as good, or one called a 'Snugglesack' (?) off Ebay is fab.

Cot bumpers are only worth having once they're mobile, so no need for the first few months or so.

A smallish cellular blanket is useful for swaddling.

I have just bought my cot and my sheets from Ikea - Mothercare are charging 14.99 for a 2 pack of 60 x 120 size sheets. I paid 5.99 for exactly the same.

I've decided to economise on the cot frame and have spent more on the mattress (learned from last time).

Ooh we're looking at Ikea at the moment as don't have much money to spend. Where would you suggest getting mattresses from then?

I don't think IKEA cots fit any other matresses but you'd have to check that.

Our cot and matress was from Mamas and Papas...really good buy though - so sturdy and the matress is lovely and comfy for DS. The removable cover has been very handy as well when he's been sick in the night

I would also suggest that if your baby turns out to posset a lot (bring up lots of milk) then cover the fitted sheet with a tucked in muslin/pram sheet/old hand towel. Much easier to change in the night than the whole sheet if it is only a little bit of baby sick.

Grobags are fab, sometimes you can get a bargain at your NCT Nearly New Sale if you wanted spare ones. (or if a relative happens to ask what you might like as a present for the baby).

I got a cheapie sponge based mattress first time round and it sagged very quickly. For dd2 I got one from Mama's and Papa's it was a bit more money (£60 ish) but much better quality.

The ikea cot I've bought takes a size 60 x 120cm mattress. Mothercare do a mattress this size - they call it a continental cot size... I've bought a wipe clean sprung one for £55.

Ikea do cot mattresses but the only ones I could find were simple foam ones.

I also went for the breathable matress type...maybe I was being a bit PFB but I did worry about SIDS and overheating and so thought the money was well spent on a good matress more than anything else

We had the Ikea foam ones (one for DD, then a new one for DS), and they were fine - no sagging.

fitted cot sheets x 4. You won't wash them that often when they are little (or was that just me ) but when they get their first sickness bug you will go through them overnight and thank God that you haven't got to faff about tucking sheets in nicely whilst half asleep.

Grobags x 2, for little ones as they don't get that grubby. Lots of sleep suits, Tescos cheap ones are fine.

Our 20 month DS has never bothered with blankets. And we didn't get cot bumpers either.

I fully intended to do grobags from birth, but DS is too small for them! (He was 6.1 at birth, and was 40+3!)
A friend gave me a stack of secondhand sheets - 8 plain white ones from ToysRUs I think - and we wouldn't have managed without them because DS had a phase of being sicky, and we would have ruined our Moses basket. And our pram. And our bouncy chair. And our carpet...

Get jersey sheets, not towelling ones - if your d? ends up a stomach-sleeper, the towelling can be quite rough on their faces.

Sleeping bags are fantastic. Worth every penny. You only need to get the lightest weight one for the moment. In winter you may want a warmer one, or you may just add layers of clothing to the baby, or add a blanket on top of the baby. A lightweight one will also dry quickly, so only get one -unless you have a very sicky baby in which case it will be worthwhile having two.

A cot mobile is handy for distracting the baby.

We have all cotton blankets (cellular and waffle weave) and one woolen blanket. I don't like fleece, it doesn't breathe.

Get a breathable waterproof mattress protector - less sweaty than simple waterproof ones, even though more expensive.

3 or 4 fitted sheets
2 flat sheets to sleep under for when it is hot/they have a temperature
light fleece blanket for naps
2 grobags 1 or 2.5 togs depending on the season. Love grobags, you can get good second hand ones on ebay. my baby happily settles anywhere to sleep as he has his own grobag on. also ideal for nightfeeds, keep your baby at the same temperature which helps with going back to sleep.

by the way it is easy to spend a fortune. you can usually buy new cotton sheets in the pack on ebay for half the price of mothercare. mothercare is expensive anyway.