Newborn baby bedding - no clue or experience

[Ryooki]

Our first child is due next year so I have little to no experience with most things baby related. Please excuse my ignorance.

I bought a quilt for the baby's cot because I liked the look of it, but when I looked closer at the labels at home it said it wasn't suitable for babies under 1 year old. I just figured that when the baby went from their moses basket to the cot when they're around 6 months that you could put a thin quilt on them, much like a fleece blanket? I never knew this was wrong so I'm wondering what else I should be aware of.

Please could you help with some practical advice on do's and don'ts for baby bedding, based on your experiences? An 'idiots guide' if you will!

I guess the only obvious thing I know for sure is not to use pillows or allow any bedding to slip over their head so they don't suffocate.

Thanks in advance

Giant muslin squares are best for swaddling. Aden and anais ones best of all but unless you catch them in tk max they are spendy. There are decent alternatives. Swaddle and down onto a fitted sheet on the mattress. If an especially cold evening a thin cellular blanket or similar over them from tummy down and tucked into the mattress.

Once into grow bags, into the bag and down onto a fitted sheet on the mattress.

No need for anything else in crib cot bed etc.

Have a look at hipdysplasia.org/developmental-dysplasia-of-the-hip/hip-healthy-swaddling/

There are specialist 'shaped' swaddles (e.g. Merino Kids Cocooi) but we mostly just use a big muslin (like the Aden & Anais ones) in a triangle shape.

Other tips:
Ewan - www.amazon.co.uk/Sweet-Dreamers-Ltd-Dream-Sheep/dp/B0040JSN7Y Better than playing white noise on your phone and putting it near baby, imo.

Also, just for the record: stuff from Ikea is great generally -
Baby bath is superior to the other ones on the market, and cheaper.
For older babies the highchairs and white and green cups are great.

White Company cellular blankets are £££ but better than others on the market and stay soft for a long time.

Marks and Spencers are definitely the best place we could find for basic vests and sleepsuits. They are thick and roomy and wash well.

It's nice to hear about tried and tested products, especially when there are so many our there to choose from. It's all very confusing otherwise!

I'm already feeling more confident about the whole sleeping situation. I now feel I've got a simple set of rules to follow under my (ever expanding!) belt!

Thinking about the bumpers causing overheating, is there a danger of that in a moses basket because they're surrounded in the same way? Sorry if that sounds stupid!

No - the moses basket is a relatively open weave so airy and the cover on it is usually thin cotton and no gaps so no getting trapped under them

As nap queen said, Moses basket covers shouldn't be padded, just a thin layer of cotton.

Ahh I see. That would explain why all moses baskets are made from wicker too. I thought it was just traditional rather than functional!

Tbh I'd go for a crib rather than a moses basket as they last longer. Dd was wedged in her basket at 5mo and DS slept comfortably in his crib til at least 9mo.

We then had a Tiny Love 3 in 1 Napper downstairs for sleeps n the day. Which I adored and was so so sad when I had to pass on.

We used a blanket for first couple of weeks but our daughter kicked it off non-stop so we switched to a grobag. We used that right through until she was about 11 months. The last few weeks it's been so warm that she's not had any covers, so literally just a sheet in her cot and that's it.

I have a duvet set ready for this winter but may carry on with grobags, we'll see how it goes.

Incidentally, our daughter only lasted 8 weeks in her Moses basket even though she was tiny. She liked sleeping like a starfish from day one and got ever so cross that she was touching the sides, but loved the space of the cot.

No bumpers, no teddies in the cot and room temp of 16-20 degrees. There is a good chart on the grobag website about room temp and the appropriate clothing and bedding for that temp.

Sorry if I'm repeating what others have said.

I used pre done swaddled with Velcro called Swaddleme (from kiddicare website) which were brill as you didn't have to faff about trying to learn how to swaddle wth a newborn. I brought a set of three which was perfect as you're always washing something due to posset or poo etc. You only swaddle the arms, not the legs so there's no danger of causing hip issues. Swaddling is to recreate the womb.

The best tips I learnt the sleeping are a baby doesn't need a room to be too warm, don't over dress them as they will get heat rash (goes away super quick though) And a key one, is they don't need to be changed every time they wake at night. I did this which caused DS much screaming when he was hungry. And white noise needs to be fairly loud as they can't hear very much when they are super young.

Hope that helps. good luck. You'll be fine

Every family is different.
My babies slept in bed with me, so no cot, no baby bedding.

It's really naughty that shops are still selling 'full bedding sets' that include quilts and bumpers from newborn age, as this is very outdated. Sleeping bags are more convenient (and contain a poonami!) we have mattress, mattress protector (breathable), fitted sheet and then gro bag. That's the same in our Chicco next to me and the main wooden cot. Also no pillows, toys or cuddlies in the cot again to prevent suffocation

Place marking as this is v helpful, thanks

My son sleeps either in a Merino wool onesie or just in his nappy.
No blankets.
No grow bag
I found that he gets sweaty at night and cotton got very damp, whereas the wool moderates his temp and he doesn't get clammy.

Ds was in his snuzpod from 0-6 months (Jan to july).
So we had that attached to the bed with side dropped down, mattress and sheet.
He would sleep in cold months in 2.5 tog grobag, sleeveless vest and sleepsuit (also known as a babygrow).
In warmer months he's slept mostly in a short-sleeved vest and 1 tog or 0.5 tog grobag.

When he moved to cot we bought a cotwrap as opposed to a bumper (brilliant product and highly recommend for when u move to cot). Other than that again just a mattress and sheet and clothes as before.

Ds has always kicked blankets off regardless of how tight we tuck them in! Maybe he'll be a kickboxer....

I used big muslin swaddles as a newborn then just a blanket if needed over the top.

Then into a love to dream sleeping bag which had built in sleeve type things.

Then a grobag. He's still in his grobag at 18 months and sleeps all shapes in it. He hates a duvet.

I used a cellular blanket (tucked in) in the winter and now in the summer just a big muslin cloth (also tucked in)

He didn't seem to like the grow bag.

We had a snuzpod, my daughter was too small for a Grobag straight away (under 8lbs) so we put her in sleepsuit with a cellular blanket. They really don't move much in first few weeks so I wasn't too worried (although saying that I woke up and she'd somehow rolled over at 2 weeks old which freaked me out!). As soon as she was 8lbs she was in the Grobag as so much easier. Nothing else in cot. Even now at 14m I have nothing else in there!