1. Choosing bedding for your baby can be the most exciting part of prepping for your new arrival. Remember, however, that most bedding is decorative and designed to make the parent happy. For safety reasons, babies have very sparse bedding requirements.
2. To prevent accidental suffocation, don't let your baby sleep with loose quilts, blankets, sheets, pillows, or stuffed animals. Use only a tightly fitted sheet to cover the mattress, and keep your baby warm in an insulated body suit instead. If needed, you can add a lightweight cotton blanket tucked under the mattress and pulled up no higher than the baby's chest.
3. Be careful when using bumper pads. They can be helpful for preventing your baby from getting a limb caught between the crib slats, but they can pose a suffocation risk if too soft or not sufficiently secured.
4. Bedding sets with coordinating wallpaper borders, valances, rugs, and other accessories help you create a beautiful, designer-quality nursery with minimal effort. Bedding is available in almost every style and theme, including contemporary solids and patterns to fun trucks, fish, or Disney characters.
5. In addition to protecting the mattress and helping you keep the sleeping area clean, mattress pads provide an extra layer of comfort and warmth for your baby.
6. Choose higher quality bedding if you plan on using the same crib as a toddler bed or for future children. If you plan on having multiple children, consider bedding with a unisex pattern and color scheme so you can reuse it later no matter what.
7. Always use specialty bedding to outfit your bassinet, cradle, or Moses basket. Sheets must fit the mattress precisely to minimize the risk of suffocation or entanglement. Some sheets may even have extra elastic straps that secure under the mattress to hold the sheet in place.
8. The mattress must fit perfectly in your crib, bassinet, or Moses basket. You shouldn't be able to fit more than a finger or two between the mattress and the side of the bed frame.
9. Baby mattresses should be firm, not soft, because an infant can't easily roll away if his face sinks into the mattress. Mattresses can be made with foam or coils; coil mattresses can be firmer, although foam mattresses are lighter and can make it easier to change bedding.
10. Look for mattresses with multiple layers to the cover, for added durability. Mattresses should have waterproof, easy to clean vinyl covers. Nylon is the best material, but polyester is often cheaper. Some mattresses have anti-microbial or allergen-reducing layers, which can keep your baby's bed cleaner and safer.
